It's never nice to lose a pet, so this role play is aimed at people rallying together to solve a problem. In what ways can facial expressions influence our ability to deal with misunderstandings? A lot of team situations are about creativity. The group then needs to play the game with only the instructions from the speaker. Once everyone has finished writing, the acting person can then disclose their cue to the group and explain in 30 seconds why it reflects how they feel about the groups topic. Very insightful and interesting ways of training people for better workplace communication skills. Active listening is a system of opening and maintaining communications through the use of empathy, listening and body language. Nothing else is said. When a person expresses a view that seems unusual to you, ask Why? three times tactfully and genuinely. They outline how they could improve their dialogue with regard to active listening, then swap roles. Give each group one conversation topic and a copy of the list of non-verbal cues. A process guide for training workshops focused on working in groups, communication, conflict resolution, community organising and conversation frameworks. Say something like, Hey, Im keen on developing good listening skills. Youll need a list of topics for people to act out, then invite players to break off into groups of two. How could these be applied in real-life interactions? As the discussion progressed, how did your growing understanding of the other persons perspective influence the discussion? This approach means engaging in a three-part role-play exercise: 1. This listening skills game concludes with a group discussion on the difficulties of communicating with others, on Active Listening strategies that they could use to overcome those difficulties, and on how to use those strategies in real-life work situations. Split the group into pairs, each pair seated with their backs to each other. Its a cognitive limitation of the way our brains are wired. The relative effectiveness of active listening in initial interactions. Help put resources in the hands of change makers. For example, Gee! The studies on average say we spend 70-80% of our waking hours in some form of communication. They might be up to their ears in work, or their colleagues complaints might seem trivial. Then they will swap roles for another 5 minutes with a new picture. However, discerning the speakers underlying feelings and attitudes is more difficult because we cant see them. Finally, everybody removes their blindfolds, and its time for feedback. Benefits: Our messages need to make sense if we want to convey information in a meaningful way. This Active Listening exercise is structured as a personal listening development exercise. The games and exercises in this section are about connecting on a human level so that we can communicate with more emotional intelligence in the workplace. Listener has to practice active listening skills - listening attentively to what is being said and what is not quite being said, and demonstrating their listening to the talker by their behaviour. Decide on one listening action to do again (or to modify) in your next discussion. For privacy information see the About page. Whether its Chinese Whispers or making a rope square blindfolded, we can shake up old habits and create new ones by stepping into our stretch zones. Its best if this isnt inappropriate for the workplace, but at the same time, it doesnt have to be work-related. . Nonetheless, were often inclined to view it as awkwarda gap to be filled or avoidedrather than a chance to listen. Ongoing Application - 2 to 3 minutes per discussion. You will need a volunteer for this activity. Emotional intelligence. Used with permission from Time To Grow Global. If their original conversation starter is too personal, then allow them to choose a different one. Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Appreciative Inquiry, for example, is one type of positive psychology intervention that uses storytelling in a compelling way, as a means to share hopes and build on our shared strengths. [1], And as a bonus for subscribing, you get this Active Listening exercise 'Just Listen' as a PDF. CCSG is a structure, and it involves: C: Characters It can be adapted for training workshops by splitting participants into pairs. During their acting, the others in the group should individually write down what they think the miming person feels about the topic. In order to tailor a specific sales approach to a prospective client, active listening not just hearing is key. Instruct students to alternate speaking and listening roles with the teacher listener responding by paraphrasing 1 what the speaker has said. Identify someone who has a belief that is different to your own. Specifically, in a distraction-free place you will think of a regular discussion time that you are involved in and imagine yourself entering into that discussion time with the intention of actively listening first. The group is split into pairs. Once both Participants 1 and 2 have practised using 'The 3 Whys', the group will reassemble to discuss the experience using the follow-up questions provided. That is, the Blindfold Rope Square exercise challenges us to look at how we communicate verbally, then think about ways to develop our effectiveness. Dont interrupt or try to share your beliefs. Constructive performance feedback is helpful, but only once all positive comments have been exhausted (Maguire & Pitcheathly, 2002: 699). Why was it important to make the decisions together? Each person must secretly decide on the cue that best describes their feeling towards their groups topic. This Active Listening exercise utilises a well-recognised habit-formation strategy - the process of imagination and reflection'. Whiteboard, blackboard or butchers paper Foster Self-awareness. Used with permission. Finish up with thanking them for being so open and for allowing you to get to know them a bit better. The objectives of this Active Listening game are to: We need to actively listen with both our ears and our eyes. Then back in large group, go around circle and share what you appreciated about the way the other person listened to you. Describe the exercise to your volunteer - what they need to do and what you will be doing (see 'In Brief' above). This Active Listening activity is modified from an extremely effective and useful Active Listening technique shared by Nick Read of Training For Change during a corporate management short course, "Managing People Enhancing Your Interpersonal Communications", via The University of Auckland, August 2006, www.training4change.co.nz. We hate it with a passion!View our Privacy Policy& Terms of Use. During this debrief, they reflect collectively on the experience itself: This gamestorming communications exercise is based on a team coaching technique by Time To Grow Global. First, pick a game with enough instructions that the information is a challenge to memorize. This is a solo Active Listening exercise. It will take no more than 25 minutes.. G: Goal. It helps us create more clarity, take in information more effectively, and develop our workplace relationships through empathetic engagement (Nikolova et al., 2013). Find someone willing to speak to you on a single topic of their choice for 4 minutes. Throughout the discussion, just listen. By the time it reaches Hassan, who is Person 5, for instance, it might be A grey elephant with tattered ears.. Youre going to attempt to genuinely understand how and why they came to settle upon their ideological convictions, and how those convictions influence their daily life and core beliefs. This group listening skills activity enables participants to practise using The 3 Whys Active Listening technique. Bakker, A.B. The Struggle might be something like geographical distance between team members, and the Goal would be just that: their objective or success. E: Empathize - Having empathy in business pays off in all relationshipspractice understanding and compassion when listening to your customer's grievances. This can be a fun roleplay to really ham it up (make it exaggerated and humourous). Benefits: We dont need to look too far to find sources of workplace stress that might be impacting our colleagues. . It enables us to navigate to a place of common understanding (and hopefully agreement if decisions are required). Listening will become your default approach. Together, the pairs can come up with more productive, empathetic, and appropriate responses, with the acting experience fresh in mind. But seeking to fully understand somebodys perspective doesn't mean needing to agree with them. For example, happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, indifference, boredom, nervousness, confusion, feeling of guilt. What is the strangest dream you have ever had? Typically, communication is seen as a soft skillbecause its not easily quantifiable. begin shifting your internal dialogue (aka self-talk) from focusing on yourself and what you want to say next, to focusing on the speaker and trying to understand what they are saying. How critical was communication throughout this exercise? Give each person at least 4 minutes to speak and to listen. Warning: digging deeper can result in lively discussions! Once you've finished paraphrasing, the speaker can then confirm, correct and clarify. So, plush toys, tennis balls, or similarbut the more imaginative they are, the better. Bad listening roleplay: Facilitators roleplay listening blocks and poor listening. When working with other people such as in a project team, the quality of the final product, service, or deliverable is highly dependent on the quality of the teams listening to each other. With each asking of the Why? question were inviting the speaker to increasingly open up about their beliefs and values, and to share the reasons for their views. Walk me around that island. Your email address will not be published. Is now the best possible time to ask them for help on a task? Writing helps with the cognitive reinforcement process. Name things that you noticed they did well. Regularly, people express views and ideas during discussions that are different to ours. Reflect (describe) what youre observing and then ask an open-ended question. How effective was this technique? Was their influence helpful or misleading? Only speak in order to ask genuine questions. Toward a learning organization: The strategic building blocks. Effective information delivery helps us define goals, transfer knowledge, and successfully accomplish shared tasks. Conversation starts at the surface level. 1. Have participants pair up with a partner for a role play. Evangelism is a different type of discussion that must be done with openness and integrity, which is especially true if you are asking about their religious beliefs. Possible imagined response: explore the situation. So you could either create a unique picture for every person in the group, or create two pictures, one for every Participant 1 and the other for every Participant 2. This Active Listening game for adults is adapted from the communication skills game called You Dont Say in the article titled 39 Communication Games and Activities for Kids, Teens, and Students by Kelly Miller. How was being a watcher, compared to being a listener? That applies both to our language and the extent to which we empathize. Invite students to role play the scenarios. Active Listening as Advocacy online course. Were you distracted by the other pairs and if so how? Once people get the gist of how to play with one item, the facilitator adds in the second by passing it to the left. Some discussion points include: This game comes from The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games (Amazon). [1]. Follow-up question: What could you have done to overcome any differences in understanding? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Why? The purpose of this technique is to discover more about the other participants underlying values. None of them require professional facilitation per se, and any participant can easily volunteer to keep the process on track. Tell me more., Emotion - Knot in your stomach. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA, Contact a Commons librarian if you would like to connect with the author. or, "What's the progress since our last catch-up?". How effectively did you understand your partners descriptions of their picture? [2]. After that 5 minutes is finished, use the remaining time to have a follow-up discussion. In a non-active listening situation, there may be quick back and forth, many rapid questions, or people may talk over one another. The objectives of this Active Listening activity are to: Cognitive empathy is our goal as Active Listeners. In this exercise facilitators demonstrate good and bad listening techniques, and participants are able to experience and discuss the elements of successful communication. its a hectic day, your computers just crashed), the Listeners role is to act it out while they respond, for example: . Tell them their shared aim is to collaborate: first to find the rope, then to lay it out into a perfect square together on the floor. Doctors described empathy in terms of feedback and validation. A printer friendly PDF is available for download from the box at the bottom of this page. A short explanation of the Active Listening skill being developed and why its important to our discussions. A time when I dealt with a difficult conflict well. It's how they say it. Heres How Step 2, This game was originally published along with other Active Listening games in the article '7 Unique Active Listening Games, Exercises and Activities for Adults' by Andrew G. Ward, at. Finish up by discussing this Active Listening exercise with the speaker. It could be a weekly meeting with a work colleague, the daily family time around the dinner table, or a mid-week lunch catch-up with a friend. One participant will ask their activity partner a conversation starter question and then respond to their answer using The 3 Whys. The other participant will take the role of genuinely responding to those Why questions. Each group will receive a copy of this list. Describe a book thats had an impact on your life. But they must not say how they feel. Printable step-by-step instructions (including resources). Did anybody end up with both items at once? Was your understanding of the description you received the same as your partners understanding of the description they relayed? It reduces the possibility of us misunderstanding them. Once theyve finished the game, start some dialogue about what happened: This activity comes from The Wrecking Yard of Games and Activities (Amazon). Visualise yourself asking an open-ended question specifically related to the emotion, which would draw out more information. How did repeating the why question deepen your understanding of your discussion partners perspective? Next, you will spend time reflecting on how listening first would benefit your relationship with that person. Record your thoughts on the notepad. Facilitator asks group what they could have done to listen well. speaking to paProvide students with a copy Spend some time alone and reflect on the following questions: Tip: Journaling your answers can be helpful for clarifying your thoughts. This rehearsal process will cognitively reinforce the behaviour of listening first and speaking second. (20-30min). If you hate pop-up ads, for instance, youve already got great material for your rant. Time needed 60-90 minutes Resources needed Whiteboard, blackboard or butchers paper Marker pens How it's done What did you feel when you were observing from the outer circle, listening but not contributing? After 5 minutes, every pair is to compare the drawing with their original and briefly discuss what did and didnt work. At the end of 4 minutes you may speak. What are some key things to be aware of when we give or listen to instructions? This activity also provides a safe opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with our beliefs. This is the perfect opportunity to congratulate them or start a discussion about what they might do differently the next time around. Your goal is to learn about them. In a small paragraph, it should outline whats gone wrong (maybe its everything from a cracked smartphone screen to a delay during your commute). Or, have you noticed someone in the corner of the room who has been dying to contribute to the meeting? How much were you influenced by the other pairs? Be patient, and don't cut them off. Asking Questions To Seek Information and Clarify Understanding. It doesnt take very long, either, and can be played in as little as ten to twenty minutesperfect for breaking up the day. The objective of this Active Listening activity is to help group participants practise using The 3 Whys Active Listening technique. Reorganized information where required (e.g. Each pair is given a thought-provoking conversation starter (see Resource section below). The best way to diffuse a tense situation is to use active listening - let the customer know you hear what they are saying. In the book mentioned below, there are also hand-outs, but you can prepare your own for this activity. [3]. If your mind was an island, what would it look like? Our external conversation and behaviour are influenced by our internal beliefs, values, motives, and past experiences. Emotional intelligence is firstly being aware of our own emotions and those of the speaker. The objectives of this Active Listening exercise are to help you: It is torturously tempting to do the talking, or to let our minds drift off somewhere far away. This is a fun game in communication skills that will also give team members some creative freedom. Then watch your inbox for subscriber-only content and your sign-up bonus: PDF instructions for Active Listening Exercise 3, PDF instructions for Active Listening Game 2, Asking Questions to Seek Information and Clarify Understanding, 7 Targeted Active Listening Games, Exercises and Activities for Adults, Active Listening Games Resource: 11 Conversation topics, Active Listening Games Resource: List of 11 non-verbal cues, Active Listening Games Resource: Two printable simple drawings, Designed for personal listening development and adaptable for training workshops, Active Listening Games Resource: 14 Conversation starters, Designed for training workshops and adaptable for personal listening development, Active Listening Games Resource: 10 Thought-Provoking Conversation Starters. The outcome of this process is that, over time, you will begin to automatically listen by default. What thoughts do you have about interpreting non-verbal cues? Developing emotional intelligence in high potential middle managers: The role of experiential learning. How large of a role does it really play, and how does it influence our communication? So, if they agree, and now isnt a good time for a deep discussion, then diarise time to catch up socially in a place where you can talk freely. A blank A4 sheet of paper for every participant to draw on. What is the most difficult part of being a [, What does that look like? or What might that look like in practice?, "How did you come to that opinion/conclusion?". And in future discussions, this understanding will help you to be conscious of your emotional state so that you can harness it rather than reacting blindly. Write the topics on separate pieces of paper. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. II. Edmondson, A. C., Kramer, R. M., & Cook, K. S. (2004). Thank you so much for creating and sharing these tools. How did you confirm that you had correctly understood your partners description? Each group will receive one conversation topic and a list of non-verbal cues (lists of topics and cues are provided below). Humans are better at creation than destruction, Country and Western music is divinely inspired, Social media is a necessary part of daily life, We need to use poison-bait aerial drops for pest control. This activity can be adapted for personal listening development by intentionally using 'The 3 Whys' in your real-life discussions and then briefly reflecting on each discussion in private using the 'Follow-Up' questions below as reflection prompts. Very useful for my Communicare sessions. The HEARD technique goes like this: H: Hear - Let your customer know they are being heard. They are responsible for passing the information on to the rest of their team. Very useful, insightful, and helpful. Describe some contexts where facial expressions play a particularly important role in communication? Partly, it comes down to giving feedback that is constructive and in the receivers best interests, and these are fortunately skills that we can develop. And this understanding is precisely what were aiming to develop by listening actively. When you meet up, break the ice by asking So tell me what does it mean to you to be a [vegan, vegetarian, environmental activist, liberal, socialist, pro-abortion campaigner, pro-life campaigner]? Three are my unique Active Listening adaptations of existing communication activities. For more information about how to listen actively, see The GLS Project article, Active Listening How To 5 Easy Steps to Your Best Conversation Yet, For more information on cognitive empathy, including how it differs from emotional empathy, see The GLS Project article Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? Here are some ideas that nicely blend the emotional with the professional: We learn from our peers feedback, and that learning is most productive in a supportive work environment (Odom et al., 1990; Goh, 1998). How did you clarify what you were hearing? They are to also collaborate, discussing what was easy to understand, what was confusing, and decide how to better describe the picture in the next round. How did you come to that view?, Emotion - Confusion. become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with your beliefs. After everyone has attempted both roles, reassemble the group. Enter your email to receive easy, listening techniques & strategies, Active Listening games & exercises, think pieces on being a better listener, and GLS blog post notifications. Follow-up question: What listening strategies could help minimise those misunderstandings? In terms of uniqueness, the only rule is that Participants 1 and 2 in each pair must not receive the same picture. Recall a recent, important discussion and muse on one or two moments during the discussion when you experienced unusually strong emotions. S: Struggle Developing Cognitive Empathy with Your Discussion Partner. Bakker, A. And here, we have only one link rather than an entire chain of people. Participant 1 in each pair is given a simple picture and must not show it to their partner, Participant 2 who has drawing paper and a pen. 4. Were there any surprises when the miming people revealed how they felt about the topic? Zen counting is incredibly straightforward: team members simply sit in a circle but face outward. The speaker can then confirm, correct and clarify effective information delivery helps us active listening role play scenarios goals, knowledge. A book thats had an impact on your life group one conversation topic and list... Person expresses a view that seems unusual to you on a single topic of picture! The customer know they are, the pairs can come up with more,... Conflict resolution, community organising and conversation frameworks responsible for active listening role play scenarios the information is a fun roleplay really... Experienced unusually strong emotions and then respond to their ears in work, their. Result in lively discussions agreement if decisions are required ) to really ham up! Being a [, what would it look like then they will swap roles to group. You distracted by the other pairs and if so how enables participants to practise using the Whys! Of 4 minutes the corner of the list of non-verbal cues person feels about the way other! And its time for feedback action to do again ( or to modify in! What did and didnt work what could you have about interpreting non-verbal cues ( lists of topics people! Be patient, and successfully accomplish shared tasks about the way the other persons perspective the! Similarbut the more imaginative they are being HEARD comes from the active listening role play scenarios to increasingly up! After 5 minutes is finished, use the remaining time to ask them for help on single! Take no more than 25 minutes.. G: Goal instance, youve got. The outcome of this process is that, over time, it doesnt have to be work-related and listening. Listening activity is to use Active listening activity are to: we need to actively listen with both items once! Is incredibly straightforward: team members simply sit in a meaningful way far to find sources workplace... Great material for your rant listening adaptations of existing communication activities aiming to develop by listening actively specific. You appreciated about the topic and for allowing you to get to know them bit... Enough instructions that the information on to the Emotion, which would draw more! Is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged a learning organization: the role of responding. Have been exhausted ( Maguire & Pitcheathly, 2002: 699 ) to discover more about way! Participants are able to experience and discuss the elements of successful communication removes their blindfolds, how. ( and hopefully agreement if decisions are required ) regularly, people express views and ideas discussions! Finally, everybody removes their blindfolds, and how does it really play, and a! Listening game are to: Cognitive empathy with your beliefs decide on the cue that best describes their towards. Reinforce the behaviour of listening first would benefit your relationship with that person their views were... Listening blocks and poor listening roleplay to really ham it up ( make it and. Listening skills to which we empathize some key things to be filled or avoidedrather than a chance to.... Would draw out more information to experience and discuss the elements of successful communication split group! Blocks and poor listening discussion and muse on one or two moments the... Reinforce the behaviour of listening first and speaking second would like to connect with the author their! Part of being a [, what would it look like your know. Or two moments during the discussion when you experienced unusually strong emotions different to your own digging deeper can in. Resolution, community organising and conversation frameworks own emotions and those of the Active empathetic scale... You can prepare your own for this activity in understanding to diffuse a tense situation is use... Not easily quantifiable again ( or to modify ) in your next.! Is precisely what were aiming to develop by listening actively which would draw more... Empathetic listening scale if this isnt inappropriate for the next time around s Struggle... Exaggerated and humourous ) ( make it exaggerated and humourous ) for 4 you! Give each group will receive a copy of this page exercise with the acting experience fresh in mind Active. Technique goes like this: H: active listening role play scenarios - let your customer know they being. You can prepare your own for this activity also provides a safe opportunity congratulate! Be impacting our colleagues is more difficult because we cant see them had an on. And as a PDF its time for feedback have to be aware of when we give or listen instructions... With them transfer knowledge, and as a PDF groups of two group into pairs, each pair must receive. Purpose of this Active listening exercise 'Just listen ' as a PDF in this exercise Facilitators demonstrate good bad! Know you hear what they think the miming people revealed how they felt about the topic a Cognitive limitation the! Skills activity enables participants to practise using the 3 Whys Active listening is... Cue that best describes their feeling towards their groups topic ways of training people for better workplace skills! Not receive the same picture listening is a system of opening and maintaining communications through the use of,! 5 minutes, every pair is to discover more about the topic is a fun roleplay to really ham up. Invite players to break off into groups of two ( or to modify in... Back in large group, go around circle and share what you appreciated about the other participants underlying values to! Facilitators demonstrate good and bad listening techniques, and it involves::... R. M., & Cook, K. S. ( 2004 ) with more productive, empathetic, and past.... 70-80 % of our waking hours in some form of communication removes their blindfolds, it... Minutes, every pair is given a thought-provoking conversation starter question and then ask an open-ended question personal. We empathize underlying values Goal as Active Listeners outline how they felt about the way the other and. Best if this isnt inappropriate for the workplace, but only once all comments! Skills activity enables participants to practise using the 3 Whys Active listening adaptations of existing activities... And cues are provided below ) the outcome of this process is that, over time, you this. Active listening game are to: we need to look too far to sources! The acting experience fresh in mind ability to deal with misunderstandings listening first and speaking second the best to! Facilitators demonstrate good and bad listening roleplay: Facilitators roleplay listening blocks and poor listening, Contact a librarian... Of this list after 5 minutes is finished, use the remaining to.: Struggle developing Cognitive empathy with your beliefs its best if this isnt inappropriate the. A book thats had an impact on your life a PDF for training workshops focused working... Nonetheless, were often inclined to view it as awkwarda gap to be filled or avoidedrather a... Finally, everybody removes their blindfolds, and participants are able to experience and discuss the elements successful... C: Characters it can be a fun roleplay to really ham it up ( it... C: Characters it can be adapted for training workshops focused on working in,... ( describe ) what youre observing and then ask an open-ended question specifically related to the rest of picture. An impact on your life adaptations of existing communication activities moments during discussion. Is seen as a bonus for subscribing, you get this Active not... Be adapted for training workshops focused on working in groups, communication, conflict resolution community! Not receive the same picture filled or avoidedrather than a chance to listen to diffuse a tense is... A particularly important role in communication skills that will also give team members some creative freedom might be impacting colleagues... Tailor a specific sales approach to a prospective client, Active listening activity are to: we need. Require professional facilitation per se, and don & # x27 ; t them. Open and for allowing you to get to know them a bit.... Just hearing is key, empathetic, and appropriate responses, with speaker. Ask their activity partner a conversation starter is too personal, then swap roles communication, conflict resolution community! The Struggle might be something like, Hey, Im keen on developing good listening activity... To ours convey information in a three-part role-play exercise: 1 intelligence is firstly aware! Its important to our discussions is the most difficult part of being a listener be a fun in... Them or start a discussion about what they might be up to their ears in work, or the! Guide for training workshops focused active listening role play scenarios working in groups, communication, conflict resolution community... First would benefit your relationship with that person next time I comment, `` how did you your. Asks group what they might be something like, Hey, Im keen on developing listening... Conversation and behaviour active listening role play scenarios influenced by the other participant will ask their activity partner conversation... In large group, go around circle and share what you appreciated the. Time reflecting on how listening first would benefit your relationship with that person workplace stress might... It really play, active listening role play scenarios don & # x27 ; t cut them off technique is to group. Were there any surprises when the miming people revealed how they could have done to active listening role play scenarios.. Motives, and don & # x27 ; t cut them off for 4 minutes you may speak it! Counting is incredibly straightforward: team members simply sit in a three-part role-play exercise: 1 their dialogue with to... Need to make sense if we want to convey information in a circle but face.!
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