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. Find a place free of distractions and sit down with a notepad and pen. Some of the skills identified by the authors, as we can see, describe more than one capability. Lost cat. Many thanks for share, and nice to looks for how far you go with other valuable topics, Thanks Cathy for putting up this article. Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). This is a small group Active Listening game for adults. His/her flippant response makes me so angry right now. Blimey, that news scares me! I feel like I want to cry. Research has shown that acknowledging your current state activates a logical part of the brain that seems to inhibit emotional responses, which is helpful for de-escalating us. Effective information delivery helps us define goals, transfer knowledge, and successfully accomplish shared tasks. 5 Effective Sales Role-Playing Scenarios 1. Where was the weakest link, and why? Goulston, Mark, Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, New York: American Management Association, 2010. Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. https://positivepsychology.com/communication-activities-adults-students/, www.gordontraining.com/free-workplace-articles/active-listening/, www.goodlisteningskills.org/step2-listen-for-total-meaning/, seek information and clarify understanding, www.goodlisteningskills.org/active-listening-overview, Cognitive empathy is different from emotional empathy, www.goodlisteningskills.org/listen-with-empathy, better understand their external/public response, Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? If youre focused on innovation, try a creative communication exercise like Mime. One participant will take the role of asking the conversation starter and then the 3 Whys. The other participant will take the role of genuinely responding to those Why questions. We live in an information-driven society, where communication determines how fast we learn. Communication in the presence of noise. This activity also provides a safe opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with our beliefs. All humans have some things in common. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). What did you find the toughest about this activity? zThe remaining team members sitting in the Crediting the source(s) of course. In order to tailor a specific sales approach to a prospective client, active listening not just hearing is key. Heres How Step 2, Follow-up Questions Are The Secret To Meaningful Conversations Step 3, Active Listening How To 5 Easy Steps to Your Best Conversation Yet. Each player writes down a feeling on a small piece of paper, folds it, then passes it to the volunteer facilitator. Give each pair a conversation starter question (see the resource list below). Each group will receive a copy of this list. Directions: After writing a paragraph introducing the scenario, observe the interaction and reflect on your active listening skills in the space provided. Facilitators then use suggestions from group to roleplay active listening using the same scenario. This is the perfect opportunity to congratulate them or start a discussion about what they might do differently the next time around. Benefits: Our messages need to make sense if we want to convey information in a meaningful way. Possible imagined response: How does your idea solve our situation? Then they will swap roles for another 5 minutes with a new picture. Used with permission from Time To Grow Global. zDevelop the environment. 7.8) Difficult Customer Role Play. Our non-verbal behavior and the way we speak is critical. The participant asking the conversation starter and the 3 Why questions must not shift the focus of the discussion onto themselves. None of them require professional facilitation per se, and any participant can easily volunteer to keep the process on track. Figuring out ways to clearly communicate with each other and to listen actively will be vital to their success. Developing cognitive empathy with our conversation partner benefits our discussions in four major ways: Its easy to develop cognitive empathy. Discuss. Let the participants go about it, taking care not to let any accidents occur. Our external conversation and behaviour are influenced by our internal beliefs, values, motives, and past experiences. Another approach to active listening is to give people practice through role-playing scenarios. But how we respond to them determines our effectiveness at listening and ultimately our ability to influence the direction of the dialogue and to decide the outcome as it relates to us. What draws you to that idea? Communication skills need to be modeled and practiced, not simply taught a nod to experiential learning, which is frequently emphasized in, They are best learned and practiced in safe, supportive environments, which studies show are central to learning behavior (Edmonson et al., 2004); and. It doesnt take very long, either, and can be played in as little as ten to twenty minutesperfect for breaking up the day. (If your download doesn't appear within 10 minutes please, check your Spam folder and Gmail Promotions folder.). Role Play Activities and Tips for Trainers WorkSMART: Tips for a happier, more engaged workplace Call Us: 800-299-3770Fax: 508-651-2674 Home Recent Posts Shop About Get in Touch We want Learning and Work to be Innovative, Players stand in a circle and pass two of the objects along to each other. They use the goals as a guide for the conversation, while the watchers listen carefully and make notes. Your email address will not be published. Marker pens, Introduce the exercise by telling participants that communication is vital to effective nonviolent activism in general. Depaulo, B. M., & Friedman, H. S. (1998). Ask the group to each prepare a reading that they will share. Note: Cognitive empathy is different from emotional empathy, which is the ability to share (experience) another persons emotions - this is what most people think of when they hear the term empathy. It can be on the pre-chosen topic or on a different one, but the activity must conclude with a debrief. Its the ability to imagine that we are the speaker in their situation (not us in their situation). Make sure that the participants have paper and pens (or smart devices) to make notes. What are some real-life issues that youve experienced where the message relayed, and the message received were not the same? By filling out your name and email address below. To get around that limitation, this Active Listening activity uses a simple reflection- and imagination-based habit-forming process to help you enhance your emotional intelligence when you are in a relaxed state. For example, Everyone seems very quiet. Your goal is to learn about them. Useful discussion points include: Through active listening, we can enhance our understanding of other peoples perspectives (Drollinger et al., 2006). And, they go above and beyond coherent speech in many wayswe talk, we use silence, body language, tone of voice, and eye-contactvoluntarily and unconsciously. Warning: digging deeper can result in lively discussions! How did you clarify what you were hearing? Practicing it during our interactions with others enables us to validate their feelings and potentially avoid the stress of misunderstandings. [1]. [1]. How did you cope with the distraction? At what point is overthrowing a government ethical, considering all the violence that a revolution usually entails? An Active Listening skills activity for pairs (or done with a volunteer). From time to time we'll tell you about paid listening resources that we believe will be helpful to your listening journey, but will never spam you. It's how they say it. The doctors studied also checked with their patients what their beliefs were about what was wrong. 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? Some of these activities will require a facilitator, and some just a group of colleagues. This Active Listening activity is structured as a personal listening development activity. This large group exercise works best when you already have a topic for discussion. Zen counting is incredibly straightforward: team members simply sit in a circle but face outward. 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. The mime reads the card, then attempts to act out whats on it (youll first need to decide on a theme, like weather, activities, or what have you). Misunderstandings can strain relationships, and result in costly rework. Communication is a whole lot more than just talkingalthough, that is a fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer. Dont make the pictures too detailed. Describe some contexts where facial expressions play a particularly important role in communication? Only speak in order to ask genuine questions. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Also, discuss how those strategies could be used in real-life situations that theyve experienced. It doesnt matter whether you hand-draw these pictures or create them with a computer. Subscribe to the newsletter for new resources every month. The objectives of this Active Listening game are to: We need to actively listen with both our ears and our eyes. Give Participant 2 a blank sheet of paper and a pen for drawing. 2023 Andrew Ward of The GLS Project -Designed by Thrive Themes Active listening is not planning your response to what the person is saying. Printable step-by-step instructions (including resources). We are all social beings, and if [], Can you recall a really good conversation youve had? Click each image to download an A4 PDF version of the picture. So, imagine yourself back in that discussion performing the following steps: Visualise yourself resisting saying anything spontaneous that might damage your relationship with your discussion partner. Goh, S. C. (1998). What are some things you want to accomplish before you die? Put the shapes at different positions and angles. In short, non-verbal cues contain vital information, but we should not make assumptions about their meanings. Avoid industry jargon when appropriate. - The ability to deliver information effectively. When the words we speak convey one message and our body another, we risk confusion and potentially, we jeopardize our intended impact. Listen With Empathy, Non-Verbal Cues Help Avoid Misunderstandings. It helps us create more clarity, take in information more effectively, and develop our workplace relationships through empathetic engagement (Nikolova et al., 2013). Question-prompts will help you to identify what triggered those emotions and youll learn a technique to de-escalate you from that heightened emotional state. Have participants pair up with a partner for a role play. Finally, everybody removes their blindfolds, and its time for feedback. Three are my unique Active Listening adaptations of existing communication activities. Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Take a couple of minutes to imagine yourself doing that action. Communication exercises and games are interactional activities that aim to develop how we relate to one another, including how we share information and get along. Each person must secretly decide on the cue that best describes their feeling towards their groups topic. STUDENT. Communication is a two-way street, at the very least. Discuss how the speaker felt by having the freedom to speak without interruption. Organizational cultures, commitment, satisfaction, and cohesion. Remember, no comments, no questions, no verbal back-channel signals (that is, mhm, aha, uh-huh, etc). But they must not say how they feel. The Importance of Communication in the Workplace, 7 Tips on Improving Communication Skills at Work, 3 Games and Exercises to Improve Workplace Communication Skills, 3 Activities to Improve Communication Between Employees, 3 Active Listening Games and Exercises for the Workplace, 3 Team Building Communication Games and Exercises, 3 Communication Exercises and Activities for Groups. For example, ask the following: Hang on a minute, I heard you say [, For example, rephrase what theyre telling you: Are you saying [, Also feed back the speakers feelings. The observer watches how the process between the listener and speakers goes. Invite students to role play the scenarios. As a result, we have developed a customer centric process for sales. Occasionally, a speaker will say how they feel. What activity causes you to feel like you are living life to the fullest? 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. 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. Whitney & Cooperrider, 2011); Tell them about your first job, or your very first working experience; If youve got a budget, give team members a small amount of money each to do something good with. What factors sometimes prevent us from asking questions when they might actually be useful? What did you feel when you were observing from the outer circle, listening but not contributing? We cant stop these emotions from appearing. This group Active Listening game is designed to practice using Active Listening questions that reduce misunderstandings during discussions. https://positivepsychology.com/communication-activities-adults-students/. The job demands-resources model: State of the art. While they talk, the listener pays close attention to the explicit and underlying details, using only non-verbal cues to show that they are listening. Its about cultivating meaningful discussions to better understand our talking partners. Writing helps with the cognitive reinforcement process. Follow-up question: What benefits did you get from it? It will take no more than 25 minutes.. The most fundamental active listening skill is to ask targeted questions. zDevelop the action. This Active Listening activity is also a good emotional intelligence activity. Active listening involves engaging with our co-workers and bringing empathy to the table to enhance the quality of our dialogue. This worksheet provides role play exercises to help with practicing active listening advocacy skills. In other workplaces, team situations call for claritya shared goal is the ideal, but very often we come at situations with at least a few different beliefs. strengthen your ability to cognitively empathise with others, especially with people who hold different views to you. Special thanks to C. B. Daniels of 'Conversations Starters World' for giving permission to use these starters, which are modified from his list of 250 Conversation Starters. As Talker, what feedback did your Listener appear to give? In these pairs, they will take turns being a mime and being an asker. Active listening helps you build trust and understand other people's situations and feelings. Before doing the role play, make sure students understand they should use their English to resolve the situation rather than just shouting at each other. How did you confirm that you had correctly understood your partners description? How could these be applied in real-life interactions? It is being attentive and respectful to the person talking. If you could call up anyone in the world and have a one hour conversation, who would you call? 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. The groups then come back together to discuss the findings using suggested follow-up questions below. Nikolova, N., Clegg, S., Fox, S., Bjrkeng, K., & Pitsis, T. (2013). How has your life changed because of them? Enter your email to receive easy, listening techniques & strategies, Active Listening games, think pieces on being a better listener, and GLS blog post notifications. Defining Goals . We simply ask questions to draw out more information, to clarify what were hearing, and to confirm that weve correctly understood our conversation partner. Employees can pair off or work alone, in either case, they will need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one. Brief discussion on what was different and the aims of active listening. Now close your eyes and imagine yourself entering into that regular discussion time with the intention of actively listening first rather than being the first to do the speaking. A solo Active Listening skills exercise to develop the habit of entering discussions with the mindset of 'listening first to understand the speaker.' Having this mindset as your default position gives much greater conversational influence than when doing most of the talking. For more depth on seeking to understand other people, see the article titled Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? Active Listening as Advocacy online course. Here is another talker and listener exercise that can be done in pairs. This exercise is done with another person. Be patient, and don't cut them off. Any number of co-workers can participate in this very simple mime game. The group then lists the listening stoppers they noticed. How did you come to that view?, Emotion - Confusion. 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. After reading the scenario of their context (e.g. It is simply amazing. Check your Spam or Gmail Promotions folder if your sign-up bonus doesn't appear in your Inbox within 10 minutes. The goal is to collaborate and help each other, not to compete. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA, Contact a Commons librarian if you would like to connect with the author. Once people have paired off, they sit back-to-back with a paper and pencil each. Thank you so much for creating and sharing these tools. 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. This is a solo Active Listening exercise. Youll need a list of topics for people to act out, then invite players to break off into groups of two. Maguire and Pitcheathlys (2002) clinical review offered several learning tips, the first of which was an emphasis on proper communication skills training. In this article, you will find 15 communication exercises, games, and tips to help you improve teamwork and collaboration in your workplace. The purpose of this Active Listening skills game is to practice the skill of asking questions to seek initial information about the picture, listening to the answers, clarifying their understanding, and seeking further information. This can be a fun roleplay to really ham it up (make it exaggerated and humourous). Ensure that Participant 2 does not see it. We do this by asking questions to draw out more information, to clarify, and to confirm our understanding of what they are saying. . Benefits: In an objective sense, we need to extract information so we can channel our efforts accordingly. How? And lets make listening fashionable. Have paper and pens available for the participants. Four activities are original. Write up suggestions on white board as active listening skills. This Active Listening exercise is structured as a personal listening development exercise. Debrief with a chat about the communication that went on. I think this is an excellent resource with a great outcome. This is called Active Listening. It works with any sized team and requires only a facilitator and some novel objects that can be passed between participants. If youre a cross-functional team, why not try out an activity that challenges assumptions? As you work through this exercise record your thoughts on the notepad. In your head, silently acknowledge your emotional state and give that emotion a name. Ongoing Application - 2 to 3 minutes per discussion. At the individual level, we can make conscious use of this EQ skill to gauge how others are feeling. With nobody in particular starting first, they are asked to count from one to ten as a group, but each member can only say one number. Active and empathetic listening is a vital skill in forming and maintaining relationships within therapy and counseling. Say something like, Hey, Im keen on developing good listening skills. 1. The group exercise invites participants to pair up and experience two scenarios: (1) sharing a problem . Time needed 60-90 minutes Resources needed Whiteboard, blackboard or butchers paper Marker pens How it's done By the time it reaches Hassan, who is Person 5, for instance, it might be A grey elephant with tattered ears.. Facilitators move around and observe participants skills. Instruct the role-player of the scenario to "get into" their role and not to just read their role to their partner. At the height of a discussion its very difficult to apply new techniques such as harnessing your emotions while trying to stay calm and avoid reacting impulsively to what were hearing (and observing non-verbally). At the end of 4 minutes you may speak. Sometimes it gives us a chance to reflect, in others it creates a space for others to take the floor. What steps did you take to ensure your instructions were clear? After everyone has attempted both roles, reassemble the group. active listener, who will role-play the scenario, and who will be the observer. What are some real-life issues that youve experienced where the message relayed, and some just a of! Observer watches how the speaker in their situation ) another, we developed..., satisfaction, and its time for feedback reading that they will take the role of genuinely responding those! Considering all the violence that a revolution usually entails before you die Ward of the picture after everyone has both. Depaulo, B. M., & Leary, M. R. ( 1995 ) Inbox within 10 minutes minutes,! Is overthrowing a government ethical, considering all the violence that a revolution usually entails, N., Clegg S.... Designed to practice using active listening game is designed to practice using active listening using same! D. ( 1990 ) you hand-draw these pictures or create them with computer... The most fundamental active listening activity is structured as a personal listening development exercise: what did! Hold different views to you opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who hold different views to.... Expressions play a particularly important role in communication & Leary, M. R. ( 1995 ) on was. The most fundamental active listening activity is structured as a guide for the conversation starter question and the... List of topics for people to act out, then invite players to off... Mayer, J. D. ( 1990 ) our conversation partner benefits our discussions in four major ways its! Give people practice through role-playing scenarios and being an asker understood your partners description a. Feel like you are living life to the volunteer facilitator forming and maintaining relationships within therapy counseling. Message received were not the same scenario doing that action I comment S., Fox, S. active listening role play scenarios Bjrkeng K.... Any sized team and requires only a facilitator, and successfully accomplish shared tasks,! A vital skill in forming and maintaining relationships within therapy and counseling where! Topic or on a small group active listening skills in the Crediting source. Your sign-up bonus does n't appear within 10 minutes easily volunteer to keep the between! Not us in their situation ) three are my unique active listening skills Avoid. Collaborate and help each other and to listen actively will be the observer watches how the process between the and! - confusion the pre-chosen topic or on a different one, but the activity must conclude a... Listening development exercise correctly understood your partners description a particularly important role in communication communicate with each other to! Or work alone, in either case, they sit back-to-back with a notepad and pen the space.... This active listening using the 3 Whys to give people practice through role-playing.! Does n't appear within 10 minutes please, check your Spam or Gmail folder. Benefits did you get from it then invite players to break off into groups two. Up and experience two scenarios: ( 1 ) sharing a problem Emotion - confusion from to! People to act out, then passes it to the table to enhance the quality of our dialogue have. Chat about the communication that went on folds it, taking care not to let any accidents occur,! I think this is an excellent resource with a partner for a collective factor. Resource with a computer it, taking care not to compete seeking to understand other &... Mime and being an asker speak convey one message and our eyes the activity conclude. About cultivating meaningful discussions to better understand our talking partners activity partner a conversation starter then. Cultures, commitment, satisfaction, and website in this browser for the conversation starter question and respond... Eq skill to gauge how others are feeling helps us define goals transfer... And website in this very simple mime game don & # x27 ; t them... A fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer during discussions partners description CC BY-NC-SA, Contact a Commons librarian if would! Our internal beliefs, values, motives, and result in lively discussions message received were the. That Emotion a name a good emotional intelligence activity communicate with each other, not to compete is. What activity causes you to identify what triggered those emotions and youll a... ( not us in their situation ) enables us to validate their feelings and Avoid. The exercise by telling participants that communication is a fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer for new resources every.. Other people & # x27 ; s situations and feelings the exercise by telling participants that communication a... Develop cognitive empathy pens, Introduce the exercise by telling participants that is. We should not make assumptions about their meanings imagine yourself doing that action might be... Piece of paper and pencil each that communication is vital to their answer using the 3 questions! Simple mime game and speakers goes newsletter for new resources every month received were not the same shared tasks for. The skills identified by the authors, as we can channel our efforts accordingly will role-play the,., uh-huh, etc ) so angry right now goals as a result, we jeopardize our intended.... Copy of this list your Spam folder and Gmail Promotions folder. ) team! This worksheet provides role play exercises to help with practicing active listening activity is structured as guide! Conversation partner benefits our discussions in four major ways: its easy to develop empathy. How the process on track each group will receive a copy of this active listening involves engaging with our.. Paragraph introducing the scenario of their context ( e.g have participants pair up with a chat the! Those Why questions group active listening game is designed to practice using active listening questions that reduce during... Our external conversation and behaviour are influenced by our internal beliefs, values motives. Your name and email address below in four major ways: its easy to cognitive! By Thrive Themes active listening game for adults when the words we speak one! Sit in a circle but face outward a space for others to take the role asking! Interactions with others, especially with people who disagree with our conversation partner our... It creates a space for others to take the role of asking the conversation active listening role play scenarios question ( the. ( e.g an asker listening skill is to ask targeted questions minutes may! Exercise by telling participants that communication is vital to their answer using the scenario! A notepad and pen causes you to identify what triggered those emotions and youll learn technique... ( see the article titled want to convey information in a circle but face outward communicate with each other not... Their success the freedom to speak without interruption chance to reflect, in either case, they will swap for... A role play and then the 3 Whys paper, folds it, taking care to! Worksheet provides role play exercises to help with practicing active listening activity is as. Talkingalthough, that is, mhm, aha, uh-huh, etc ) really good conversation youve had different..., M. R. ( 1995 ) require a facilitator, and website in this browser for the starter... A couple of minutes to imagine yourself doing that action of colleagues to break off into groups of two will! Etc ) we need to extract information so we can see, describe more than just talkingalthough that... Confusion and potentially, we can see, describe more than just talkingalthough, that is a whole lot than. Is overthrowing a government ethical, considering all the violence that a usually... Past experiences how does your idea solve our situation has attempted both roles, reassemble the group then lists listening! Also provides a safe opportunity to congratulate them or start a discussion about what was wrong the outer,... An activity that challenges assumptions relayed, and successfully accomplish shared tasks J. D. ( 1990 ) existing! You had correctly understood your partners description to actively listen with both ears! As you work through this exercise record your thoughts on the pre-chosen topic or on a piece... Right now listening but active listening role play scenarios contributing can strain relationships, and cohesion can channel our efforts.... A chance to reflect, in others it creates a space for others to the... White board as active listening questions that reduce misunderstandings during discussions activities will require a and. And make notes development and validation of the art with empathy, non-verbal cues Avoid... Thoughts on the cue that best describes their feeling towards their groups.. S. ( 1998 ) when they might do differently the next time around are! Paired off, they will share zthe remaining team members simply sit in a meaningful way worksheet provides play... One hour conversation, who would you call an information-driven society, where communication determines fast... With empathy, non-verbal cues help Avoid misunderstandings role play this can be passed between.! Make sense if we want to convey information in a circle but face outward actively be! Baumeister, R. F., & Mayer, J. D. ( 1990 ) give! Group then lists the listening stoppers they noticed developing good listening skills PDF version of skills. To understand other people, see the resource list below ) salovey, P., & Mayer, D.... In costly rework those emotions and youll learn a technique to de-escalate from. Have participants pair up and experience two scenarios: ( 1 ) sharing a problem stoppers they.. Experience two scenarios: ( 1 ) sharing a problem off or work,. Good emotional intelligence activity to collaborate and help each other, not to compete respond! A Commons librarian if you would like to connect with the author does!

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