How? Sometimes it gives us a chance to reflect, in others it creates a space for others to take the floor. Over time, this reflection process will help heighten your awareness of emotions to the point that you can automatically manage and harness them as they surface in order to listen more effectively. Each group will receive a copy of this list. But Active Listening isnt about having safe, comfortable conversations with people who agree with us. Armed with their handouts, talkers begin to engage with the topic. Debrief with a chat about the communication that went on. The objectives of this Active Listening game are to: We need to actively listen with both our ears and our eyes. Each person must secretly decide on the cue that best describes their feeling towards their groups topic. In a large group of participants or employees, particularly, we often need to cut through the noise with a clear and coherent messageand this game can be played with even a large group of people. Initiate the discussion by asking something like, Hey [Joe, Joline], I was wondering if youd mind telling me a bit more about what your [veganism, political position, environmental convictions, religion] means for you. Once youve got a clear mental image of listening actively, reflect on the following questions: How would your relationship with that person(s) change if you regularly listened first? And this understanding is precisely what were aiming to develop by listening actively. Its the ability to imagine that we are the speaker in their situation (not us in their situation). What are some practical steps that you can take now in order to start doing them? zDevelop the environment. Its best if this isnt inappropriate for the workplace, but at the same time, it doesnt have to be work-related. 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. Decide on one listening action to do again (or to modify) in your next discussion. 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. 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. Using empathy as a smokescreen for evangelism is manipulative and deceitful. Split the group into pairs and have each pair sit with their backs to each other. Deadlines, role boundaries, budgets, and the why, how, what of tasks. Why was it important to make the decisions together? One object should be passed clockwise, and the other counter-clockwise. As the discussion progressed, how did your growing understanding of the other persons perspective influence the discussion? We each have unique experiences, competencies, and viewpoints, the way we collaborate inevitably decides whether we synergize or fall flat. Depaulo, B. M., & Friedman, H. S. (1998). In what ways can facial expressions influence our ability to deal with misunderstandings? We are all social beings, and if [], Can you recall a really good conversation youve had? Share what it felt like to not be able to ask questions when you heard something that needed clarifying or heard something you wanted to know more about. Active and empathetic listening is a vital skill in forming and maintaining relationships within therapy and counseling. After that 5 minutes is finished, use the remaining time to have a follow-up discussion. Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. I too would like to be able to utilize them as a resource for my workshop. 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?". Finally, think about the next time youll meet that person(s) for your regular discussion. If you could be the CEO of any company, what company would you choose? Together or solo, they can create I statements about how the imaginary scenario makes them feel. Dont interrupt or try to share your beliefs. . Cooperation and collaboration underpin how we work together, and done brilliantly, can determine our competitive advantage. Why?! Once both Participants 1 and 2 have attempted to draw a picture, the group will reassemble to discuss the difficulties of communicating with each other and to discuss Active Listening strategies that they could use to overcome those difficulties. Use the discussion points below. Put even more simply, we make work a nicer place to be while avoiding unnecessary conflict. Here are some targeted questions that you could ask: How do you live out your convictions day-to-day? This exercise from the team at MindTools is a good way to help participants develop more empathy, consider other perspectives, build their communication and negotiation skills. Then call everyone back together to debrief this Active Listening game - see below. How did you come to that view?, Emotion - Confusion. Misunderstandings can strain relationships, and result in costly rework. Storytelling is an engaging way to convey information; when its positive information, narratives are also highly effective means of motivating and inspiring others (Tomasulo & Pawelski, 2012). They showed that they understood how their patients were feeling to relate at an interpersonal level; where they didnt know, they at least made a stab at empathizing through educated guesses. This activity also provides a safe opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with our beliefs. Just listen in silence and try to understand the speaker. Our intended messages arent always interpreted as we mean them to be. Recognising and Interpreting Non-Verbal Cues. You'll find a growing collection of exercises, articles and online training courses about good listening skills, which will help you in your listening journey. A facial expression that conveys an emotion. The participant asking the conversation starter and the 3 Why questions must not shift the focus of the discussion onto themselves. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/blog/silence-the-secret-communication-tool/. 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. Swap roles. Who is the most successful person that you know personally? What are some key things to be aware of when we give or listen to instructions? This small group Active Listening game helps participants to heighten their awareness of these non-verbal cues displayed by speakers. After the 5-minute timer ends, give the pairs a couple of minutes to compare this second drawing with the original. Benefits: As discussed, information delivery is crucial, but our focus here is opening up discussions. To really grasp how big of an impact it has, we can touch on some of the theory. E: Empathize - Having empathy in business pays off in all relationshipspractice understanding and compassion when listening to your customer's grievances. This is a small group Active Listening game for adults. Each group will receive one topic. Emotional intelligence is firstly being aware of our own emotions and those of the speaker. I think this is an excellent resource with a great outcome. How did you confirm that you had correctly understood your partners description? Help put resources in the hands of change makers. Give each group one conversation topic and a copy of the list of non-verbal cues. Goh, S. C. (1998). That is, the Blindfold Rope Square exercise challenges us to look at how we communicate verbally, then think about ways to develop our effectiveness. Head over to, This exercise was originally published in the article '7 Unique Active Listening Games, Exercises and Activities for Adults' by Andrew G. Ward, at. This can show what happens when we dont. At the end of 5 minutes, give Participants 1 and 2 two minutes to compare Participant 2s drawing with the original picture. Find more information on the exercise here. How effectively did you understand your partners descriptions of their picture? At what point is overthrowing a government ethical, considering all the violence that a revolution usually entails? When done in pairs, they can practice giving each other feedback on meaning what you say without triggering defensiveness in the other. They outline how they could improve their dialogue with regard to active listening, then swap roles. Each pair is given a thought-provoking conversation starter (see Resource section below). How much were you influenced by the other pairs? It doesnt take very long, either, and can be played in as little as ten to twenty minutesperfect for breaking up the day. Finally, everybody removes their blindfolds, and its time for feedback. Here are some tips to help make your conversation productive: After having that conversation, come back to this Active Listening activity. What other thoughts and insights do you have about this technique? Listen With Empathy,, This activity was originally published in the article '7 Unique Active Listening Games, Exercises and Activities for Adults' by Andrew G. Ward, at, Understanding a person's core beliefs and values helps us to understand the topic from the other persons perspective. In medical professions, its particularly critical not just to extract and interpret informationoften, from conversation partners who lack crucial information themselvesbut to convey it empathetically and with clarity. While listening, answer in your own mind, questions such as: What aspects of the speaker's message most interest them?, What is the main theme(s) of their message?, What are the key takeaways from the speakers message?. For example, happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, indifference, boredom, nervousness, confusion, feeling of guilt. In what ways did players support each other? 2023 Andrew Ward of The GLS Project -Designed by Thrive Themes
First, pick a game with enough instructions that the information is a challenge to memorize. How did you utilise the 2-minute collaboration pause? It enables us to navigate to a place of common understanding (and hopefully agreement if decisions are required). Only speak in order to ask genuine questions. Possible imagined response: explore the situation. What draws you to that idea? STUDENT. Each group will receive one conversation topic and a list of non-verbal cues (lists of topics and cues are provided below). B., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Taris, T. W. (2008). The authors described several key communication skills as follows: Swap patients with clients, co-workers, managers, and so forth, and we can see that this is readily applicable in many other work situations. During the 5 minutes, Participant 2 must draw the picture that Participant 1 is holding. When we do this, listening can become a bit of an afterthought. [2]. In the book mentioned below, there are also hand-outs, but you can prepare your own for this activity. 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. The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Just take a couple of minutes to identify what triggered any strong emotions, and to think of how you could have harnessed them. 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. Our external conversation and behaviour are influenced by our internal beliefs, values, motives, and past experiences. An Active Listening skills activity for pairs (or done with a volunteer). Name things that you noticed they did well. Practicing it during our interactions with others enables us to validate their feelings and potentially avoid the stress of misunderstandings. This technique is useful for quickly going deeper in discussions when you need to better understand why a person has expressed a view that is different from your own. This approach means engaging in a three-part role-play exercise: 1. Potential discussion questions will help you unpack this further: This exercise from The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games is about self-awareness. In this article, you will find 15 communication exercises, games, and tips to help you improve teamwork and collaboration in your workplace. 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. After theyve pitched the ideal vacation spot in the space of a few minutes, the pair discuss how accurately the listener understood the talker. Why did it capture you? To use the structure as an exercise, participants simply relate a narrative using CCSG. If your mind was an island, what would it look like? Follow-up question: In addition to repeating back, what other techniques could you use to confirm your understanding? Typically, we dont freely share our internal beliefs with others. Tell the group what your dreams are as a team member, for the company, or for the community (e.g. This exercise introduces I statements, which describe others behavior objectively while allowing the speaker to express the impact on their feelings. Is now the best possible time to ask them for help on a task? What do you do? strengthen your active listening skill of asking questions to collect more information, to clarify what youre hearing, and to confirm your understanding. After 5 minutes, every pair is to compare the drawing with their original and briefly discuss what did and didnt work. Discuss the difficulties of communicating with each other and discuss Active Listening strategies that they could use to overcome those difficulties. And here, we have only one link rather than an entire chain of people. Also, share your own exercises, activities and games that develop specific Active Listening techniques and skills. In large organizations especially, we may only bring a part of ourselves to the workplace. Have a friendly conversation with an acquaintance or friend whose religious beliefs are different to your own. Built with love in the Netherlands. Weger Jr, H., Castle Bell, G., Minei, E. M., & Robinson, M. C. (2014). Shannon, C. E. (1998). Smith, K. (2018). Active listening helps you build trust and understand other people's situations and feelings. 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. The outcome of this process is that, over time, you will begin to automatically listen by default. The partners are a team and not competing with each other or with the other pairs. What feelings do we understand the easiest, when only facial expressions are used? Communication in the presence of noise. But while listening, were actively seeking to understand the speakers perspective on the discussion topic. The group is split into pairs. In your head, silently acknowledge your emotional state and give that emotion a name. Its about cultivating meaningful discussions to better understand our talking partners. Who had the biggest impact on the person you have become? Think of a specific, regular discussion time that youre involved in. It can be adapted for training workshops by splitting participants into pairs. Nothing else is said. A Talker Scenario will describe something like a bad day at work, or a problem with a client. So, enjoy! After having that discussion, come back to this Active Listening exercise and debrief the discussion using the following steps: If you regularly reflect on your listening efforts, youll begin to automatically listen more in your real-life discussions. 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. 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. Provide pairs of students with copies of Active listening scenarios (Activity Sheet B). Briefly reflect on what did and didnt work. 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. What kinds of questions could we ask the speaker to better understand a particular cue that we are observing? Start the timer for another 5 minutes and repeat the process of questioning, describing, and drawing. Popcorn Storytelling. The game is an Active Listening twist on the well-known 'Description' communication skills game. Inspired by the kids game Telephone, this exercise draws on different elements of effective communication between team members, while highlighting where things often go wrong. If their original conversation starter is too personal, then allow them to choose a different one. What could we do to better understand non-verbal cues that we observe? Write up suggestions on white board as active listening skills. That is, the ability to understand, explore and clarify what others are talking about, and to solicit more details if and when the situation requires it. They determined their perspectives before decision-making; in other settings, this is inviting participation and engagement. How has your rapport with the other person changed as a result of being genuinely interested in what they believe? Role-play. Give Participant 1 a simple picture. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. None of them require professional facilitation per se, and any participant can easily volunteer to keep the process on track. Instruct the role-player of the scenario to "get into" their role and not to just read their role to their partner. This is the skill of repeating what . Poor listening results in misunderstandings. For example, a vegan/vegetarian/meat-eater, an environmentalist, a liberal/conservative/socialist, a pro-abortion/pro-life campaigner, etc. Once people have paired off, they sit back-to-back with a paper and pencil each. This group Active Listening game is designed to practice using Active Listening questions that reduce misunderstandings during discussions. When the words we speak convey one message and our body another, we risk confusion and potentially, we jeopardize our intended impact. I've grouped the 20+ exercises into 5 categories: I. Then simply listen in order to understand the message that theyre trying to convey to you. Defining Goals . How effective was this technique? Give each group one of these topics, or use your own topics: Give each group a copy of this list. By empathizing, we not only build better relationships, but we show that we are available as key job resources social support for those around us to reduce the negative impacts of our job demands (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Then, they talk about the experience, using several of the following example questions: Defensiveness is a root cause of miscommunication and even conflict in the workplace. 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. With respect to the Replying role, what was it like to have someone ask you Why three times? When someone repeats or interrupts another group member, they start again from one. Imagine attending a communication workshop, in purely lecture format. Discuss anything else that impacted you both. What activity causes you to feel like you are living life to the fullest? Find someone willing to speak to you on a single topic of their choice for 4 minutes. However, often the better strategy is to enter each discussion with the goal of listening first. For this game, use the list of conversation topics and the list of non-verbal cues in the Resources section below. After the 3-minute vacation, the listener summarizes the key points of their conversation partners dream vacationas a holiday sales pitch. We hope you enjoyed reading this article. C: Conflict The most fundamental active listening skill is to ask targeted questions. Very insightful and interesting ways of training people for better workplace communication skills. 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. Become a great listener with subscriber-only content: GLS blog post notifications, listening techniques, Active Listening exercises, think pieces on being a better listener, and paid offers to help your listening journey. 1. Can you help? Repeatedly perform these debrief/reflection steps after your regular discussions to reinforce the mindset of being a listener. When your thinking is clouded by an emotion, you must first de-escalate yourself before you can harness that emotion. Once everyone has finished writing, the acting person can then disclose their cue to the group and take 30 seconds to explain why it reflects how they feel about the groups topic. Listening will become your default approach. In terms of uniqueness, the only rule is that Participants 1 and 2 in each pair must not receive the same picture. You will need a volunteer for this exercise. Dont make the pictures too detailed. As well as identifying key communication deficits and their root causes, these included several that relate to our knowledge of positive psychology and communication. How did they cope? Dont forget to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free. Recall a recent, important discussion and muse on one or two moments during the discussion when you experienced unusually strong emotions. The idea is for the partners to communicate clearly in order to help each other accurately redraw the picture, without showing it or cheating in some other way. It reduces the possibility of us misunderstanding them. Have your volunteer choose a topic (use a conversation starter if needed). 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. Make role-play activities more fun and effective for facilitators and players with this assortment of tips and exercises. 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