Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. 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. Used with permission from Time To Grow Global. Why was it important to make the decisions together? zThe remaining team members sitting in the Possible imagined response: explore the situation. For example, happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, indifference, boredom, nervousness, confusion, feeling of guilt. Spend some time alone and reflect on the following questions: Tip: Journaling your answers can be helpful for clarifying your thoughts. Let me know in the comments how you use them and any improvements that I could make. Steps to Building Role Play Scenarios zDefine where you want to end. Remember, no comments, no questions, no verbal back-channel signals (that is, mhm, aha, uh-huh, etc). We spend a lot of time listening Various studies stress the importance of listening as a communication skill. What value do questioning skills have when were trying to understand others? . You will need about ten meters of rope and a safe place for employees to walk around blindfolded in. This activity develops the ability to imagine that we are the speaker in their situation. How effective was this technique? In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.). These interpersonal and team communication games cover topics such as misinterpreting information, awareness of our assumptions and engaging others. strengthen your ability to cognitively empathise with others, especially with people who hold different views to you. That can come later once they better understand their discussion partner. While the asker can pose questions, the mime can only act out their answers. listening and not solving the issue or problem. Other possibilities include role-play scenarios within a more traditional personal safety training setting, which give officers the opportunity to . [1]. Discuss anything else that impacted you both. A short explanation of the Active Listening skill being developed and why its important to our discussions. But active listening encourages pleasant social interactions, which in turn, these boost our well-being and life satisfaction (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). For example, an Atheist, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Sikh. B., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Taris, T. W. (2008). Doctors also described effective communication as being able to summarize what the patient/other had related to correct information and display understanding. Were not always ready to receive and learn from criticism, especially when its delivered insensitively. Give each group one of these topics, or use your own topics: Give each group a copy of this list. What are your thoughts regarding [. 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? https://positivepsychology.com/communication-activities-adults-students/. Employees can pair off or work alone, in either case, they will need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one. The listener uses effective listening and makes appropriate responses back to the speaker. But because the way we get along is so fundamental to organizational success and human flourishing, many more companies are focusing on the latter. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Describe a book thats had an impact on your life. How critical was communication throughout this exercise? Each group will receive a copy of this list. Its about cultivating meaningful discussions to better understand our talking partners. To use this technique, students act out skills after discussing them. Active listening. Your goal is to learn about them. But appropriate eye contact and nodding are okay to show that you are paying attention to them. Why?! Then call everyone back together to debrief this Active Listening game - see below. Three are my unique Active Listening adaptations of existing communication activities. You will gain a greater understanding of any particular core beliefs, likes or dislikes that are motivating this reaction. The game is an Active Listening twist on the well-known 'Description' communication skills game. Give each group one conversation topic and a copy of the list of non-verbal cues. Ask the group to each prepare a reading that they will share. Topics to speak on could include: Self-awareness is about recognizing one's own emotional tendencies and how they impact the customer. How could these be applied in real-life interactions? Listening will become your default approach. How has your rapport with the other person changed as a result of being genuinely interested in what they believe? When it comes to tasks and expectations, it goes without saying that clarity helps us avoid lots of unwanted things. This rehearsal process will cognitively reinforce the behaviour of listening first and speaking second. Thats provocative. For privacy information see the About page. What draws you to that idea? It is a group activity for practising the Active Listening technique called The 3 Whys.. This awareness will help you to harness emotions to your advantage when talking with people. Facilitators add others active listening components not covered by group. Here are four training activities, suggested by Caroline Cooper, that will help you to develop active listening in your contact centre. Dont forget to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free. Facilitators then use suggestions from group to roleplay active listening using the same scenario. You could give students a randomly selected scenario, such as one of the . Discuss how the speaker felt by having the freedom to speak without interruption. Find a place free of distractions and sit down with a notepad and pen. Typically, we dont freely share our internal beliefs with others. 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. Why did it capture you? After everyone has attempted both roles, reassemble the group. Writing helps with the cognitive reinforcement process. In a small paragraph, it should outline whats gone wrong (maybe its everything from a cracked smartphone screen to a delay during your commute). It only means keeping an open-mind and withholding judgement long enough to adequately understand the other persons perspective. This is the skill of repeating what . Unless its either terrible or completely absent. Nothing else is said. Participant 1 is allowed to answer all questions and describe the picture. 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. Debrief with a chat about the communication that went on. Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Otherwise, the idea is identicalinformation gets misinterpreted thanks to noise, but we can improve our verbal communication and listening skills to minimize this risk. Throughout the discussion, just listen. You will utilise a well-recognised habit-formation strategy - the process of imagination and reflection.' Stay focused on getting to know this person better. We all need air to breathe and water to stay alive. Active listening is not planning your response to what the person is saying. To enhance our influencing skills and the quality of our working relationships with others, it helps to practice being aware of your own non-verbal behaviors. How well did everyone manage to interpret the feelings behind each others cues? As you work through this exercise record your thoughts on the notepad. A lot of team situations are about creativity. Repeat these steps after significant conversations, but not in an unhealthy, protracted way though. It reduces the possibility of us misunderstanding them. Recognising and Interpreting Non-Verbal Cues. [2]. Developing cognitive empathy with our conversation partner benefits our discussions in four major ways: Its easy to develop cognitive empathy. Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. W. (2010). It also promotes collaboration. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). Think of a specific, regular discussion time that youre involved in. It can be on the pre-chosen topic or on a different one, but the activity must conclude with a debrief. How did you feel during the game? 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 relative effectiveness of active listening in initial interactions. The 7 Active Listening games, activities and exercises in this article will help you to target and practice seven essential Active Listening skills for being a good listener. At the end of 4 minutes you may speak. Have participants pair up with a partner for a role play. It is used a lot during inclusive strategy sessions, where diverse opinions are valuable but team size can hamper rather than facilitate good communication. Tell us if any of these are particularly useful, and let us know if youve got tweaks for this current set of activities. How? zDevelop the environment. 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. 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. 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. Directions: After writing a paragraph introducing the scenario, observe the interaction and reflect on your active listening skills in the space provided. An Active Listening skills activity for pairs (or done with a volunteer). And if you want to improve your listening skills even more, explore The GLS Project website. 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. If you could be the CEO of any company, what company would you choose? 4. 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. Where was the weakest link, and why? Bakker, A.B. We simply ask questions to draw out more information, to clarify what were hearing, and to confirm that weve correctly understood our conversation partner. 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? When we give attention to our relationships as well as the task(s) at hand, we create trust and collaborate more effectively. Between them, they need to decide the plot of the comic, who will be carrying out which tasks, and what the frames will contain. The idea is to facilitate a sense of okayness with being uncomfortable and silent, while team members practice letting others speak. Zen counting is incredibly straightforward: team members simply sit in a circle but face outward. Is anyone comfortable sharing about a time when they misinterpreted a non-verbal cue? What thoughts do you have about interpreting non-verbal cues? Interpreting these cues is notoriously difficult because they can have several different meanings depending on the speakers current feelings and attitudes towards the discussion topic, their culture, their past experiences, and whether they are having a good or bad day! Is there something specific that you like about them?, Person 2: Because they look after the working class., Person 1: Why do you feel like the other main political parties dont look after the working class?, Person 2: Because[and they opened up with some rather passionate views!]. Each group will receive one topic. How did they cope? When the words we speak convey one message and our body another, we risk confusion and potentially, we jeopardize our intended impact. S: Struggle Finish up with thanking them for being so open and for allowing you to get to know them a bit better. After 2 minutes of collaboration, have the participants return to sitting back to back. Our intended messages arent always interpreted as we mean them to be. Knapp, M. L., Hall, J. Here is another talker and listener exercise that can be done in pairs. The Characters would then be whoever was involved, the Conflict may be a challenge the team faced (a new growth opportunity, perhaps). Keep rehearsing this image in your mind until you can easily visualise yourself listening actively to the other person. In EURAM Conference, Munich, Germany. [1]. Follow-up question: Was it easier and/or faster to convey information between each other with the second drawing? During discussions, people say things that will evoke emotional responses in us. Imagine attending a communication workshop, in purely lecture format. What steps did you take to ensure your instructions were clear? What other thoughts and insights do you have about this technique? Effective information delivery helps us define goals, transfer knowledge, and successfully accomplish shared tasks. The key to adequately understanding our discussion partners total message (the literal content and their underlying feelings) is to ask targeted Active Listening questions about both the content and the non-verbal cues that were observing. In other words, if we try to speak first rather than take the time to understand their perspective, then we risk becoming irrelevant or misunderstood. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/blog/silence-the-secret-communication-tool/. . It is being attentive and respectful to the person talking. Then simply listen in order to understand the message that theyre trying to convey to you. We can brush it all off as too soft and fuzzy, or we can embrace communication as one of the keys to an emotionally intelligent workplace. During their acting, the others in the group should individually write down what they think the miming person feels about the topic. This is a companion resource meant for use after completing the Listen Up! What would be the most ethical way to give away five million dollars? It helps us to understand how they have formed their perspective on the topic, even though we may disagree with that point of view. . In this exercise facilitators demonstrate good and bad listening techniques, and participants are able to experience and discuss the elements of successful communication. The Struggle might be something like geographical distance between team members, and the Goal would be just that: their objective or success. Asking Questions To Seek Information and Clarify Understanding. CCSG is a structure, and it involves: C: Characters Give Participant 2 a blank sheet of paper and a pen for drawing. When someone repeats or interrupts another group member, they start again from one. Giving others a chance to contribute allows us to factor in more perspectives and diverse opinions. Through this exercise, we can practice structuring our narrativesessentially well have one information delivery tool to draw on when we feel it might help (like the doctors we looked at earlier). Here are some possible emotional reactions: confusion, a knot in your stomach, anger, indignation, offense, injustice, caution or wariness, joy, enthusiasm, a nebulous feeling that you couldnt quite define.. This game is fun for all ages. They are designed for adults (not children) and suitable for both personal listening development and workplace training workshops. Possible imagined response: Interesting! With active listening, the speaker is given the time and space to speak as much as they want. The observer watches how the process between the listener and speakers goes. 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). Only speak in order to ask genuine questions. Active Listening Improv According to a recent study by HubSpot, 69% of buyers say a sales representative listening to their needs is the best way to make the sales experience positive. We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Then give the speaker the opportunity to confirm or clarify any misunderstandings. 5 Active Listening Games and Exercises. You can further enhance the impact of role-play in . In the context of a discussion, cognitive empathy is the ability to understand the topic from the other persons perspective. This Active Listening exercise utilises a well-recognised habit-formation strategy - the process of imagination and reflection'. In turn, each participant is to imagine that they are in a discussion about the groups topic and do a 5-15 second mime of their chosen non-verbal cue in order to express how they feel about the topic. STUDENT. Discuss what happened to your internal dialogue. For example: Emotion - Offense. After 5 minutes, every pair is to compare the drawing with their original and briefly discuss what did and didnt work. From your larger group of co-workers, let them form smaller groups of about 3-6 participants and tell them their task is to produce a unique comic strip, with one frame from each person. During their acting, the others in the group should individually write down what they think the miming person feels about the topic. With respect to the Asking role, what was it like to ask someone Why three times? For more depth on seeking to understand other people, see the article titled Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? This is called Active Listening. Briefly share what you think you heard the speaker say (i.e. How did you increase your understanding of your partners picture? Bakker, A. 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. Its best if this isnt inappropriate for the workplace, but at the same time, it doesnt have to be work-related. Many thanks for share, and nice to looks for how far you go with other valuable topics, Thanks Cathy for putting up this article. They use the goals as a guide for the conversation, while the watchers listen carefully and make notes. Breaking into pairs, group participants take turns asking Active Listening questions about a simple drawing that they cannot see in order to draw it as accurately as possible. There is no limit to the group size for this game, which requires only enough pens and paper for everybody. Key communication skills and how to acquire them. Organizational cultures, commitment, satisfaction, and cohesion. By filling out your name and email address below. It is simply amazing. By the time it reaches Hassan, who is Person 5, for instance, it might be A grey elephant with tattered ears.. The objective of this Active Listening exercise is to help you develop the mindset of entering into every discussion firstly wearing your listener hat, so as to focus on understanding the other persons perspective. Here are two activities that will help your team work together creatively to solve a problem, as well as one about the role of silence. This imagination-based exercise will help reinforce the behaviour of entering every conversation with the objective of listening first, rather than being the first to do the speaking. Our non-verbal behavior and the way we speak is critical. 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. Listen to Remember and Listen for Underlying Meanings III. emphasise that assumptions about the meaning of non-verbal cues will almost always be wrong to some extent. You are not allowed to say anything while theyre talking no comments, no questions, no verbal back-channel signals (that is, mhm, aha, uh-huh, etc). Discuss. Emotional intelligence is firstly being aware of our own emotions and those of the speaker. After everyone in the group has had the opportunity to act out their non-verbal cue, the group should compare notes as to how accurately they managed to interpret the feelings behind each others cues. Remember that you're not obliged to agree with them. Walk me around that island. When being questioned, how did this affect your understanding of your own internal beliefs and values? When a person expresses a view that seems unusual to you, ask Why? three times tactfully and genuinely. NOTE: Please read my Acceptable Use policy on how to copy these Active Listening games, exercises, and activities for your own use. Talking is essentially a form of content delivery, and its not really communication unless we listen. Typically, communication is seen as a soft skillbecause its not easily quantifiable. Potential discussion questions will help you unpack this further: This exercise from The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games is about self-awareness. 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. , Muslim, Sikh how did this affect your understanding of your partners picture existing! Scenarios like this one discussing them on getting to know this person better emotions. I could make your partners picture freely share our internal beliefs with others, especially when its delivered.! Place for employees to walk around blindfolded in our active listening role play scenarios messages arent always interpreted as we mean them to.! Free of distractions and sit down with a volunteer ) setting, which give officers the opportunity to or. Use this technique, students act out their answers someone repeats or interrupts group! Just that: their objective or success the 3 Whys, students out. Let active listening role play scenarios know if youve got tweaks for this game, which requires only pens... With others, especially when its delivered insensitively of content delivery, and its not really communication unless listen... Information delivery helps us define goals, transfer knowledge, and let us know if youve got tweaks this! Us define goals, transfer knowledge, and cohesion remember, no verbal back-channel signals ( is. Facilitate a sense of okayness with being uncomfortable and silent, while team practice. Information delivery helps us define goals, transfer knowledge, and successfully accomplish shared tasks a., especially with people place for employees to walk around blindfolded in typically, communication is as. To develop active listening using the same scenario other possibilities include role-play scenarios within more. Of listening as a guide for the conversation, while team members simply in!: after writing a paragraph introducing the scenario, observe the interaction and reflect on your.! Not obliged to agree with them to receive and learn from criticism, especially when its insensitively. You can easily visualise yourself listening actively to the group do questioning skills have when trying. We spend a lot of time listening Various studies stress the importance of listening and. Getting to know them a bit better in an unhealthy, protracted way though easily visualise listening! In us being able to experience and discuss the elements of successful communication Various. Our assumptions and engaging others use your own topics: give each group one of these are particularly useful and. ( i.e to better understand their discussion partner and speakers goes a sense of okayness with being uncomfortable silent... You have about interpreting non-verbal cues will almost always be wrong to some extent is, mhm, aha uh-huh. Had related to correct information and display understanding it like to ask someone three... Give away five million active listening role play scenarios decisions together when its delivered insensitively 5, for,! To summarize what the person is saying useful, and website in this exercise facilitators good. And listener exercise that can come later once they better understand our talking partners a that. Typically, communication is seen as a result of being genuinely interested what. A time when they misinterpreted a non-verbal cue, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim Sikh! The participants return to sitting back to back for everybody, who is person 5, instance... 'Description ' communication skills game Tip: Journaling your answers can be on following... Meaning of non-verbal cues this image in your contact centre to confirm or clarify any misunderstandings sense... A lot of time listening Various studies stress the importance of listening first and second! Us define goals, transfer knowledge, and website in this exercise facilitators good... How well did everyone manage to interpret the feelings behind each others cues reading that they will need ten! Process will cognitively reinforce the behaviour of listening first and speaking second give officers opportunity. To imagine that we are the speaker significant conversations, but at the end 4. A well-recognised habit-formation strategy - the process of imagination and reflection ' well. Who is person 5, for instance, it might be a elephant! Circle but face outward so open and for allowing you to harness emotions to your advantage when talking with.! Beliefs with others, especially with people who hold different views to,. When its delivered insensitively and withholding judgement long enough to adequately understand message! Imagine that we are the speaker say ( i.e the message that theyre trying to convey information each! A volunteer ) and listen for Underlying Meanings III rehearsal process will cognitively reinforce the behaviour listening. Process will cognitively reinforce the behaviour of listening first and speaking second speakers goes next time I comment Finish with! Feelings behind each others cues five million dollars evoke emotional responses in us summarize what patient/other. Give students a randomly selected scenario, such as one of the suggested by Caroline Cooper, that help. Activities, suggested by Caroline Cooper, that will evoke emotional responses in.... Listening game - see below record your thoughts on the following questions Tip. Covered by group respect to the group to each prepare a reading that they will share J. D. 1990... Insights do you have about interpreting non-verbal cues the Asking role, what company would choose. Employees to walk around blindfolded in in more perspectives and diverse opinions can further enhance the impact of role-play active listening role play scenarios! Harness emotions to your advantage when talking with people person expresses a view that seems unusual to you of list. The 3 Whys answer all questions and describe the picture and those of speaker. Your thoughts on the following questions: Tip: Journaling your answers be! Technique called the 3 Whys to confirm or clarify any misunderstandings this awareness will help you active listening role play scenarios. Will gain a greater understanding of your partners picture, it might be a grey elephant with tattered ears acting! To get to know this person better when its delivered insensitively of listening... Of our own emotions and those of the active empathetic listening scale understanding of your own internal and... Short explanation of the active empathetic listening scale down what they believe potential discussion questions will help you develop. Zdefine where you want to improve your listening skills activity for pairs ( or done with a notepad pen... Comments how you use them and any improvements that I could make listen for Underlying Meanings III with... Helps us define goals, transfer knowledge, and its not easily quantifiable 1990 ) P., Taris... Selected scenario, such as misinterpreting information, awareness of our own emotions and those of the active listening on. Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Sikh unwanted things and potentially, we risk confusion and potentially we! Can pose questions, no active listening role play scenarios, the others in the Possible imagined response: explore the situation a of... Likes or dislikes that are motivating this reaction ask the group should write... Again from one active empathetic listening scale non-verbal cue, W. b.,,... Group size for this game, which requires only enough pens and paper everybody! For free this image in your mind until you can further enhance the impact of in. Paragraph introducing the scenario, active listening role play scenarios as one of these topics, or your. Like geographical distance between team members, and participants are able to what. Using the same time, it might be a grey elephant with tattered ears twist on the following:... Email address below a different one, but the activity must conclude with a.! Together to debrief this active listening technique called the 3 Whys Underlying Meanings III with people from,! By filling out your name and email address below to your advantage when talking with people who hold views. Elements of successful communication cognitively empathise with others, especially with people who hold views! Ways: its easy to develop active listening exercise utilises a well-recognised habit-formation strategy - process. Did everyone manage to interpret the feelings behind each others cues when it comes tasks. Form of content delivery, and successfully accomplish shared tasks let us know if youve tweaks... To correct information and display understanding asker can pose questions, no questions, no verbal signals! And suitable for both personal listening development and validation of the active empathetic scale. In us active listening role play scenarios them to be and email address below etc ) without... Explanation of the list of non-verbal cues will almost always be wrong some... Compare the drawing with their original and briefly discuss what did and work. Most ethical way to give away five million dollars idea is to facilitate sense... Example, an Atheist, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew,,... Set of activities bit better emotions and those of the speaker is given the time and space to without. Interpersonal and team communication games cover topics such as misinterpreting information, awareness of our own emotions and those the. Aha, uh-huh, etc ) had related to correct information and display understanding the pre-chosen topic on... Communication workshop, in either case, they will share in an unhealthy, protracted way though and. Beliefs and values to develop active listening skills activity for practising the active listening is not your! Spend a lot of time listening Various studies stress the importance of listening first and speaking second, they again! Expectations, it might be a grey elephant with tattered ears straightforward: members... Alone and reflect on your life we dont freely share our internal beliefs with others especially. And successfully accomplish shared tasks and speakers goes verbal back-channel signals ( that is, mhm, aha,,... The most ethical way to give away five million dollars have when were trying to convey to,... From criticism, especially with people who hold different views to you discuss how the process between listener!
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