In these pairs, they will take turns being a mime and being an asker. Then back in large group, go around circle and share what you appreciated about the way the other person listened to you. Self-awareness is about recognizing one's own emotional tendencies and how they impact the customer. This is a small group Active Listening game for adults. Benefits: We dont need to look too far to find sources of workplace stress that might be impacting our colleagues. 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. 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. 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. Printable step-by-step instructions (including resources). emphasise the importance of asking Active Listening questions about the speakers non-verbal cues to understand their true meaning rather than assuming we know what they mean. As well as identifying key communication deficits and their root causes, these included several that relate to our knowledge of positive psychology and communication. The group then lists the listening stoppers they noticed. Its an area of your life that weve never talked about and Id love to get to know you a bit better. The catch is that they all need to draw at the same time, so they will not be seeing the preceding frame in the strip. Haertel, C., McWilliams, J., & Ma, R. (2005). Describe a controversial opinion that you have. The other participants try to guess that emotion and this should lead to a talk about the role of expressions. Think of a specific, regular discussion time that youre involved in. 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?. Record your thoughts on the notepad. This is the perfect opportunity to congratulate them or start a discussion about what they might do differently the next time around. Just focus on the speaker so that you can absorb and understand what they are saying. Communication is a whole lot more than just talkingalthough, that is a fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer. 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. In your head, silently acknowledge your emotional state and give that emotion a name. For this activity, youll need an even number of participants so everybody can have a partner. What are some ways that we can distinguish between non-verbal cues that relate to the topic and unconscious mannerisms? It is used a lot during inclusive strategy sessions, where diverse opinions are valuable but team size can hamper rather than facilitate good communication. Follow-up question: Reflecting on that situation, what could you have done to better understand that cue? 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. Or, have you noticed someone in the corner of the room who has been dying to contribute to the meeting? Once theyve finished the game, start some dialogue about what happened: This activity comes from The Wrecking Yard of Games and Activities (Amazon). 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. Any number of co-workers can participate in this very simple mime game. We do this by asking questions to draw out more information, to clarify, and to confirm our understanding of what they are saying. Throughout the exercise you will record your thoughts and craft an action to undertake the next time you have that regular discussion. Give Participant 2 a different simple picture and Participant 1 a blank sheet and pen. After theyve pitched the ideal vacation spot in the space of a few minutes, the pair discuss how accurately the listener understood the talker. An animated or subdued gesture that conveys an emotion. And clarity plays a role on a larger scale when it comes to our roles more broadly, in fact, its a psychological resource under the Job Demands-Resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Warning: digging deeper can result in lively discussions! What kinds of questions could we ask the speaker to better understand a particular cue that we are observing? Where was the weakest link, and why? What do you appreciate about them? It only takes three iterations to uncover some very personal beliefs. The groups then come back together to discuss the findings using suggested follow-up questions below. But because the way we get along is so fundamental to organizational success and human flourishing, many more companies are focusing on the latter. What is one practical action that you can take at the start of your next discussion in order to listen to them first and allow them to speak? Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free. This is similar in some ways to the Back-to-Back Drawing exercise above. [2]. How critical was communication throughout this exercise? But active listening encourages pleasant social interactions, which in turn, these boost our well-being and life satisfaction (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). It involves listening closely, paraphrasing back to the speaker what you hear, clarifying what you think you hear, etc. Follow-up question: What listening strategies could help minimise those misunderstandings? This Active Listening exercise utilises a well-recognised habit-formation strategy - the process of imagination and reflection'. 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. What was the impact and how is it affecting you today? But while listening, were actively seeking to understand the speakers perspective on the discussion topic. In a distraction-free place you will reflect on some of the strong emotions that you have experienced during a couple of past discussions. Where did you meet them? Download a printer friendly PDF from the box at the bottom of this page. The only rule is that Participant 2 must not see the picture (or a photo of the picture). Active listening is not planning your response to what the person is saying. 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. Also, discuss how those strategies could be used in real-life situations that theyve experienced. Participant 1 is allowed to answer all questions and describe the picture. Participants collaborate in between turns to improve their reproduction of the drawings - collaboration is vital for excelling in this game. How large of a role does it really play, and how does it influence our communication? back to the Active Listening Skills. And that activity is to create a comic together, using their complementary skills and communication to realize a shared vision. Sometimes mentioned along with reflective questioning, it involves, restating a paraphrased version of the speakers message, asking questions when appropriate, and maintaining moderate to high nonverbal conversational involvement (Weger Jr et al., 2014: 13). 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. Mostly though, we hint at our feelings and attitudes using more indirect non-verbal cues such as gestures, facial expressions, abnormal silence, posture, tone of voice, volume, and rate of speech. What factors sometimes prevent us from asking questions when they might actually be useful? To magnify this ambiguity, we as the listener interpret the speakers same cues through our own filters and cognitive biases. Recognising and Interpreting Non-Verbal Cues. In a larger group of participants, this can be done multiple times as players pair up with different conversation partners. Throughout the discussion, just listen. In a non-active listening situation, there may be quick back and forth, many rapid questions, or people may talk over one another. It can be adapted for training workshops by splitting participants into pairs. Our intended messages arent always interpreted as we mean them to be. Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. 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. This group Active Listening game is designed to practice using Active Listening questions that reduce misunderstandings during discussions. Conversation starts at the surface level. Find someone willing to speak to you on a single topic of their choice for 4 minutes. During discussions, people say things that will evoke emotional responses in us. In this game, one colleague has a full 60 seconds to rant about something which irks them. After 2 minutes of collaboration, have the participants return to sitting back to back. [1]. As you work through this exercise record your thoughts on the notepad. A., & Horgan, T. G. (2013). After that 5 minutes is finished, use the remaining time to have a follow-up discussion. Why? Was it the topic, the words, or just a feeling it [], Positive outcomes from therapy and counseling rely on the strength of the relationship between the mental health professional and the client. A time when I dealt with a difficult conflict well. With a broad and beautiful rainbow of ways to communicate, then, how do we know whats considered a skill? Write up suggestions on white board as active listening skills. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.). Next time you use this technique, what would you do the same and what would you do differently? So, you will need to enlist a volunteer. I've grouped the 20+ exercises into 5 categories: I. Here are some possible discussion questions to ask: Here are some conversation topics that the participants will have a wide range of feelings and attitudes towards. 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. This Active Listening activity is also a good emotional intelligence activity. A blank A4 sheet of paper for every participant to draw on. In several sentences, the scenario outlines a situation where they are approached by a colleague with problems but might have other things on their plate. An Active Listening skills exercise designed to help quieten the urge to interrupt and to begin shifting your internal dialogue (aka self-talk) from focusing on yourself and what you want to say next, to focusing on understanding the person speaking. Briefly share what you think you heard the speaker say (i.e. a family member, a friend, or a work colleague). 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. And lets make listening fashionable. Describe a book thats had an impact on your life. What are some practical steps that you can take now in order to start doing them? Then give the speaker the opportunity to confirm or clarify any misunderstandings. A process guide for training workshops focused on working in groups, communication, conflict resolution, community organising and conversation frameworks. 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