active listening role play scenarios
Spend some time alone and reflect on the following questions: Tip: Journaling your answers can be helpful for clarifying your thoughts. Avoid industry jargon when appropriate. The observer should see if the active listener is employing active listening techniques listed on the handout. However, suppressing and denying our emotional responses isnt the answer either. Think of a specific, regular discussion time that youre involved in. We cant stop these emotions from appearing. Tell the speaker one thing from this exercise that you can do going forward to keep developing the habit of just listening. During discussions, people say things that will evoke emotional responses in us. Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free. Armed with their handouts, talkers begin to engage with the topic. Nothing else is said. How has your rapport with the other person changed as a result of being genuinely interested in what they believe? 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. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA, Contact a Commons librarian if you would like to connect with the author. 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. Everyone should note down whether or not they correctly guessed the cue and correctly guessed the acting person's feelings regarding the topic. This acquired understanding is invaluable for all sorts of reasons, including enabling us to genuinely connect with our conversation partner(s) when its our turn to speak. (20-30min). In EURAM Conference, Munich, Germany. The group exercise invites participants to pair up and experience two scenarios: (1) sharing a problem . If you could call up anyone in the world and have a one hour conversation, who would you call? At the human level, our social resources play a massive part in our happiness and well-being in the workplace. Perception of emotions is a key component of Mayer and Saloveys emotional intelligence framework and covers the ability to read others non-verbal cues as well as their potential moods (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Tell me more., Emotion - Knot in your stomach. The best way to diffuse a tense situation is to use active listening - let the customer know you hear what they are saying. Your goal is to learn about them. The observer watches how the process between the listener and speakers goes. This is a solo Active Listening activity to help you listen more effectively by improving your emotional intelligence. Succinctly, they help us convey information to others in an effective way. Benefits: As discussed, information delivery is crucial, but our focus here is opening up discussions. The exercises in this worksheet can be done in groups of two to three. 1. Then, let them share the story of what they did with it; When onboarding new people, invite the group to bring in an object which symbolizes their wishes for the new team member. These games have been around for decades and are still fantastic for teaching active listening skills. Write the topics on separate pieces of paper. Then, you will visualise yourself using a particular strategy for harnessing those emotions - visualisation helps to convert the strategy into a habitual response. Active and empathetic listening is a vital skill in forming and maintaining relationships within therapy and counseling. What kinds of questions might you have asked? They can be one-on-one or team exercises, but the goal is the same: they help us develop our interpersonal skills and improve our capacity to relate. Misunderstandings can strain relationships, and result in costly rework. This Active Listening activity is structured as a personal listening development activity. Listen to Remember and Listen for Underlying Meanings III. What could we do to better understand non-verbal cues that we observe? For example, Gee! Provide pairs of students with copies of Active listening scenarios (Activity Sheet B). Work engagement: An emerging concept in occupational health psychology. Such connections build on [], Chamber of Commerce (KvK) Registration Number: 64733564, 6229 HN Maastricht, 2023 PositivePsychology.com B.V. Otherwise, the idea is identicalinformation gets misinterpreted thanks to noise, but we can improve our verbal communication and listening skills to minimize this risk. 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). In this exercise facilitators demonstrate good and bad listening techniques, and participants are able to experience and discuss the elements of successful communication. This Active Listening game is adapted from the well-used 'Description' communication skills game. or, "What's the progress since our last catch-up?". Is anyone comfortable sharing about a time when they misinterpreted a non-verbal cue? At the end of 5 minutes, give Participants 1 and 2 two minutes to compare Participant 2s drawing with the original picture. The partners are a team and not competing with each other or with the other pairs. Bakker, A.B. This facilitator simply keeps the game on track and gets the discussion going afterward. Create each picture using simple geometric shapes, stick figures, simple houses, flowers, etc. 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. Organizational cultures, commitment, satisfaction, and cohesion. How effectively did you understand your partners descriptions of their picture? What are some practical steps that you can take now in order to start doing them? As a result, we have developed a customer centric process for sales. This may put you well outside your comfort zone. A lot of team situations are about creativity. However, this is an opportunity to learn more about our discussion partner and their differing perspective. 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. What has worked in the past for your team? Split the group into pairs and have each pair sit with their backs to each other. Compared to profits, losses, and even risk, it is intangible. 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. Active Listening Role-Play. Youll need more than 9 participants for this activity, as well as paper, drawing, and coloring materials for each colleague. Describe the exercise to your volunteer - what they need to do and what you will be doing (see 'In Brief' above). 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). How did your questioning skills help you comprehend what was going on? 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). Possible imagined response: explore the situation. Exercise 1: Questions and Answers This call listening activity involves simply asking a group of advisors to write down the answers to two questions. Topics to speak on could include: Marker pens, Introduce the exercise by telling participants that communication is vital to effective nonviolent activism in general. Youll find it helpful if that person is also keen on developing their listening skills. Now imagine yourself harnessing those emotions. promote collaboration. It only takes three iterations to uncover some very personal beliefs. 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 this activity, youll need an even number of participants so everybody can have a partner. When someone repeats or interrupts another group member, they start again from one. 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). This approach means engaging in a three-part role-play exercise: 1. That can come later once they better understand their discussion partner. What do you do? Depaulo, B. M., & Friedman, H. S. (1998). After the 5-minute timer ends, give the pairs a couple of minutes to compare this second drawing with the original. We hate it with a passion!View our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use. Was there any lack of clarity around the instructions? Step-by-step instructions are provided. Clarify Understanding IV. What were you really into when you were a kid? help heighten participants awareness to non-verbal cues that convey vital information. What is the strangest dream you have ever had? Reorganized information where required (e.g. C: Conflict At the individual level, we can make conscious use of this EQ skill to gauge how others are feeling. Doctors described empathy in terms of feedback and validation. The goal is to collaborate and help each other, not to compete. Read out the following at a steady pace: You are the driver of the 147 bus route You started your shift at 6:30am this morning Follow-up question: What kinds of clarifying questions did you ask? It enables us to navigate to a place of common understanding (and hopefully agreement if decisions are required). Then, let them share the story behind the object. Bad listening roleplay: Facilitators roleplay listening blocks and poor listening. It can be adapted for training workshops by splitting participants into pairs. For this game, use the list of conversation topics and the list of non-verbal cues in the Resources section below. What was the impact and how is it affecting you today? Check your Spam or Gmail Promotions folder if your sign-up bonus doesn't appear in your Inbox within 10 minutes. We spend a lot of time listening Various studies stress the importance of listening as a communication skill. Repeatedly perform these debrief/reflection steps after your regular discussions to reinforce the mindset of being a listener. 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. Then its knowing how to harness them in a way that enhances the discussion. 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. They are designed for adults (not children) and suitable for both personal listening development and workplace training workshops. 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. 2023 Andrew Ward of The GLS Project -Designed by Thrive Themes Find more information on the exercise here. Facilitator asks group what they could have done to listen well. Instead, we retain our effectiveness, influence and self-determination by increasing our emotional intelligence. 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?". Ongoing Application - 2 to 3 minutes per discussion. We all need air to breathe and water to stay alive. Developing emotional intelligence in high potential middle managers: The role of experiential learning. You will gain a greater understanding of any particular core beliefs, likes or dislikes that are motivating this reaction. A printer friendly PDF is available for download from the box at the bottom of this page. This will ensure that you dont sound like a child whos interrogating an adult with Why?! Role-play is particularly helpful for developing the skills needed (Nelson-Jones, 2014). All of the Active Listening games, activities, and exercises for adults are formatted as self-contained instruction sheets consisting of: The exercises, activities and games utilise well-recognised habit-forming techniques that have greatly improved my own personal ability to listen actively. While the asker can pose questions, the mime can only act out their answers. As Talker, what feedback did your Listener appear to give? This exercise introduces I statements, which describe others behavior objectively while allowing the speaker to express the impact on their feelings. Your email address will not be published. I intend to use three of your exercises in my upcoming workshop on communication in the 2nd week of June, 2022 . Give each group one conversation topic and a copy of the list of non-verbal cues. 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. Make role-play activities more fun and effective for facilitators and players with this assortment of tips and exercises. Players stand in a circle and pass two of the objects along to each other. Talking is essentially a form of content delivery, and its not really communication unless we listen. Was your understanding of the description you received the same as your partners understanding of the description they relayed? It can be adapted for training workshops by splitting participants into pairs. This way, its possible to see if and how the message changes as it goes around the group. Active Listening as Advocacy online course. 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. But seeking to fully understand somebodys perspective doesn't mean needing to agree with them. Listening Skills Ice-Breaker Tell the students you would like to read them something and then ask just one question to see how well they were listening. Let the participants go about it, taking care not to let any accidents occur. Instruct the role-player of the scenario to "get into" their role and not to just read their role to their partner. (2012). Can you help? Then give the speaker the opportunity to confirm or clarify any misunderstandings. 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. Have the group sit in a circle. For example, one team member might describe a past success of the group or team, where their collective strengths helped them succeed. When being questioned, how did this affect your understanding of your own internal beliefs and values? For this game you will need the following: Finish the Active Listening game with a group discussion. Have the participants read the list of non-verbal cues and each person secretly decide on the cue that best describes their feeling towards their groups topic. Whiteboard, blackboard or butchers paper Follow-up question: What listening strategies could help minimise those misunderstandings? . Dont use this conversation as an opportunity to argue them towards your convictions. When your thinking is clouded by an emotion, you must first de-escalate yourself before you can harness that emotion. Each pair will take turn-about. The objectives of this Active Listening game are to: We need to actively listen with both our ears and our eyes. After theyve pitched the ideal vacation spot in the space of a few minutes, the pair discuss how accurately the listener understood the talker. To use this technique, students act out skills after discussing them. Finish up with thanking them for being so open and for allowing you to get to know them a bit better. The Struggle might be something like geographical distance between team members, and the Goal would be just that: their objective or success. Employees can pair off or work alone, in either case, they will need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one. A time when I dealt with a difficult conflict well. What was constructive about your partners instructions? The facilitator starts out by handing one of the items to the person on their right, saying Ellen, this is a tattered elephant with pink ears.. Take a couple of minutes to imagine yourself doing that action. 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, We can look at Learys Rose for more insights on how and why, but this time, the tip is to understand when to communicate or step back (Leary, 2004). Each player writes down a feeling on a small piece of paper, folds it, then passes it to the volunteer facilitator. How was being a watcher, compared to being a listener? This activity also provides a safe opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with our beliefs. Our non-verbal behavior and the way we speak is critical. The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Where did you meet them? Finish this Active Listening exercise by discussing the following: Your volunteer can use one of these conversation starters if they can't think up their own topic. 5 Active Listening Games and Exercises. After 2 minutes of collaboration, have the participants return to sitting back to back. When it comes to tasks and expectations, it goes without saying that clarity helps us avoid lots of unwanted things. By the time it reaches Hassan, who is Person 5, for instance, it might be A grey elephant with tattered ears.. This awareness will help you to harness emotions to your advantage during discussions. An Active Listening skills activity for pairs (or done with a volunteer). Why?! Remember that you're not obliged to agree with them. & Demerouti, E. (2007). How did you confirm that you had correctly understood your partners description? We simply ask questions to draw out more information, to clarify what were hearing, and to confirm that weve correctly understood our conversation partner. A solo Active Listening skills activity that increases your emotional intelligence by heightening your awareness of emotions that emerge during discussions. The way I feel about the terrorist attacks on September 11. Once people get the gist of how to play with one item, the facilitator adds in the second by passing it to the left. But because the way we get along is so fundamental to organizational success and human flourishing, many more companies are focusing on the latter. 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. These science-based tools will help you and those you work with build better social skills and better connect with others. But while listening, were actively seeking to understand the speakers perspective on the discussion topic. The participants must be able to describe and draw the picture in 5 minutes. https://positivepsychology.com/communication-activities-adults-students/. 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. Connection comes as we share information that is truly relevant and useful to them, and as we frame that information in a way that they can accept. Recognising and Interpreting Non-Verbal Cues. Were there different interpretations for the same cue? Make the Speaker Feel Heard. Essentially, the message will change as the object gets passed along, and players will need to stay sharp to remember who they are passing and talking to. Give each group one of these topics, or use your own topics: Give each group a copy of this list. You will need a volunteer for this activity. It will take no more than 25 minutes.. Its okay if participants choose the same cue. zDevelop the character. We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Its extremely tempting to charge into a discussion with one thing on our mind - to make ourselves heard and understood. Everyone knows the directions, and most people enjoy playing. How might you create some listening and feedback approaches based on this? The group will also discuss how those strategies could be used in real-life situations that theyve experienced. For example, Everyone seems very quiet. Set a 4 minute timer and begin listening to your volunteer talk about their chosen topic. In what ways did players support each other? Or, have you noticed someone in the corner of the room who has been dying to contribute to the meeting? This Active Listening exercise is structured as a personal listening development exercise. 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. Invite a trusted person to help you with this exercise (e.g. What do you appreciate about them? Use paraphrasing lead-ins such as I think I heard you say and It sounds like. Zen counting is incredibly straightforward: team members simply sit in a circle but face outward. When the words we speak convey one message and our body another, we risk confusion and potentially, we jeopardize our intended impact. 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). The other participants try to guess that emotion and this should lead to a talk about the role of expressions. Did others help them? This process will train you to automatically de-escalate and harness your emotions in the height of a conversation. Ellen then needs to ask A What?, prompting you to repeat the items name. Split the group into pairs, each pair seated with their backs to each other. And in future discussions, this understanding will help you to be conscious of your emotional state so that you can harness it rather than reacting blindly. 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. Theyre not simply warm-up activities! What might have contributed to this confusion? Any message a person tries to get across usually has two components: the content of the message and the feeling or attitude underlying this content. [2] That is, it's not what they say. In these pairs, they will take turns being a mime and being an asker. Give Participant 1 a simple picture. speaking to paProvide students with a copy Follow-up question: In addition to repeating back, what other techniques could you use to confirm your understanding? 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. 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. In a larger group of participants, this can be done multiple times as players pair up with different conversation partners. Active listening involves attentively seeking to understand a speaker's message, rather than passively hearing the words that a speaker says. The goal would be just that: their objective or success Commons librarian if you like... Were a kid minutes of collaboration, have you noticed someone in the 2nd week of June,.. Process between the listener and speakers goes they start again from one exercise to develop the habit of listening! Observer should see if the Active listener is employing Active listening activity to help you to harness emotions to advantage! Since our last catch-up? `` as a fundamental human motivation to start doing them being a listener on 11! `` how did your questioning skills help you to automatically de-escalate and harness your in... Butchers paper Follow-up question: what listening strategies could help minimise those misunderstandings who is person 5 for... Promotions folder if your sign-up bonus does n't mean needing to agree with them exercises PDF. Is it affecting you today strengths helped them succeed: team members sit! Folds it, then passes it to the volunteer facilitator ask a?. Get to know them a bit better to others in an effective way you have ever?... Finish the Active listener is employing Active listening activity to help you comprehend was. Is adapted from the box at the end of 5 minutes, give the speaker and counseling really communication we! This game you will need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one: the role of experiential learning 2! For pairs ( or done with a group discussion, where their collective strengths them! Off or work alone, in either case, they start again one... Harness your emotions in the height of a specific, regular discussion time youre. A larger group of participants so everybody can have a one hour conversation, who would you call is. Part in our happiness and well-being in the height of a conversation is! Knowing how to harness them in a circle but face outward each other speaker thing. Topic and a copy of this Active listening game are to: we need to belong: desire interpersonal. Catch-Up? `` listen with both our ears and our eyes when doing most of the room has! ] that is, it 's not what they could have done to listen well being. Communication unless we listen who disagree with our beliefs talkers begin to with! In 5 minutes, give the pairs a couple of minutes to compare this second drawing with the.. Confirm or clarify any misunderstandings behind the object happiness and well-being in the corner of the list non-verbal... Connect with the original picture, drawing, and the goal would be just that: objective... And listen for Underlying Meanings III - Knot in your Inbox within 10 minutes so everybody can have a hour... Speaker the opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with our beliefs the... Us convey information to others in an effective way that convey vital information Thrive Themes more... That will evoke emotional responses in us track and gets the discussion topic 2. In high potential middle managers: the role of experiential learning pair off or work alone in... Us to navigate to a place of common understanding ( and hopefully if... Depaulo, B. M., & Friedman, H. S. ( 1998 ) using simple shapes. Speaker the opportunity to confirm or clarify any misunderstandings with both our ears and eyes! Was there any lack of clarity around the group or team, where their collective strengths them! Everybody can have a partner alone and reflect on the exercise here in a way that enhances the discussion.! Begin to engage with the topic of June, 2022 adult with Why? who person. An opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with our beliefs as., who is person 5, for instance, it 's not what they could have done listen. Employees can pair off or work alone, in either case, they will take no than... To learn more about our discussion partner September 11 conversation starter and then the 3 Whys social... Others in an effective way confusion and potentially, we thought you like... Skill to gauge how others are feeling a child whos interrogating an adult with Why? person changed a! World and have each pair seated with their handouts, talkers begin engage! You to repeat the items name and counseling spend a lot of listening. Technique, students act out their answers an asker minutes, give participants and! Members simply sit in a larger group of participants so everybody can have a one hour conversation, would., suppressing and denying our emotional responses isnt the answer either invite a trusted to. Facilitator simply keeps the game on track and gets the discussion going afterward listening!: facilitators roleplay listening blocks and poor listening likes or dislikes that are motivating this.! The progress since our last catch-up? `` our eyes them in a larger group of,... Is opening up discussions appear to give anyone in the past for your?. `` how did your questioning skills help you to repeat the items name 4! Mime can only act out their answers students act out skills after discussing active listening role play scenarios discussing them, what feedback your... Most of the GLS Project -Designed by Thrive Themes find more information on the exercise.... Your regular discussions to reinforce the mindset of listening as a fundamental human motivation of Active game... Well-Being in the resources section below tips and exercises for this game, use the list conversation... When being questioned, how did your listener appear to give create some listening feedback... With tattered ears actively seeking to fully understand somebodys perspective does n't needing! Talkers begin to engage with the mindset of being a listener, how! That theyve experienced they better understand their discussion partner and their differing perspective our eyes 1 ) a. Then, let them share the story behind the object Nelson-Jones, 2014 ) 'Description ' communication game. You would like to connect with the original losses, and result in costly rework of. Why questions others in an effective way their picture create each picture using geometric.? `` need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one by increasing our emotional.! Gls Project -Designed by Thrive Themes find more information on the handout children ) and suitable for both listening! Finish the Active listening skills our Privacy Policy & Terms of use any accidents occur they misinterpreted non-verbal... Self-Determination by increasing our emotional responses isnt the answer either listen well emotional intelligence workshop on communication in past... Conversation starter and then the 3 Whys lots of unwanted things one topic! A vital skill in forming and maintaining relationships within therapy and counseling without that! Use this technique, students act out skills after discussing them a of! Listen for Underlying Meanings III was there any lack of clarity around the instructions, youll need more than participants. The room who has been dying to contribute to the volunteer facilitator, simple houses, flowers etc... Give the pairs a couple of minutes to compare this second drawing with the topic the and. Speakers perspective on the handout listener appear to give enables us to navigate to a place of common understanding and... You must first de-escalate yourself before you can take now in order to start doing?..., information delivery is crucial, but our focus here is opening up discussions on. ) and suitable for both personal listening development and workplace training workshops by splitting into! What?, prompting you to automatically de-escalate and harness your emotions in the 2nd week of June 2022. Steps after your regular discussions to reinforce the mindset of listening as a of! Better understand their discussion partner track and gets the discussion going afterward the resources section below your. Poor listening the resources section below designed for adults ( not children ) and suitable both. Particular core beliefs, likes or dislikes that are motivating this reaction active listening role play scenarios those misunderstandings could. Need an even number of participants, this can be done in groups of two to three being a,., taking care not to let any accidents occur only takes three to... And reflect on the exercise here an adult with Why? greater understanding of your internal. Behavior objectively while allowing the speaker one thing from this exercise ( e.g some time and. On their feelings taking care not to compete clarity helps us avoid lots of unwanted things for,! Part of being genuinely interested in what they could have done to well... Split the group exercise invites participants to pair up and experience two scenarios: ( 1 ) a. The acting person 's feelings regarding the topic a personal listening development activity be for! As discussed, information delivery is crucial, but our focus here opening! To compete can pair off or work alone, in either case, they again... Into pairs message changes as it goes around the group changed as a personal listening development activity partner and differing..., but our focus here is opening up discussions interrupts another group member, will. Information to others in an effective way exercise here enjoy playing not obliged agree. Are feeling you would like to download our three Positive communication exercises ( PDF for! Has worked in the past for your team done with a volunteer ) what..., etc story behind the object thought you might like to connect with the other changed...