Activity 2: Listening

(Objective 2: Develop active listening skills.)

OPTIONAL:

  • There are several options for communication exercises. Suggestions might be to “Draw what you hear” or “Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich” (based on the directions that a partner writes down), or “Paper Folding” with simple directions. The options are endless, so look for activities that reflect what your audience would appreciate! More can be found at sites like: http://blog.trainerswarehouse.com/communication-and-listening-exercises/.

Suggested Introduction: In high-stress situations, we are often so busy being angry or worried that we don’t listen to what is being said to us. In many cases we assume we know what the person is going to say and are busy thinking about our response, rather than what is actually being said. Being a good listener is a key component to being a good communicator and requires you to have an active role.
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Provide Handout 1: Listening Activity and tell participants to listen and follow the instructions. (Don’t reveal answers until the end.)

  1. Put a dot on the i
  2. BB = Baby Bull, MB = Mama Bull, PB = Papa Bull. Baby bull gets hurt; who does he go to for help?
  3. Write the word candy in the spaces
  4. Your mother calls and asks you to bring home meat, cereal, cheese, milk, bread, apples, carrots, toilet paper, flour, and orange juice. You arrive home with meat, bread, milk, and flour. What did you forget?
  5. You are the driver of a school bus. At the first stop, 13 kids get on, at the second stop 5 get on and 2 get off, at the third stop 2 get on and 1 gets off, at the fourth stop 1 kid gets on, and at the fifth stop 3 get on and 2 get off. How old is the bus driver?

When everyone is finished, briefly discuss the responses listed on the activity sheet. This activity can help participants to experience how hard it can be to really listen.

  1. I didn’t say exactly how to “put a dot on the i”. While some people may have interpreted this to mean, dotting the “I,” others may take it literally and place the dot right “on” the “I” (demonstrate on board). There are opportunities for misunderstanding even in very basic communication.
  2. A bull is an intact male. So the answer is probably “Papa Bull,” since there’s no such thing as a Mama Bull.
  3. Some people might take this literally and put the letters in the spaces, like this: C_A_N_D_Y (not on the lines). (Write on board.) We tend to filter everything we hear through our own personal biases. Is one more correct than the other?
  4. Missing: cereal, cheese, apples, carrots, toilet paper, orange juice. Did anybody get this? Sometimes when we give too much information at once, critical pieces of information get lost.
  5. Who is the bus driver? Since “you’re the bus driver,” the answer is your own age. What got in the way of you hearing this? When we speak off-topic (who got on and off wasn’t important), critical pieces of information get lost.

Ask participants for examples of how this miscommunication could happen with landlords, roommates or neighbors. Ask participants what would have helped with the communication process in the above statements. Offer Handout 4: Active Listening and Positive Messages as a tip sheet to help with communicating more effectively.