How Bad Can You Be?

Purpose: Body language and other behavior play an integral part of how successful communication with others will be. This activity will allow people to experience how others feel when they are not using “good listening skills”.

Materials:

1. 1 felt tipped marker for each group of 3 to 4 people

2. 1 large piece of paper for each group of 3 to 4 people

3. 1 roll of masking tape

Activity: Place group participants into small groups of 3 to 4 people. Give each group a large piece of paper and a magic marker. Have each group make a list of what they would consider to be good listening skills. After about 10 minutes, have the groups come together and allow each group to report to the large group what is on their list. Display each groups list in front of the class once they have presented their information. After each group has finished, have a volunteer(s) go back and put a star on the papers next to the skills that were listed repeatedly.

Have group participants pick a partner. Once they are paired, have the pairs decide which person of the two is the tallest. The tallest person will start out as the leader. Explain that now that you know what “good listening skills” are, they are going to experience “poor listening skills”. The leader will tell their partner about one of their funniest moments in life. While he or she is telling their story, the other partner is to exhibit “poor listening skills”. Let them do this for about a minute and then have them switch roles.

Processing:

1. What are some of the things the person did who wasn’t listening to you?

2. How did you feel when you were the one telling the story?

3. What kinds of words can we use to describe how you felt when you were telling the story?

4. How did you feel when you were the one showing “poor listening skills”?

5. What can this activity tell us about communication?

6. Describe a situation that you have seen where this type of activity took place?

7. What was the outcome of that situation?

8. How did the participants feel?

9. Was there good communication? Why not?

10. How can we be sure that we are not a part of creating this kind of problem?

Activity taken from: Activities that Teach, Tom Jackson