Team Talk

FACE Team Building Activity, 2008-2009

Communication: Effective Listening Skills
Opening: Team Talk
Team Talk: Like last year, we will include a team building packet with each issue of FACE to
FACE News As your FACE team continues to build and strengthen communication skills this
packet presents acti!ities and ideas to encourage that growth "ood communication skills
in!ol!e listening and talking #hen teams talk, and listen they work well together
Coordinators: $t is your responsibility to lead and take part in Team Talk. %lease take the time
to prepare and facilitate this session Consider how you might adapt this acti!ity to fit your team
and its needs &ou know your team best, their comfort le!el and the style of communication
Ad'ust the acti!ity accordingly
Getting Started:
(aterials needed: radio)C* player, pencils)pens and handouts in this packet: FACE Team
Talk: i!tening +yellow, and Active i!tening +blue,"
-ead and understand the content of this packet before conducting the team acti!ity
.urn on a radio or other music +(ake it an effecti!e /distraction0, but not too ob!iously
different from your usual team meetings,
Goal: .o become aware of acti!e listening techni1ues, practice them, and apply them to
effecti!e team communication and mutual understanding
Content/Discussion: Draw a BugEffective Listening Skills
Opening Ideate importance of effective listening
C##rdinat#r:
-ead or ask team member+s, to read the e2cerpt pages from $#rt#n $ear! a! %&#,
included in this packet" 3orton had many difficulties as he worked to sa!e the people in
#ho4!ille, because he was the only one who heard their cries for help No one else could
hear anything and therefore didn5t !alue the tiny dust speck the #ho5s li!ed on Finally,
the smallest #ho of all added his !oice and then folks other than 3orton were able to
hear and became con!inced that the dust speck had life on it and needed to be sa!ed
Ask, /#hat do we learn from 3orton about acti!e listening as a communication tool60
Listening encourages and !alues e!eryone5s participation .hrough listening we gain
new information, ideas, facts, other5s points of !iew and mutual understanding A
supporti!e en!ironment that /listens0 to new ideas and creati!ity impro!es teamwork A
person5s thoughts and ideas are important, /no matter how small0
!ctivit"Draw a Bug
C##rdinat#r:
*istribute pencils)pens and the yellow paper included in this packet, with Team Talk:
i!tening face up
"i!e the instructions: /$ am going to describe a drawing that $ ha!e of a bug #ithout
seeing this drawing, you are to draw the bug that $ describe &ou may not ask 1uestions
about the bug
-ead the description of the bug using no eye contact
*iscuss the e2perience After e!eryone is finished ask the team to hold up their
drawings Ask why the pictures look so different from each other /#eren5t you
listening60 Ask how e!eryone felt about the e2perience
%repare to repeat the acti!ity /#e5re going to try this again #hat needs to be different
so you can listen more effecti!ely60 +7ome things people may say: turn off the music,
speak more slowly, let us ask 1uestions to clarify, let us see your face as you read, &ou
might ask why they didn5t make these re1uests the first time around
-ead the description again .ell the team to turn their papers o!er to Team Talk: Active
i!tening" As you read, use the changes suggested by the team Allow 1uestions
*iscuss the second e2perience Ask team members to hold up their second drawings *o
they look more like each other6 #hat acti!e listening skills did you use this time6 #hat
helped your listening be more effecti!e6
7how the sample bug #hy do the bugs still not look e2actly like the sample6 $s that
O86 #e all bring our own e2perience to our communication, to what we hear
Application:
#andout
C##rdinat#r: 7hare the Active i!tening Tec&ni'ue! handout "i!e team members a few
minutes to re!iew the list
!ction
C##rdinat#r: ead(Team )em*er! re!+#nd: *iscuss ways the team can apply their learning about
acti!e listening
#hat is an acti!e listening techni1ue that you think is especially important6
#hat are some techni1ues that you see other members of the team use well6
#hat is a techni1ue that you want to impro!e6 Ask each team member to share a
listening goal for the month
3ow will the use of some of these techni1ues help our team communication6
3ow will the use of some of these techni1ues help in our work with home4based and
center4based children and adults6
3ow can we use this acti!ity and the handouts in %arent .ime and)or FACE Family
Circle6
Summar: Active listening is a communication skill t!at is vital to effective team
communication and to communication "it! #ACE families. $t takes practice.
Close wit discussing te e$perience% After you complete the acti!ity, it is necessary to spend
time as a group discussing he e2perience %art of any team4building process is sharing what has
been learned and e2perienced9 what member liked and disliked and how they felt while
participating
#ACE Team Talk Listening Activit: Dra" a %ug
Descri&e t!e &ug.
.he bug is round
.he bug has eight legs, grouped in pairs, with four legs on the left and
four legs on the right $n the pairs, one leg is longer than the other
.he bug has two eyes on top of the body
.he bug has two s1uiggly antennas
.he bug has two pea4pod shaped wings
.he bug has a spot ne2t to each wing
.he bug has a triangular stinger on the bottom of its body
.he bug has two feelers on each foot : one longer than the other, both
coming from the same side of the leg
.he bug has a round mouth, placed between the two eyes
.he bug laid fi!e s1uare eggs to the left of the stinger

FACE .eam .alk: Listening
T!e %ug
FACE .eam .alk: Effective Listening
T!e %ug +.ake two,
Active Listening
Active listening is an intent to ;listen for meaning;, in which the listener checks with the
speaker to see that a statement has been correctly heard and understood .he goal of
acti!e listening is to impro!e mutual understanding
#hen interacting, people often are not listening attenti!ely to one another .hey may be
distracted, thinking about other things, or thinking about what they are going to say ne2t
+.he latter case is particularly true in conflict situations or disagreements,
Acti!e listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others $t focuses
attention on the speaker 7uspending one5s own frame of reference and suspending
'udgment are important in order to fully attend to the speaker
&rom 'ikipedia
Tec!ni'ues:
Focus on the speaker
#atch for non4!erbal cues .hese may be more important than what
is said
Listen to how something is said $nflection, intonation and strength of
the speaker5s !oice may communicate more than words alone
Eliminate distractions
"i!e encouraging non4!erbal cues Nodding and leaning toward the
speaker show interest
Encourage the speaker by using words such as, /&es,0 /$ see,0 and
/go on0
Ask 1uestions to clarify what is said
Check your understanding by repeating or paraphrasing what you
think you heard
-espond when appropriate
Control emotional responses
Listen to the entire point without interrupting
"i!e the speaker time to think as well as talk
7ummari<e what was said