Active listening Technique to Do in a Group.

The Active Listening Technique is an exercise that relates to the idea that many conflicts arise because team members don’t really listen. This activity shows the importance of listening to verbal communication, but also non-verbal communication.

Bring your team in for what they think is just another staff meeting. Have a long document filled with mind-numbing but coherent jargon-filled speech that talks vaguely about sales and marketing goals.

If sales and marketing is not your area, you can prepare a specific document with the topics of your team, you should also add important information about the organization to which they belong.

Sprinkled in the document are sentences which say something else entirely. These sentences should contain instructions or information that they will be quizzed on after you are finished.

Begin reading it to your team in monotone. The goal is to get them to tune you out. Do not over-emphasize the “real” sentences.

When you are finished, hand out paper to each team member. Then, ask them to write down what they thought you talked about.

If your real sentences contained random information, quiz them on that. Discuss who heard what, and see who was able to actively listen.

To conclude the exercise, leave space for the group to express and share the experience. They can discuss why they tuned you out, and what you could have done to keep them tuned in.