Communicating effectively
Featured in the First-time Leadership training manual
By Clare Llewellyn West
Category: Leadership
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
Communication skills are fundamental to good leadership and this activity deliberately puts great emphasis on listening as the primary skill which is so often neglected. At the same time it encourages individuals to plan significant contributions to meetings by developing ‘sound bites’ which will carry their message effectively.
You start the activity with a simple introductions exercise which tests the participants’ listening skills. You then explain the key points of good listening before asking them to carry out a listening exercise in small groups. Next, you move from listening to being heard by getting the group members to prepare a sound bite on a specific topic before joining in a general discussion during which they attempt to convey their message. Your final debrief of the group checks the effectiveness of their sound bites whilst giving them the chance to demonstrate their listening skills.
Who is it for: This training activity is intended for use by trainers with their participants to raise their awareness of listening skills and give practice in putting across key points in a memorable way.
- Themes:
- Leadership,
- Planning,
- Negotiation,
- Communication,
- Team building,
- Assertiveness,
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 20 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:30:00 |
| No of Pages: | 13 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: These basic communication skills are fundamental to all effective leadership and so the application of this training activity is very wide. There is an important element of confidence building in the development of the sound bite technique, and there is a natural link between good listening and feedback skills, and assertiveness. A group new to leadership is also often new to formal training situations and it sometimes takes time for individuals to give each other the respect and the attentive listening which they deserve. In such a case the early stages of this activity might well tie in directly with ‘A personal charter’. The opening exercise is a very good ice-breaker which can be used at the start of a training day, even if other topics and exercises precede the rest of the activity.
Download the training activity, Communicating effectively as featured in the Fenman training manual; First-time Leadership