Effective Communication
Lesson Plan Created by Regina Navarro-Gomez, Lynn Bauscher, Nichole Procter, and Lyrik Loeper
What is Effective Communication?
Effective communication is communication that is clearly and successfully delivered, received, and understood. Learning the skills of effective communication can help people to resolve differences while building trust and respect.
Some skills associated with effective communication include:
Some skills associated with effective communication include:
- Being a good listener
- Using and recognizing body language and non-verbal communication
- Taking control of emotion and stress
- Understanding and empathizing with others
Activity 1: Communication Style Self-Assessment
Please see the below attachment for a copy of the self-assessment and related material.
| spring_cap_-_comm_styles_self_assessment.docx |
Activity 2: Communication Skills
Here is a script of the activity:
During this activity you must remain silent unless I tell you to talk. Listen to me and follow my instructions. Today you will all be replicating a drawing that through verbal communication only. Here are your instructions, please follow them exactly so we all create the same drawing, but do not look at what your neighbor's drawing.
1. Draw a circle
2. Draw a triangle inside the circle.
3. Draw a square in the corner.
4. Write your name on the paper
Great, that’s the whole drawing. Easy right? Can everyone please hold up their drawings so I can make sure it matches mine? Hmmmm, none of your drawings look like mine, in fact none of your drawings even look like each other’s. Everyone heard the same message, yet you all drew something different. Why did that happen?
Okay, let’s try this again using better communication skills. Please flip your paper over and follow my instructions again. If you have questions, please ask.
1. Draw a circle that is 4 inches across in the center of your page. Everyone got that?
2. Draw a triangle centered inside the circle with all three corners touching the circle and the triangle facing right side up. Does that make sense?
3. Draw a 1 inch wide square on the bottom-left corner of your paper. Did everyone complete that?
4. On the bottom-right side of your paper, write your name as spelled out Y-O-U-R N-A-M-E.
Okay, that’s it. Can everyone hold up their drawings again? Wow, these look just like mine! Why were we better able to recreate the drawing the second time around?
During this activity you must remain silent unless I tell you to talk. Listen to me and follow my instructions. Today you will all be replicating a drawing that through verbal communication only. Here are your instructions, please follow them exactly so we all create the same drawing, but do not look at what your neighbor's drawing.
1. Draw a circle
2. Draw a triangle inside the circle.
3. Draw a square in the corner.
4. Write your name on the paper
Great, that’s the whole drawing. Easy right? Can everyone please hold up their drawings so I can make sure it matches mine? Hmmmm, none of your drawings look like mine, in fact none of your drawings even look like each other’s. Everyone heard the same message, yet you all drew something different. Why did that happen?
Okay, let’s try this again using better communication skills. Please flip your paper over and follow my instructions again. If you have questions, please ask.
1. Draw a circle that is 4 inches across in the center of your page. Everyone got that?
2. Draw a triangle centered inside the circle with all three corners touching the circle and the triangle facing right side up. Does that make sense?
3. Draw a 1 inch wide square on the bottom-left corner of your paper. Did everyone complete that?
4. On the bottom-right side of your paper, write your name as spelled out Y-O-U-R N-A-M-E.
Okay, that’s it. Can everyone hold up their drawings again? Wow, these look just like mine! Why were we better able to recreate the drawing the second time around?
WHAT IS INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
It is the verbal and nonverbal interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds.
Why is it important:
We are all cultural beings and basic ways that communication differs is through culture.
Why is it important:
We are all cultural beings and basic ways that communication differs is through culture.
Activity 3: CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ACTIVITY: UNCOCKTAIL PARTY
Experience “culture clash” through communication differences in proxemics (space) and kinesics (non-verbal communication).
http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/pd/downloads/ici-Activities/UncocktailParty.pdf
Experience “culture clash” through communication differences in proxemics (space) and kinesics (non-verbal communication).
http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/pd/downloads/ici-Activities/UncocktailParty.pdf
Connection with Walk out, Walk on
We are all cultural beings. Culture is more than what you see, such as, identity or your roles.
Those who walked on into these communities understood what it is to use intercultural communication.
They did not make generalizations of those in the communities
Managed their responses to confusion or ambiguity
Oaxaca: Moving away from the term “global”, to the trans-local learning term because it embraced the meaning behind it and communicated what happens when people from different ways of learning and communicating carry an idea from one place to another.
Activity 4: Active Listening
Passive listening: by just “hearing” the speaker without giving any external indications that the listener has heard the speaker.
Active listening: Listening to the speaker along with giving external indications that the speaker has the listener’s undivided attention.
Techniques to being an active listener-
1.Pay attention.
2.Show that you're listening.
3.Provide feedback
4.Defer judgment.
5.Respond appropriately
Activity Instructions:
Active listening: Listening to the speaker along with giving external indications that the speaker has the listener’s undivided attention.
Techniques to being an active listener-
1.Pay attention.
2.Show that you're listening.
3.Provide feedback
4.Defer judgment.
5.Respond appropriately
Activity Instructions:
- Find a partner, choose who will speak first and who will listen first.
First round: take turns talking for one minute, the person talking should talk about what their morning routine.- After one minute the person listening must repeat back what their partner said
- Second round: The person talking talks repeats what their morning routine is
- Person listening: is a active listener
- After the person talks for one minute the active listener repeats back what the speaker said
- Person listening: is a passive listener.
- Second round: The person talking talks repeats what their morning routine is
- After one minute the person listening must repeat back what their partner said
Diminishing Personal Capabilities
Now that we have addressed how to effectively communicate with a wide range of people based on perception, listening, culture, and background we must now address how we present ourselves to others while effectively communicating. Many studies have focused on how many people (mostly women) lead with a negative when communicating and diminish their values in an effort to appear humble and gracious. While humility is defined as "a modest or low view of one's own importance" according to a Google search, we see it much better defined as in Merriam-Webster - "freedom from pride or arrogance".
Humility is important, so is saying "I'm sorry", however many people apologize for needless things which diminishes the confidence you project as well as in yourself. As part of the communication group activity we asked students to watch a TedTalk presented by sociologist, Maja Jovanovic. In addition to watching the video, students were asked to answer two questions designed to address how we communicate ourselves to others in common daily tasks and activities. During class we discussed how needless apologies can diminish your confidence and what we believe is the definition of humility. Owning your knowledge, passions, accomplishments, skills, and achievements is key to effectively communicating during that interview for your dream job, during that conversation with a friend who has a opinion which differs from yours, and during your everyday interactions with others.
Humility is important, so is saying "I'm sorry", however many people apologize for needless things which diminishes the confidence you project as well as in yourself. As part of the communication group activity we asked students to watch a TedTalk presented by sociologist, Maja Jovanovic. In addition to watching the video, students were asked to answer two questions designed to address how we communicate ourselves to others in common daily tasks and activities. During class we discussed how needless apologies can diminish your confidence and what we believe is the definition of humility. Owning your knowledge, passions, accomplishments, skills, and achievements is key to effectively communicating during that interview for your dream job, during that conversation with a friend who has a opinion which differs from yours, and during your everyday interactions with others.
Activity 5:
Questions:
1. Pretend you are writing your resume, list 2 ways you want to communicate yourself and skills to the potential employer of your dream job.
2. Think of a time you have needlessly apologized or led a statement with a negative, write down how you could rephrase your communication style in the future to not include needless negativity or an apology.
Video Link:
https://ideas.ted.com/sorry-to-bother-you-but-do-you-say-sorry-too-much-what-to-say-instead/
1. Pretend you are writing your resume, list 2 ways you want to communicate yourself and skills to the potential employer of your dream job.
2. Think of a time you have needlessly apologized or led a statement with a negative, write down how you could rephrase your communication style in the future to not include needless negativity or an apology.
Video Link:
https://ideas.ted.com/sorry-to-bother-you-but-do-you-say-sorry-too-much-what-to-say-instead/