Unit 1: Social Skills

Lesson 1: Communication Skills

Topic 2: Active Listening

OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the skills of active listening.
2. Practice the skills during role-play situations.

MATERIALS NEEDED
Keys to Effective Listening

video-tape recorder (optional)

There are some suggested activities that require additional materials. Review the activities and obtain the materials as needed.

SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES
Social Skills Development: Practical Strategies for Adolescents and Adults with Developmental Disabilities – a book by Stephen Antonello. It can be purchased from Any Psych Book (1800 210-7323) for $47.95. Check local book stores as well.

INSTRUCTIONAL FORMAT
This topic will mainly involve modeling and role-playing. Use the lesson on body language to reinforce the information taught in this topic. Remind the students that effective listening takes practice and effort. There are going to be times when a person does not feel like listening. Inform her that it is probably more courteous to inform the speaker that it is not a good time to talk rather than to pretend to listen. However, on a job site, a person may not have that option and will need to use all of her energy to listen to a supervisor or co-worker. It is helpful to video-tape role-plays. If you have the equipment, it is highly recommended.

1. Ask the participants to list skills that are necessary for effective listening. Use the handout, "Keys to Effective Listening," to aid in the discussion. Make sure to cover each of the major points.
   
   

2. Model both bad and good listening skills during role-play conversations. The conversations can be about the weather, sports, what is going on at work, what people are going to do on the weekend or did last weekend, etc.
   
   

3. Students should role-play conversations using the skills of effective listening. There are some activities that could be used to practice the skills beyond the role-plays. These activities may not be appropriate for all students, depending on their functioning level. Trainers should use their judgement in what activities are appropriate for what classes.
   
   

• One activity is to give the learner a set of instructions to complete something. This is a good way to test listening and comprehension skills. One skill that can be employed when giving instructions to lower functioning individuals is self-instructional training. This is outlined in the Introduction and in Topic 4 of the "Anger Management" lesson. Self-instruction training requires the listener to repeat what is said as a way to remember the instructions. Initially, the student says the steps out loud. Following practice, the student hopefully will be able to say the instructions in her head. The instructions and activity should be modified for different learning, cognitive, and or physical abilities. Activities should involve two or more steps. For example, (1) pick up the pen, (2) go over to the table where the paper is, and (3) write your name. Or, (1) Go to that table, (2) pick up the ball, (3) bounce it three times, and (4) put it back on the table.
  
  

• A second activity is to do the "gossip" game in which a person tells one person a short story(three to four sentences that are written down), the listener then whispers the story to his neighbor, and this continues until the last person tells the story out loud. The object is to see how much the story is changed in the translation. Do this activity. To demonstrate the benefits of effective listening, do the same activity but have the participants use good listening skills rather than just whispering into each others' ears. For the purpose of this exercise, the leader will take one person out of the room or away from the group and tell a different story. This will allow the speaker and listener to use good skills instead of whispering the story in each other's ear. Once the story is told, the leader calls another student away from the group and observes while the previous listener tells the new person the story. This should continue until all students get a chance to listen. If the group is too big, stop the activity after about five to ten minutes. Gather the whole group together and have the last listener tell the story. The trainer should read the original story so the class can compare. The complexity of the story should be altered depending on the cognitive abilities of the students. Discuss whether the story is translated better in the second exercise.
  
  

• A third activity is a version of "Simon Says." During the first round, have the students face away from "Simon" and look at a TV. During the second round, they look at "Simon" and can repeat the instructions (self-instructional training). Discuss whether the students followed directions better the second time around.
  

SIGNS OF GENERALIZATION
Students are observed using good listening skills in most situations. When trainers are speaking with the students outside of class, they can coach the students on the skills they are lacking.

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