Active Listening

This health & wellbeing activity is designed to enhance active listening skills, fostering deeper connections and understanding among participants. In Active Listening, individuals engage in structured conversations, focusing solely on the speaker without interruption or judgment. This practice promotes empathy, strengthens relationships, and encourages critical thinking, making it an invaluable exercise for personal and professional development.

1. In advance, download the Print+Play Active Listening Prompt sheets from the Resources tab, one for each small group.
2. Gather your group.
3. Announce that you will soon lead them through a brief exercise that will help to sharpen their listening skills.
4. Form pairs or small groups of 3 or 4 people.
5. Ask one person in each pair or group to volunteer as the first speaker.
6. Prompt these volunteers to respond to a question you pose, eg What are you most looking forward to today?
7. Allow each speaker 2 to 3 minutes to share with their partner(s.)
8. Instruct all other members to only listen to the speaker, ie offer no judgement or immediate responses.
9. When the speaker has finished sharing, invite the listeners to respond by following the Active Listening Prompts one at a time.
10. Allow several minutes for listener responses to be shared.
11. When ready, repeat this process with a new speaker responding to a new question, eg What is one of your favourite memories?
12. When all group members have spoken, regather your group.
13. Invite your group to reflect on their experience in groups or as a whole.