Life Skills and Leadership Manual - Peace Corps

Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 1, Session 1: Me and My Assets | Page 9 of 128

B. Summary
Ask participants if they need further explanation of any of the types of things someone might say to show
they are listening. Conclude the exercise by saying:

“It’s really important that we use both our actions and our words to show we are listening.”

IV. Application (30 minutes)
Materials:
Flip chart, markers or crayons

A. Thanks for Listening
Participants integrate the use of verbal and nonverbal listening skills

Note: In this activity, it will be helpful to have a co-facilitator (especially if that person is a local counterpart) so you can

observe more participants as they practice using listening skills. In addition, a local counterpart can provide culturally

relevant coaching to the participants (and perhaps to you too!).

1. Explain the following activity for using listening skills in everyday situations. Say:

“We have been learning about how to be good listeners by using both our words and our bodies in

various ways. I’d like you to put these listening techniques together and use them in some situations

that are more like what you encounter from day to day.

“What are some common situations or problems that teenagers might go to a friend to talk about?

These could be situations at home with parents, brothers and sisters, or other family members. Maybe

there are situations at school between teachers and students or between different groups of students.

There might be situations with a supervisor or co-worker where you work. Or, there might be situations

between girlfriends and boyfriends.”

2. Write a short description on the flip chart of each situation that the participants mention. Try to elicit
   four to eight situations. If the group is having trouble, make some specific suggestions such as, “A girl
   wants to meet up with friends but her parents always want her to stay home with her younger
   brother” or “A boy is upset because a girl he likes won’t talk to him” or “Someone got good marks on a
   test, finished a complicated handicraft project, or learned to play a new song and wants to tell a friend
   about it.”

Note: The intention here is that you help participants identify a number of situations that are relevant for them and that

are consistent with their experience. The situations they identify don’t need to be highly controversial or dramatic. They

only need to be the sort of thing young people would be concerned enough about that they would want to talk to a friend.

3. Ask participants to choose a different partner than they have worked with already, then say:

“It’s important to have a chance to practice something new in a place and time when it doesn’t really

matter. Then when you do need to use that skill in an important situation, you’ll be better prepared. For

now, you and your partner will take turns being the speaker and the listener. The person who is the

speaker will pretend that she or he really wants to talk about a situation she or he is having trouble