Help develop your staff by hosting communication activities.
Communication is a key component in developing a successful team or department within an organization. As such, managers conduct staff development activities focusing on communication when they suspect that coworkers are not demonstrating effective communication skills. Such activities should be stimulating for staff so that they retain the information and enjoy the learning process.
Interviews with Colleagues
Interviewing a colleague is a communication activity that allows employees to learn about one another. It also helps them practice paying attention to details and accurately communicating what they find out about their colleagues. In this activity, staff are paired up into teams of two, and each person receives an interview tool, such as a questionnaire, that is written on paper. The colleagues take turns interviewing one another and writing the responses down on the questionnaire. After a few minutes, the staff development trainer or manager calls the group back together. One-by-one, the employees stand up and introduce the colleague that they interviewed, being sure to communicate the information the way it was shared with them.
Role-play Activities
Role-play activities include skits that require employees to listen and respond to each other.In a role play activity, two employees might be assigned to act out a scene between an angry customer and a customer service representative. The performers have to make the outcome of the interaction successful by using verbal and nonverbal communication tactics. Each team of "actors" performs the skit before the rest of the group.
The Human Knot
The human knot is a physical activity that involves touching. This game is often played to build staff communication skills, because it requires employees to communicate how they will untangle themselves from a human knot. To play, each employee holds hands with two other employees. The host of the activity tangles up the employees until they form a human knot. The object of the game is for the staff to shout out their ideas and work together so that they can undo the knot without letting go of anyone's hand.
Mini-projects
Assigning small teams of employees to work on small-scale projects can build their communication skills. To make the activity more exciting, turn it into a competition whose goal is for a team to finish the project first and communicate with fellow team members in the process. Give each person on the team a role to play in the project. This activity teaches employees communicate to accomplish a common goal. Examples of projects include going on a challenging scavenger hunt, building a model airplane or inventing a proposal for a new machine.
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