Active Listening Roleplay

Introduction

A process guide for training workshops focused on working in groups, communication, conflict resolution, community organising and conversation frameworks.

Active Listening Roleplay

Objective

• To practice active listening and assertive communication.
• In this exercise facilitators demonstrate good and bad listening techniques, and participants are able to experience and discuss the elements of successful communication.

Time needed

• 60-90 minutes

Resources needed

• Whiteboard, blackboard or butchers paper
• Marker pens

How it’s done

Introduce the exercise by telling participants that communication is vital to effective nonviolent activism in general. Ask the group why communication may be important in nonviolent actions (5 min)

Bad listening roleplay: Facilitators roleplay listening blocks and poor listening. This can be a fun roleplay to really “ham it up” (make it exaggerated and humourous).

The group then lists the “listening stoppers” they noticed.

Discuss other blocks to listening.

Facilitator asks group what they could have done to listen well. Write up suggestions on white board as ‘active listening skills’. Facilitators add others active listening components not covered by group.

Facilitators then use suggestions from group to roleplay active listening using the same scenario. This creates the learning tool of the group providing ‘advice’ to the facilitator.

Brief discussion on what was different and the aims of active listening. (20-30 min)

Introduce concentric circle exercise. Topics to speak on could include:
• “The way I feel about the terrorist attacks on September 11”.
• “A time when I dealt with a difficult conflict well”.

Give each person at least 4 minutes to speak and to listen. Encourage people to reflect back what they are hearing and to focus on listening skills. Facilitators move around and observe participants’ skills.

Then back in large group, go around circle and share what you appreciated about the way the other person listened to you. Name things that you noticed they did well. (20-30 min)

Download Resource

Nonviolent Community Safety and Peacebuilding Trainers’ Manual, page 18

Explore Further

• Active Listening
• Beautiful Action Trainer Modules (BATMo): Resources for Nonviolent Action Trainers
• Strategic Questioning Manual: A Powerful Tool for Personal and Social Change
• Questioning for Learning, Co-creation and Liberation
• Facilitating Meetings: A guide to making your meetings effective, inclusive and enjoyable
• Facilitation Tools and Techniques
• Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Deep Canvassing to Shift Hearts, Mind and Votes