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How Communication Games for Teens Improve Skills
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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Improving communication skills can be done in many ways. One of the most fun and effective methods is through games designed with communication activities. Communication games for teens help teach valuable communication skills such as assertiveness, empathy, and active listening.
Background
I have been passionate about teaching teens communication and conflict management skills for the past two decades.
With my extensive experience in lesson planning and curriculum development, I have equipped high school students, post-secondary students, and professionals with the necessary tools to navigate these crucial conversations.
In addition, my fourteen years as a mediator have allowed me to help many individuals resolve their differences.
How to Help Teens Develop Stronger Communication Skills
To help young people develop effective communication skills, it is essential first to understand what constitutes strong, healthy communication.
Healthy communication involves effectively communicating one’s thoughts and feelings, actively listening, and empathetic responses.
It can be difficult for teens to develop these skills while navigating the challenges of adolescence. Still, there are creative ways to encourage your teen to practice good communication skills.
Helping Teens Improve Communication
One key indicator of solid communication skills is the ability to listen. Listening means giving your full attention to the person speaking and not letting your mind wander. It also means hearing the words spoken and understanding the underlying message.
Good communicators put aside their own feelings and biases to understand what another person is trying to say.
Another vital element of strong communication is being clear and concise when expressing yourself.
Communicating Thoughts and Feelings
It’s no secret that communication is critical in any relationship, including the parent-child relationship.
Like any other skill, mastering effective communication takes time and practice to master. But as parents and teachers, we can help our teens hone their skills by modeling good communication habits and encouraging them to express their thoughts and feelings with open communication.
Different ways to model important communication skills:
- Being a good listener.
- Talking about conversation skills in various situations.
- Maintaining eye contact.
- Asking open-ended questions.
- Practicing small talk.
- Demonstrating communication style.
- Discussing communication in a healthy relationship.
Active listening
Active listening is an important skill essential for teens to learn. It involves paying attention to the speaker, understanding their message, and responding in a way that shows you have listened and understood.
Active listening has many benefits, including improved communication, better relationships, and reduced stress levels.
Learning to listen actively is challenging but becomes second nature with practice.
Empathetic Responses
When it comes to communication skills, teenagers often get a bad rap. Sometimes, they’re seen as sullen, monosyllabic, and uncommunicative.
But there’s more to teenage communication than meets the eye. For example, many teens use empathetic responses to build relationships and resolve conflict. These soft skills are a good example of how young people value their social connections.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It’s an important life skill that helps us build strong relationships, resolve conflicts, and connect with others on a deeper level.
Communication Games to Improve Skills
Interactive games are a great way to improve communication skills in teens.
By playing games that involve communication, such as charades or Pictionary, teens learn the skill of self-expression and the art of conversation.
Games that require teamwork are a powerful tool, as they teach teens how to work together towards a common goal.
Effective communication is a vital skill that will help teens in all aspects of their lives. Playing games that improve communication skills makes them better communicators overall.
Basics of Communication Games for Teens
Communication games like partner interviews, dialogue activities, and team-building tasks can help teens learn to communicate effectively with each other.
Parents and teachers can use these games to teach teens how to listen to and understand each other and resolve conflict.
By playing these games, teens learn the importance of effective communication and how it can help them work together more effectively.
Partner Interviews
Partner interviews are communication games that teens can use to improve communication skills. In these games, two people take turns interviewing each other about a topic. Partner interviews are a fun way to learn more about your partner and improve communication skills.
Dialogue Activities
Dialogue activities are one type of game that highlights the power of verbal communication. These games help people learn how to converse, listen, and respond appropriately. They also help people practice using different communication types, such as role play and non-verbal cues.
Team Building Tasks
Children of all ages today will learn valuable social skills from team-building tasks. Creating team-building tasks with a fun activity is a great way to engage young people to interact with each other and improve communication skills. By working together to complete a task, youth in any age group learn to trust and rely on each other, leading to better communication overall.
Additionally, young people learn more about their peers, making it easier to communicate with them in the future.
Interactive Activities & Communication Games for Teens
Whether your teen spends too much screen time in front of a device or has difficulty expressing their feelings, communication games are a great way to help strengthen their skills.
With these five interactive activities and games designed specifically for teens, you can help boost vital communication skills today.
Charades
Charades is a game of physical and nonverbal communication role-playing. It’s a classic communication game that requires players to guess the word provided by their teammates.
This game encourages cooperation and assertiveness to provide clues and win the game.
Have your teens act out characters, animals, objects, or events while the other teammates try to guess what they’re acting out! With this fun and challenging activity, your teen will learn valuable skills like explaining ideas better and creating solutions to problems.
Most importantly, teens effectively learn to communicate through physical cues.
Telephone Pictionary
Draw what you “hear” word by word until the final reveal! Telephone Pictionary is an entertaining and interactive way to encourage communication skills.
The first step is to have each team divided into two groups (or more, depending on your group size). Then, have the first player whisper a phrase, word by word, to their team member until it reaches the last member. Finally, the last person tries to guess what the phrase is!
To make it more challenging, take turns having each “whisperer” draw a picture that best describes each whispered word.
This game will surely spark creativity and conversation between your teens as they attempt to figure out the secret phrase or drawing!
Storytelling with Props
Create a story together using various props or objects!
Before you begin, set the stage with a fun, comfortable atmosphere. Now hand out various props to the group and let them get creative!
Encourage each teen to portray the prop differently and offer ideas on bringing those items into their story.
Make sure each storyteller takes time as they narrate and explain why they chose that object or prop.
This activity promotes communication, creativity, storytelling abilities, and problem-solving skills in a fun, interactive way!
Box of Questions
Take turns answering questions from a box to spark deeper conversations.
Divide the group into pairs or small groups, then give each team a box filled with questions written down on sticky notes or small pieces of paper.
Next, take turns taking one slip at a time, reading the question, and having everyone answer it. Do this until you’ve gone through all the questions in the box. Then, let them participate as much or little based on their comfort level.
This game encourages teens to open up to their peers and answer more personal questions outside of school, life, or trending topics.
The Silent Debate
Discuss a topic without speaking and use body language, gestures, and facial expressions to express your opinion!
Divide the group into two teams and have each team choose one person to stand opposite each other with a few feet separating them. Then give both teams the same topic to debate.
People standing across from each other shouldn’t be allowed to talk. Still, they can gesture and use body language or facial expressions to express their opinion or side of the story.
This activity encourages teens to think on their feet, develop creative strategies, and get comfortable expressing themselves in uncomfortable situations.
Summary
Specialized communication games for teens help them practice and cultivate essential verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
Values like cooperativeness, assertiveness, empathy and active listening drive such activities. These activities enable teens to express their thoughts and feelings safely, setting them up for future success.
Also, these games help teens sharpen their problem-solving abilities and become confident communicators.
Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time,
Suzanne
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