10 Communication training activities to try out

In today's world, effective communication skills are more important than ever. It’s essential for expressing ideas, building relationships, and communicating goals. While not everyone is born with excellent communication skills, the good news is that they can be learned. This article will look at ten communication training activities to help your teams improve their communication skills.

1. Group discussions

Group discussions are a communication training activity that encourages individuals to express their thoughts and opinions on a given topic while listening to others. This activity helps individuals develop critical thinking, decision-making, and persuasive skills. Group discussions can be facilitated by a moderator who makes sure that everyone has a chance to speak and encourages participants to respond to each other's ideas.

SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Discussions feature is a great avenue to do just this. In this forum-like, in-lesson discussion style, learners can exchange ideas through video and image submissions, aside from text, for a more dynamic and interactive learning experience.

As the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text and 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual, images and video have higher interaction and retention rates. It also allows learners to have the freedom to express their points in an open-ended format, which strengthens the connection between learners.

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2. Active listening exercises

Active listening exercises are designed to help individuals improve their ability to listen and respond effectively to others. This activity involves one person speaking while the other person is listening actively, paraphrasing what was said, and summarizing key points. This exercise helps individuals develop their listening skills and enhance their ability to understand other people's perspectives.

3. Role-playing exercises

Role-playing exercises are a popular communication training activity that involves individuals or teams taking on different roles and interacting with each other to practice communication skills. This activity helps individuals develop their empathy and understanding of other people's perspectives. For instance, participants can role-play as a customer service representative and a customer, where the customer raises a complaint, and the representative responds to the complaint.

4. Mock presentation

Presentation skills training is a communication training activity that helps individuals develop their ability to deliver engaging and effective presentations. This activity is about learning how to structure presentations, create compelling visuals, and deliver speeches confidently.

One of the biggest benefits of using mock presentations as a training activity is that it allows participants to practice their public speaking skills in a safe and supportive environment. By presenting to a group of colleagues, participants can receive feedback on their delivery style, body language, and content. This feedback can be used to improve their presentation skills and become more confident speakers.

5. Conflict resolution exercises

Conflict resolution exercises are designed to help individuals develop their ability to resolve conflicts effectively. This activity involves simulating a conflict situation and asking individuals to work together to find a solution. Conflict resolution exercises can help individuals develop their communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

To supplement your exercises, you can brush up your team’s knowledge about conflict resolution by having them take SC Training's free conflict resolution online courses with certificates (up to 10 users). The platform has editable and customizable courses like Managing Difficult Conversations, Handling Objections with Emotional Intelligence, and Problem Solver.

6. Guess the emotion game

The "Guess the Emotion" game is an effective communication training activity that promotes empathy and emotional intelligence. By taking turns describing an emotion without using the name of the emotion, participants are forced to carefully listen and understand what the speaker is feeling.

This encourages active listening and can help participants better recognize emotions in others. Additionally, the game requires participants to imagine how others might be feeling, which can improve empathy and the ability to put oneself in another person's shoes.

7. Cultural sensitivity training

Cultural sensitivity training is an important communication activity that can help individuals develop a better understanding of different cultures. It can also improve communication skills with people from diverse backgrounds. Here, they can learn about different cultural norms, values, and beliefs, as well as how these differences can impact communication. They can also learn strategies to effectively communicate with people from different cultures by asking questions, and avoiding assumptions or stereotypes.

To easily absorb this knowledge, you can use microlearning. This allows your learners to interact with short, highly-targeted lessons designed with human limitations in mind, like attention span and memory. This also makes key concepts easier to digest and the practical application of new learnings 17 percent more efficient.

With SC Training's microlearning app, learners can access bite-sized courses from their smartphone whenever they have 5 minutes to spare – whether that’s on their commute, in between meetings, or on a break.

8. Storytelling workshops

Storytelling workshops can be a highly effective communication training activity. With this activity, participants will learn how to tell stories that are engaging, compelling, and relevant to their audience.

Here, they can discover different storytelling techniques, such as the use of vivid descriptions, sensory details, and strong characters. By improving storytelling skills, your team can enhance their ability to communicate effectively in a variety of settings, such as in public speaking, marketing, or interpersonal communication.

9. Mock meeting

Just like mock presentations, conducting mock meetings can be used for practicing and refining communication skills in a realistic setting. In a mock meeting, participants simulate a real-life meeting and take on different roles, such as a presenter or participant.

The meeting can be based on a specific topic or issue, or it can be more open-ended. Here, they can also practice strategies for managing conflicts and disagreements, such as finding common ground and responding to varying perspectives.

10. Writing workshops

Writing workshops involve learning about different writing techniques, such as the use of clear and concise language, engaging storytelling, and effective structuring. Different types of writing, such as business writing, academic writing, or creative writing, and how to tailor their writing style to different audiences and purposes can also be taught. 

By improving their writing skills, participants can enhance their ability to communicate effectively through written communication, such as emails, reports, proposals, and social media posts. They can also develop the ability to communicate complex ideas and concepts clearly and engagingly.

SC Training's Assignments is perfect for this activity. You can pose a question or topic for your teams to write about. It’s an open learning environment with the option to provide feedback on Assignments publicly, not just from trainers but also from colleagues.