Community Service Project

Directions: Begin a discussion of planning a community service project. The questions listed below are suggestions.

• Define community & ask what they know of community service projects?
• How do participants receive from the community?
• How might they want to give back to the community?
• Break in to groups of 3-4
• Each person identifies the issues of interest to them. The small group chooses one to bring back to the group.
• In the large group have each group present their issue. The large group chooses 2-3 issues.
• Who in the community is working on these concerns?
• What kind of service project might We Lead! do with them?

Non Verbal Communication

Source:

Purpose: Participants will explore how important listening is to effective communication.

Directions:

Introduce participants to the concept of non-verbal communication through playing a game of charades. Pair participants together with their partner and inform the group that they are going to play a game of charades.

Inquire as to whether participants have ever played the game and, if the majority have not, provide them with an overview of the game.

- The categories to be used are: name of a TV show, name of a movie, name of a musical group and name of a song.

- It may be beneficial to demonstrate how one might play the game. Demonstrate for a sufficient length of time so all group members who will be playing the game understand the basic concept.

Explain to the group that in playing this game of charades, with partners, go through the following steps:

- Spend a short period of time selecting which category-TV show, movie, musical group, or song they want to use.

- Choose a title or name from within that category (the title of a specific movie, TV show, etc) to non-verbally present to the rest of the group.

- Decide how, as a team, the two of them will non-verbally act out the title for the group. They will have three minutes to act out their title.

Provide partners with approximately 5-10 minutes to make their decision and decide upon a strategy. Move around the group as necessary and provide support to participants who are having a difficult time developing plans that will involve both participants in the pair.

Bring the group back together as a large group. Remind them that each set of partners will have three minutes to present their non-verbal communication to the group, and that the group will “read” the non-verbal communication of the presenting partners and guess what it is they are trying to communicate to them.

After the last pair of partners has finished, have the participants discuss their experiences from the perspectives of both “speakers” and “listeners.” Suggested questions to use in facilitating the discussion include:

· How easy or difficult did you find it to communicate non-verbally with other?

· What did you learn about your ability to use non-verbal communication skills through playing charades?

· How easy or difficult did listeners find it to accurately read the non-verbal communication of others?

Discuss the importance of non-verbal communication.

Point out to the participants that when we are trying to convey a message to another person and when we are listening to a message someone else is trying to send us, non-verbal communication, or the messages that we convey to others without using words, is often as important as the content of what is said.

Define non-verbal communication as the messages we sent to others that do not involve words. Often these messages communicate something about the feelings of the person.

- Note that while there are formal systems of non-verbal communication, such as American Sign Language, here we are talking about the informal systems, such as gestures and facial expressions, which express feelings and attitudes and expand upon a verbal message.

Ask participants to develop a list of ways people send messages with their bodies without using words. As the group responds, write their answers for all to see. Make sure that, at a minimum, the following types of non-verbal communication are included on the list:

- eye contact (or a lack thereof)

- facial expressions

- gestures

- touch

- physical closeness

- tone of voice

As each form of non-verbal communication is discussed, ask participants to identify what type of information is typically conveyed by that form (facial expressions are typically used to convey feelings, hand gestures are used to reinforce a point the speaker is trying to make, etc)

Reinforce the idea that non-verbal communication is an important aspect of communication that must be paid attention to not only by the listener but by the speaker as well.

- Speakers must intend what they are communicating non-verbally as well as with words. In addition, monitoring the non-verbal behavior of listeners provide speakers with information as to whether they are being adequately understood and how people are reacting to what they are saying.

- Through paying attention to the non-verbal behavior of speakers, listeners can gain information about the speaker’s emotion, attitudes, and intentions.

Week One: Day Two Handouts