Lesson 4: Listening and helpful talking cont.
Activity: Good listening Pupils are divided into groups of three and given a role of ‘talker’, ‘listener’, or ‘observer’. They are then asked to practise each of the roles. In order to prevent people becoming upset, they are asked to keep conversations fairly light and not talk specifically about mental health issues or anything upsetting. Pupils are then asked to arrange the listening statements in order of which they think are the most important and reflect on how it feels to be really listened to or not. – You stop what you are doing and look at me – You repeat what I have said to check your understanding – You don’t interrupt me while I am speaking – You don’t try to solve my problems or tell me not to worry – You sit quietly with me – You ask me how you can help – You nod and make ‘mmm’ sounds to show
you are listening – You encourage me to continue talking by smiling at me – You ask questions to help me continue speaking Pupils are given tips on good listening in terms of asking ‘open’ questions (those which require an answer other than yes or no). For example, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. Activity: Listening and helpful talking This is a reflective activity providing pupils with an opportunity to consider when they have felt validated and really listened to and also when they have not. They are further encouraged to identify who they talk to when they have concerns or worries. This will enable them to realise that there is no one fixed answer to problems and also that talking to a person you feel you can trust and feel safe with is as important as formal counselling.
A time I felt I was really listened to was:
A time when I felt I was not listened to was:
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