Human Relations in Organizations: Applications and Skill Building 8th Edition by Robert Lussier

Exercise 11

During class you will be given the opportunity to practice using effective nonverbal communication and listening skills. This will be done while you are getting acquainted with someone whom you do not know, or do not know well.
In preparation, make sure you have read Chapters 5 and 6 and have completed Self-Assessment Exercise 5-1. Review the feedback sheet below, which you will be using during the exercise to analyze how well you used the text material.
You and your partner will discuss the feedback areas below. After the discussion, using feedback from your partner, rate yourself by putting an X in the blank next to the word(s) that best describes the communication you used during the discussion.
Nonverbal Communication:
Facial expressions
1. I _____ smiled _______ frowned.
2. I _______ did ________ did not use eye contact effectively. It was _______ too frequent _____ about right _______ not frequent enough.
3. My facial expressions conveyed:
Vocal quality
4. My pitch was _____ high _______ about right _______ low.
5. My volume was ______ loud _____ about right _____ soft.
6. My pace was ______ fast ______ about right ________ slow.
7. My pauses and silence were ________ too frequent _______ about right too ________ infrequent.
8. I ____ did ________ did not use repetitive words like "y'know."
9. Tone, the attitude in my voice, was:
10. I ____ did ________ did not vary my vocal qualities enough.
Gestures
11. List gestures that you used and indicate whether they were used too frequently.
12. My gestures conveyed:
Posture
13. I sat in my chair _______ leaning slightly forward slouched.
14. Our distance was _______ 0-11?2 feet _____ 11?2 -4 feet ______ 4-7 feet apart.
15. I ____ did ________ did not make my partner comfortable with the distance between us.
Combined
16. My nonverbal and verbal communications _______ were _______ were not consistent.
Self-Evaluations: Evaluate your listening ability without your partner's feedback. However, you may ask each other questions if you want to.
Listening Skills: Mark the following statements true or false by placing the letter T or F on the line before each statement.
1. I liked listening to my partner talk. I encouraged him or her to talk by showing interest, by smiling and nodding, and the like.
2. I paid close attention to my partner. I did not stereotype him or her. If the person were more interesting or similar to me, I would not have listened differently.
3. I did not evaluate my partner's words and/or nonverbal communication ability as he or she talked.
4. I avoided the distractions in the class.
5. I gave my partner my complete attention. I put everything else out of sight and mind.
6. I allowed my partner time to finish talking. I did not interrupt, anticipate what he or she was going to say, or jump to conclusions.
7. I did not tune out my partner because he or she did not agree with my views.
8. While my partner talked, my mind did not wander to other personal topics.
9. While my partner talked, I paid close attention to the nonverbal communication cues to help me fully understand what he or she was trying to get across.
10. I did not tune out and pretend I understood when the topic was difficult or not interesting.
11. When my partner was talking, I did not think about what I was going to say in reply.
12. When I felt there was something missing or contradictory, I asked direct questions to get my partner to explain the idea more fully.
13. When I didn't understand something, I let my partner know it in an effective way.
14. When listening to my partner, I tried to put myself in his or her position and see things from his or her perspective.
15. During the conversation, I repeated back to my partner what had been said in my own words to be sure I understood correctly what had been said so far (paraphrase). I paraphrased _______ too often ________ about right _________ not enough.
If all 15 statements were answered T (true), you used the listening skills effectively. If you answered F (false) to any statements, you may want to work on improving these areas. Overall, how can you improve your listening skills?
Objectives: To increase your awareness of the effects of nonverbal communication on conversations. To practice and develop listening skills.
AACSB: The primary AACSB learning standard skill developed through this exercise is communication abilities.
Preparation: You should have completed the preparation on the preceding pages.
Experience: You will have a personal discussion while trying to be aware of nonverbal communication and listening actively. After the conversation, you will analyze the nonverbal communication and listening skills you and your team member used.
Pair off with someone you don't know or don't know well. If there is an odd number in the class, have one group of three people, or have an observer.
Group members have a conversation to get to know one another better. Possible topics include school activities, present/summer jobs, career goals, and nonacademic interests. Or members can share how they are feeling.
Turn to the preparation feedback sheet and give each other feedback on your use of nonverbal communication and listening skills. To be useful, the feedback must be honest, specific, and accurate.
Conclusion: The instructor leads a class discussion and/or makes concluding remarks.
Application (2-4 minutes): What did I learn from this experience? How will I use this knowledge in the future?
Sharing: Volunteers give their answers to the application section.