1. Review active listening skills and behaviors as described in the textbook and in class.

2. Form into groups of three. Each group will have a listener, a talker, and an observer (if the number of students is not evenly divisible by three, two observers are used for one or two groups).

3. The “talkers” should talk about any subject they wish, but only if they are being actively listened to. Talkers should stop speaking as soon as they sense active listening has stopped.

4. The “listeners” should use a list of active listening skills and behaviors as their guide, and practice as many of them as possible to be sure the talker is kept talking. Listeners should contribute nothing more than “active listening” to the communication.

5. The “observer” should note the behaviors and skills used by the listener and the effects they seemed to have on the communication process.

6. These roles are rotated until each student has played every role.

7. The instructor will lead a discussion of what the observers saw and what happened with the talkers and listeners. The discussion focuses on what behaviors from the posted list have been present, which have been absent, and how the communication has been affected by the listener’s actions.