Big Talk. I loved the expression as soon as I heard it. Enough with “small talk,” let’s shoot for more meaningful conversations. I had been developing probing conversation starters for over 20 years, when I came upon Kalina Silverman’s TED Talk. I was also excited to learn she’s a fell...
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While our library of Communication and Listening Exercises is quite comprehensive, Active Listening is a critical subcategory worthy of deeper exploration. Active listening isn’t just nodding to the speaker. Active listening happens when you’re completely focused on the speaker, taking i...
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Over the years, I’ve collected these communication exercises and activities from a variety of LinkedIN discussions and recommendations from trainers and business people. If you aren’t sure how to choose a team building game, view How to Choose a Teambuilding Game Infographic. If you̵...
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I had thought that old adage, “everything we need to learn, we learned in kindergarten” was true. Remember “show and tell,” when children are invited to share a favorite object and talk about why it is meaningful to them? Now I’m not so sure. To improve communication an...
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Not sure which Thumball is perfect for your needs? Take a moment to complete this quick quiz and get a handful of ideas about which discussion prompts will be best for your team and what your Thumball Style is! What’s a Thumball? It’s a soft ball imprinted with 32 discussion starters. Cr...
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If your group would feel more relaxed and benefit from knowing a bit more about one another, try this Quick Response Board activity. Have each person write on the board a most unusual fact about themselves (oddest job, a phobia, worst nightmare, proudest accomplishment, etc.) Then ask everybody to p...
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As a designer of conversation starter tools, which I’m proud to say have been wonderfully received, I have some strong feelings about what makes a good icebreaker question and what simply fails to inspire sharing. If you’re hoping to weed through the millions of discussion-starter questi...
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Some people have the gift of the gab . . . and some of us just don’t. Sometimes I wish I did. When it comes to conversation, I suppose I’d say that I’m comfortable with silence and that I prefer quality to quantity. But I do relish rich, meaningful, and insightful conversations....
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Conflict is a part of life. It’s part of sibling, family, and spousal relationships. It rears its ugly head at work when colleagues have different ideas about how to achieve a goal, when they discuss who should do what work and when personalities clash. Conflict is part of friendships and, a...
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When opposing parties get to the negotiating table, they too often dive into the meat of the deal and begin arguing for their perspective. We see that in how our government operates today and in how people discuss politics, family matters, work challenges, and more. It’s time to STOP, take a s...
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