Games to Practice Listening Skills

Listening skills are an essential part of communication that are important for children as well as adults. A child who learns to listen well when she is small will do well in social settings, school and as an adult. You can develop your child̵7;s listening skills through enjoyable games and activities. These activities can also be adapted and used with adults in workshop settings.

  1. Blind Follow the Leader

    • To prepare for this game, set up an obstacle course by moving around furniture and placing pillows or cushions in walkways. You must have two people to play this game. If you have more than two people, split them into pairs and have them decide who will be the leader and who will be the follower. Place a blindfold on the follower. The leader must navigate the follower through the obstacle course using only his words.

    Telephone

    • This game must be played with a group of at least seven people. The people sit in a circle and one person is chosen to make up an odd sentence. That person whispers it into the ear of the person sitting next to her. This is repeated around the circle until the sentence reaches the final person. This person says the sentence out loud. Typically, the sentence will not be the same as the sentence that the first person whispered. This provides a good opportunity to talk about communication and how it can be confused if people have not developed good listening skills.

    Pattern Game

    • This game can be played with people of nearly any age, since it can be simplified for younger children and complicated for older children or adults. The first person claps out a rhythm using hand claps, thigh taps and head taps. The second person must copy the pattern. If the second person copies the pattern accurately, he adds another clap to the pattern and the first person must copy it. If you have more than two players, you can play in a circle and the third person copies the second person̵7;s pattern.

    And Then

    • This game can be played with two or more people. The more people you have, the more fun it will be. The first person begins telling a story. After a few sentences, call ̶0;Next̶1; and the next person picks up the story where the first person left off. Continue around the circle until you reach the last person. If you don̵7;t have many people, you can go around the circle several times. Once the story is complete, ask all the players questions about the story to see how well they were listening.

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