The Listening Game

The Family Listening Game

The game is fun and great training for a family. It can be used at a dinner table or any time you turn off the television for family time.
The Talker-Listener Card gives everyone a turn to talk and be heard.

• Most kids love to play games and they all understand taking turns and fairness.
• Youngsters love to catch a parent or sibling not playing by the rules, that is, forgeting to take turns, not listening, or talking out of turn.
• Everyone in the family gets a turn to talk and be heard. After the kids have had their turns, they have to take a turn listening to their parents and even ask what’s going on that is important to them and that is when magic happens.

Everyone gets to learn new skills in talking and listening at critical times. When a problem arises and the card comes out, family patterns can change from avoidance, lectures and arguing to listening and problem solving.

The Group Listening Game…

…is a version of the family listening game, but with the players and illustrations modified. It is a great way for any group of older young people or adults to practice and learn good sharing and listening skills.

The game is built on the idea that we do not change years of exposure to a courtroom-style-combative-listening-to-win technique by just reading and thinking about it. Making such behavior changes takes practice, trial and error, and can best be done in a role-play-like game where we don’t take ourselves too seriously. If you can relax, experiment and learn from your quirks and foibles, your halting attempts, you can build new skills in to your listening repertoire.

So, email me for the download, gather some friends or folks you’d like to be friends and play and learn together with the Game and the Talker-Listener Card. Then catch each other listening well and poorly, and over time, up your game. (Oh yes and enjoy being heard as well.)

And best wishes, Jim