Listening Skills Activities for the Workplace

by Sherrie Scott, studioD

Workers who possess exemplary listening skills are valuable members of the workplace. Effective listening skills support customer service initiatives, benefit workplace relationships and prevent misunderstandings and conflicts that arise from poor communication. Many organizations participate in listening workshops and activities to familiarize employees with the listening process. Listening skills activities can enhance communication in the workplace by teaching employees how to listen effectively.

Duplication Exercise

Duplication is an activity that can help participants measure how well they listen, as well as improve employees' listening skills overall. The activity works well with multiple participants. All employees must sit or stand in a line. The first employee in the line must think of a statement or phrase and write the statement down. The employee must then whisper the statement to the next employee in line. The next employee must whisper the statement verbatim to the following employee, then the next, and so on. Once the statement reaches the last person in line, it is this participant's job to repeat the statement out loud as it was whispered to him. The point of the activity is to see how the original statement changed by the time it reached the last person in line.

Verbal Instruction

The verbal instruction activity can help participants measure how well they receive information verbally. Participants should break up into groups of four or five and nominate a "listener," or employee who will receive instructions. The objective of the exercise is for the listener to apply the instructions given verbally to a diagram or chart. For example, group members instruct the listener to draw a square with a circle in the middle. The listener carries out the instructions on a whiteboard or flip chart paper according to how he interprets the instructions. Group members should take turns being the listener.


Everyone interprets verbal information differently. The object of the paraphrase activity is to see how well participants summarize information as it is presented to them. Participants can break up into small groups or remain as one large group. The facilitator reads a short story and chooses a participant to paraphrase the story. Several employees should get the chance to paraphrase different stories. After each summary, other employees can give their personal interpretations of what they heard.


Practicing improvisation techniques can help employees improve listening skills. An improvisation listening activity allows participants to spontaneously respond to suggestions or phrases provided by the facilitator. The activity begins with the facilitator making a simple statement such as "I went to the market yesterday," or "My car just broke down." Each employee provides a statement or phrase that cohesively adds to the storyline. The purpose of the activity is to create a meaningful and organized story by listening to the statements of each preceding participant.

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