Active listening & assertive communication are crucial for deeper connections.
Communication games provide a safe space to practice & refine social skills.
Nonverbal & cross-cultural communication play key roles in effective interaction.
Throughout my career in psychology and business, I’ve worked with many socially skilled individuals who can navigate even the most difficult conversations.
They have mastered forming deep connections, conveying empathy, and ensuring they are heard.
As a performance psychologist and educator who has worked with leaders, professionals, and students, I have witnessed firsthand how authentic and powerful communication strategies transform relationships.
This article offers a toolkit of communication games and activities to sharpen social skills and foster personal growth, professional success, and better human connections.
When we engage in active listening, we give our full attention to our clients, colleagues, or loved ones. Simply put, we listen with all our senses (Kimsey-House et al., 2018).
It’s not easy; it takes practice and focus.
Communication games and activities are powerful tools that provide opportunities to develop and practice listening, responding, summarizing, and engaging with those around us in a safe environment (Spataro & Bloch, 2017).
Research confirms that games can help players interact and collaborate with teammates, teaching them how to negotiate, give, and receive instructions. These games can be particularly helpful when individuals have different communication styles or cultural backgrounds (Barr, 2018).
This image illustrates how we adopt different communication styles at different times, each with varying levels of success: passive, assertive, and aggressive.
In “The Communication Game,” Asgar Hussain demonstrates how miscommunication can escalate rapidly and how increasing complexity results in losing vital information.
The communication game - Asgar Hussain
The sections below explore communication activities across a broad spectrum of life domains.
16 Best Communication Activities for Adults
While effective communication is valuable in all relationships, including romantic and family ones, it is also vital in the workplace.
Many of the most influential leaders of world-leading companies recognize that participating in open, transparent, and persuasive communication is an essential skill (Gallo, 2022).
Communication games provide a safe space to practice skills and build deeper, more reliable connections.
5 activities for leadership
While the following activities are helpful for employees, understanding communication skills and knowing how to perform them are vital for leaders. After all, it is not just what managers say in a situation, but how they act and react that communicates their workplace values (Villoria, 2022).
The following interactive communication exercises aim to create a safe environment for effective communication to happen:
Strengthening Ikigai in the Workplace
Finding meaning can help us as communicators. In doing so, we can develop more lasting and fulfilling work-based connections that align with our values.
Workplace Mindfulness
Mindfulness creates a state of loving-kindness to ourselves and others, setting the scene for deeper engagement and understanding.
Remaining Calm During Conflict I
Anger damages communication. Identifying and practicing these vital tips can help you stay calm.
Remaining Calm During Conflict II
Identify and reflect on a time when communication broke down due to conflict, and when it didn’t. Share and discuss with others in the team.
Workplace Boundaries
Boundaries make space for respect and a deepening connection. Identify how more explicit boundaries promote communication.
5 cross-cultural communication exercises
“Globalization has made it necessary for people from different cultures and nations to interact and work together” (Aririguzoh, 2022, p. 1).
Cultural misunderstandings can damage communication and lead to anger and resentment.
The following activities focus on improving communication skills to encourage forgiveness and understanding between different groups and individuals from various backgrounds:
Understanding Context and Differences
Culture shapes the speaker’s and listener’s biases. This exercise is written for therapists but could be applied in other contexts to help ensure cultural factors don’t interfere with forming an outcome-focused bond.
Forgiveness and Acceptance Worksheet
Forgiveness supports reconciliation and building connections between individuals and groups with different needs and values.
How to Apologize
Recognizing upset, combined with an awareness of our cultural misunderstandings, can enable us to give heartfelt apologies and offer forgiveness.
Loving-kindness Meditation
Kindness is a key element of respect and supports open and compassionate connections. It is particularly valuable when cultural insensitivities or misunderstandings arise. Try this meditation to ground yourself and improve loving-kindness toward yourself and others.
High-Quality Relationships
Communication is one of several key elements of high-quality relationships. Answer the questions to reflect on how well you listen to new ideas and accept diversity.
5 exercises for couples
Couples therapy promotes understanding and empathy between partners experiencing relationship distress. Communication activities teach individuals how to avoid or recover from hurt and anger and regain closeness with their partner (Greiger, 2015).
Anger Exit and Re-Entry Routines
Learn how to spot anger warning signals and be prepared to exit the situation, cool down, re-enter the conversation, and learn from the process.
From My Way, No, My Way to OUR Way
Most relationships experience recurring trigger points relating to anger and miscommunication. It’s helpful to understand each partner’s communication style better and find a more effective, shared approach.
How to Improve Communication in Relationships
Several vital skills can help us communicate more effectively, including learning the three ego states we speak from, avoiding thinking traps, and creating an appropriate communication climate.
Create a Connection Ritual
Couples thrive best when they make time for each other. Partners identify and build opportunities to connect more effectively in this communication skills activity.
Download 3 Communication Exercises (PDF)
These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you or your clients with tools to improve communication skills and enjoy more positive social interactions with others.
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7 Fun Communication Games
Adults (like children) can improve their social and communication skills through play.
Communication games offer the opportunity to visualize, role-play, and experiment with multiple roles that support awareness, understanding, self-knowledge, and self-confidence (Matson, 2018; Daniels & Rabar, 2019).
Fun games for couples
While couples therapy may have multiple goals, improving communication skills benefits almost all relationships. Imaginative and silly role-play can break down barriers within the couple (Greiger, 2015).
In addition to the exercises mentioned previously, also consider these fun communication games:
High and Low-Energy Social Skills
Ask each partner to record times when they show high and low energy. Then, swap the answers with their partner and challenge them to role-play the opposite of how they reacted in each situation.
Blindfold Guiding Exercise
Trust is a critical aspect of any relationship, especially a romantic one. In this game, partners guide one another verbally through a room with several complex obstacles while blindfolded. This fun communication exercise encourages clear instructions and patience.
Things I Love
In this lighthearted exercise, each partner answers questions that capture what they love, such as favorite movies, animals, and places. Sharing the answers provides insight and enjoyment, leading to the planning of new fun activities.
For adults
Adults and kids can learn effective communication techniques through mirroring others and practice. Fun communication games can teach strategies that support building trust and openness (Wendler, 2020).
Back Writing Exercise
In this fun and silly game, each person is given the name of a celebrity, a vacation destination, and a positive characteristic. They are then asked to create a sentence or two that tells a short story embodying the lighthearted feedback they’ve been given.
Telling an Empathy Story
Participants are asked to share an imagined (or real) funny story about someone (e.g., a family member or a picture from a newspaper) using art, music, or narration.
True and False Exercise
Group members share two true, fun, and amusing stories from their lives, and a third is entirely made up. Those listening guess which one is a lie.
Making Eye Contact
Within a group setting, senders and receivers secretly pass messages from one to another simply by making clear eye contact. A catcher is tasked with catching the message as it’s being delivered.
7 Effective Communication Skills Activities
What we express and how we express it are vital to effective communication. Together, they build empathy (Wachtel, 2011).
As a result, effective communication skills are crucial in therapy and coaching. They strengthen therapeutic bonds and increase the likelihood of positive outcomes (Nelson-Jones, 2005).
With training and practice, we can be more aware of what we say and how we say it, encouraging us to consider:
The formality of our language
Its content and focus
How much is said
The volume, articulation, pitch, speed, and emphasis used
Active listening exercises
Occasionally, we are too eager to have our turn to speak. It can mean we are so busy thinking about what to say next we are not actively listening (Murphy, 2011).
Communication games can teach us to be more present and truly listen to the other person.
The following communication activities will help:
How Are You Validating Other People?
Therapists can strengthen therapeutic bonds with their clients by engaging in active listening. In this exercise, the mental health professional revisits an earlier session to assess how well they validated their clients.
Active Listening in Session
This powerful set of questions helps the individual reflect on how effectively they use active listening in their conversations.
Active Constructive Responding
Acknowledging and responding to other people’s good news is essential. To do so, we must understand the differences between destructive and constructive and passive and active responses.
Assertive communication
Assertive communicators are not aggressive; instead, they maintain respect. They are comfortable stating who they are and how they want to be treated while considering others’ needs and feelings (Murphy, 2011).
Communicating an Idea Effectively
Assertive communication is invaluable when presenting. This worksheet teaches TEDx creator Chris Anderson’s (2017) six vital strategies.
Assertiveness Obstacles
Being assertive is not always easy; obstacles can get in the way. Learn how to accept the situation and develop a strategy for assertive communication.
Good intra- and inter-team communication is vital for project success and positive organizational outcomes. It maintains trust, integrity, and respect (Gordon, 2023).
Communication activities help break down barriers and create space for effective working relationships to form.
Practice Verbal Communication Skills
While we created this activity to support counselors new to the profession, it can also be used with groups as a foundational team-building exercise.
Assess Vocal Communication Skills
Work through this vocal communication skills assessment with the team and reflect on the results with fellow members.
This helpful video, “Communication Games,” explores a powerful activity that boosts understanding and skills in team environments.
Communication games - Drawing *22
The next video by the same team, “Seeing, Thinking, Feeling,” helps team members better understand how others perceive them.
Effective communication exercises - Seeing, thinking, feeling
5 Nonverbal Communication Exercises
A great deal of our communication is nonverbal. We may emphasize a point by making vigorous hand movements, shaking our heads, or changing how we stand (Nelson-Jones, 2005).
Nonverbal communication can clarify or add to what we say, even increasing our ability to share and interpret emotions (Eaves & Leathers, 2018).
In therapy and coaching, mental health practitioners should understand the nonverbal messages they send, intentionally or otherwise (Nelson-Jones, 2005).
Silent Connections
Participants are asked to use only nonverbal cues to create connections with other group members.
Nonverbal Mood-Spotting Game
Vocal cues are vital to nonverbal communication. In this game, individuals attempt to communicate an emotion using only their pitch, emphasis, articulation, and bodily cues.
17 Positive Communication Exercises [PDFs] to help others develop communication skills for successful social interactions and positive, fulfilling relationships.
Small talk to build connection
Practicing small talk can help build new connections, particularly in unfamiliar social situations.
Try the following to prepare for small talk:
Step one: Identify why you are avoiding small talk.
Step two: Choose a situation for engaging in small talk.
Step three: Select topics for building new connections.
Step four: Plan a time and a place to implement the strategy.
Building the rituals of connection
Rituals can offer emotional significance while supporting positive communicative behavior in relationships.
Try out the following four steps:
Step one: Identify multiple ritual types, including parting from one another, showing affection, and date night rituals.
Step two: Capture specific actions that ensure each ritual becomes a reality.
Step three: Record the rituals performed at the end of each week.
Step four: Identify positive emotions and reflect on the positive impact of putting in place meaningful rituals.
If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others communicate better, this collection contains 17 validated positive communication tools for practitioners. Use them to help others improve their communication skills and form deeper and more positive relationships.
A Take-Home Message
Communication games are most effective when they are engaging and fun. They provide a valuable opportunity to model others’ behavior and practice our own.
Good communication is a skill for forming deeper bonds between individuals. In doing so, speakers and listeners must create a positive and open environment that enables understanding and the flow of information between them.
Active listening can help by encouraging authentic turn taking. The listener engages deeply with what they are hearing. Rather than waiting for their turn to speak, they hear and empathize with the message being shared.
Assertive communication ensures that both parties get their points across. Successful connections are only possible when both sides can share what they wish to say and feel heard.
Such communication skills are tricky to master. Communication activities provide a safe space to learn from others while practicing appropriate strategies and making mistakes along the way.
As coaches and therapists, understanding and implementing communication skills is vital for creating bonds with our clients and setting them up for success. Equally, clients benefit from understanding how communication approaches differ and how to use and maximize the best ones at the appropriate time beyond sessions.
A communication exercise intends to improve an individual, couple, or team’s ability to share information and feelings effectively. It may focus on active listening, assertiveness, nonverbal cues, and empathy to strengthen and deepen connections.
What is an example of a communication activity?
An example of a communication activity is “Active Listening Exercise.” In this activity, one person speaks for a few minutes about a topic of their choice while the other person listens without interrupting. Afterward, the listener summarizes what they heard to ensure they understood correctly, and the speaker provides feedback on how well they felt understood.
What is an example of a communication game?
An example of a communication game is “The Telephone Game.” In this game, a message is whispered from person to person in a circle. By the end, the final message is often quite different from the original, highlighting the importance of clarity and precision in communication. This game helps participants recognize how easily information can be distorted and the value of effective communication.
References
Anderson, C. (2017). TED talks. Headline Book Publishing.
Aririguzoh, S. (2022). Communication competencies, culture and SDGS: Effective processes to cross-cultural communication. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1), Article 96. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01109-4
Barr, M. (2018). Student attitudes to games-based skills development: Learning from video games in higher education. Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 283–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.030
Daniels, N., & Rabar, S. (2019). Social skills activities for kids: 50 fun activities for making friends, talking and listening, and understanding social rules. Rockridge Press.
Eaves, M. H., & Leathers, D. G. (2018). Successful nonverbal communication: Principles and applications. Routledge.
Greiger, R. (2015). The couples therapy companion: A cognitive behavior workbook. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Kimsey-House, H., Kimsey-House, K., Sandahl, P., & Whitworth, L. (2018). Co-active coaching: The proven framework for transformative conversations at work and in life. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Matson, J. (Ed.). (2018). Handbook of social behavior and skills in children. Springer.
Murphy, J. (2011). Assertiveness: How to stand up for yourself and still win the respect of others. Scared Cocoon.
Nelson-Jones, R. (2005). Practical counselling and helping skills. Sage.
Spataro, S. E., & Bloch, J. (2017). “Can you repeat that?” Teaching active listening in management education. Journal of Management Education, 42(2), 168–198. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562917748696
Villoria, M. (2022). Contingency theory of leadership. In A. Farazmand (Ed.), Global encyclopedia of public administration, public policy, and governance. Springer.
Wachtel, P. L. (2011). Therapeutic communication: Knowing what to say when. The Guilford Press.
Wendler, D. (2020). Improve your social skills. Daniel Wendler.
About the author
Jeremy Sutton, Ph.D., is an experienced psychologist, coach, consultant, and psychology lecturer. He works with individuals and groups to promote resilience, mental toughness, strength-based coaching, emotional intelligence, wellbeing, and flourishing. Alongside teaching psychology at the University of Liverpool, he is an amateur endurance athlete who has completed numerous ultra-marathons and is an Ironman.
I am a teacher and I think that teaching communication skills is very important. the lives that children have nowadays is very complex and they should be taught how to communicate and simplify these complexities. your article is very helpful. Thank you so much.
What our readers think
Oh nice, these look quite interesting
I am a teacher and I think that teaching communication skills is very important. the lives that children have nowadays is very complex and they should be taught how to communicate and simplify these complexities. your article is very helpful. Thank you so much.
Very good exercises. Thanks for sharing.