Communication
Reciting back. Listening to a person talk about ....(could be elevator pitch) then telling another person what they have said. Discuss how accurate they were. Is your body listening?One partner talks to another about .... The listener does not show any visual responses, no smiling or nodding or movement. Talk about how this felt. How do people show they are listening?
Clear and concise speaking
Elevator pitch. Prepare a 30 second elevator pitch about ....... (best holiday, main points of the reading, critique of book, best teacher they ever had, why you are taking this class)
Tweet. Write a tweet (240 characters) about ......... then read it to partner.
Equal access to the group – all voices should be heard
Brainwrite. Have groups of students brainstorm first on sticky notes or index cards, without speaking to each other. This encourages all voices to be heard and prevents people from forgetting their ideas as they wait for an opportunity to speak. Then, have them share their ideas and build upon them together. In a variation of this technique, one student writes down three ideas on a piece of paper in response to a problem statement and passes it on to the next student, who continues the process.
Clarity/equity in individual and group roles in presentation of the product
Develop a communication plan
Write a plan. Generate a list about how the team will communicate. Here is a sample template communication plan. Discuss what will happen if pieces of the plan fail. You can use this template.