Introduction

It is crucial for students to understand that everyone has different interests and preferences. When engaging in conversations, it is essential to show interest in what others are saying, even if the topic is not personally appealing. By actively listening, students can improve their social skills and foster positive interactions with their peers. This blog post will introduce an easy-to-implement activity for educators to teach their students the importance of showing interest in others’ conversations, along with discussion questions and related skills.

No-Prep Activity: Role-Playing Conversations

In this simple, no-prep activity, students will practice showing interest in their peers’ conversations by role-playing various scenarios. Educators can guide the students through the following steps:

1. Divide the students into pairs.
2. Ask each student to think of a topic they are interested in or an activity they enjoy.
3. Have the students take turns discussing their chosen topic with their partner. The partner should practice active listening by maintaining eye contact, nodding, and asking relevant questions.
4. After a few minutes, have the students switch roles, with the other partner discussing their topic of interest.
5. Once the activity is complete, bring the class together to discuss their experiences and what they learned.

Discussion Questions

• Why is it important to show interest in others’ conversations, even if the topic is not personally appealing?
• What are some ways you can demonstrate active listening during a conversation?
• How does it feel when someone shows genuine interest in what you are saying? How does it feel when someone does not?
• Can you think of a time when you actively listened to someone even though the topic was not interesting to you? How did that impact the conversation?
• Why is understanding and accepting different interests essential for building positive relationships with others?

Related Skills

Showing interest in others’ conversations is just one aspect of effective social-emotional learning. Here are some related skills that students can benefit from developing:

• Active listening: Focusing on the speaker, understanding their message, and providing appropriate feedback.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others.
• Respectful communication: Expressing oneself honestly and respectfully while considering the feelings and opinions of others.
• Conflict resolution: Addressing disagreements and finding mutually beneficial solutions.
• Collaboration: Working effectively with others to achieve common goals.

Next Steps

Teaching students to show interest in others’ conversations is an essential step in fostering healthy social interactions and building strong relationships. To access free sample materials for teaching this skill and others, visit Everyday Speech’s Sample Materials page. Explore a wide range of resources designed to help educators effectively teach social-emotional learning skills to their students.