Many communication exercise problems stem from people failing to listen to one another. The Stinky Fish communication exercise teaches participants how to better understand and interpret their co-workers’ body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. It also teaches participants how to actively listen without interrupting or making assumptions.

The Stinky Fish is a great way to teach team members that everyone has a story to tell and that it’s important to listen to them. It also helps them get personal with their co-workers and address any unresolved issues that may be affecting the group. This communication exercise is especially effective for addressing relationship issues. However, the couple should decide ahead of time if they’re comfortable discussing salient relationship issues and if they will use this framework to create solutions rather than attribute blame.

Strengthening Connections: Communication Exercises for Better Relationships

To play this communication game, two circles of chairs are set up. The participants in the inner circle are ‘talkers’ and those in the outer ring are ‘watchers.’ The talkers must choose a topic prior to the start of the activity and then engage in a fifteen-minute conversation about it with their watcher counterparts. At the end of the talk, participants should debrief on their experiences and discuss how things like tone and body language affect how we receive messages.

A fun, reflective communication game that helps teams learn to trust and work closely together is Minefield. This game requires one person to be blindfolded and the other team member to verbally guide them through an obstacle course. Afterwards, teams can debrief on the value of listening carefully to others and how it’s crucial in the workplace too.

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