Hobbies And Interests
Listening
One of the best and foremost ways to become a good conversationalist is to first become a good listener. To demonstrate how communication can sometimes be lost after it is passed through many people, you can play the "Telephone" game with a group of five or more teens. Instruct the teens to stand in a line and have the first person in line whisper a short message to the next person, that person whispers the same message to the person next in line, and so on until the message gets to the last person. Everyone will be amazed at how much the message has changed by the time the last person receives it. This game also teaches teens the importance of speaking clearly.
Name Recall
According to author Dale Carnegie, one of the most precious words to another person is the sound of his own name. Using a person's name during conversation and then remembering that name the next time you meet will make that person feel important and appreciated. Teaching this skill to teens can be done with a group of eight or more young people. Instruct the teens to stand in a circle and tell everyone their first and middle names. When everyone has introduced themselves, go back around the circle and see how many teens can recall all of the participants' names. Remembering names is a skill that is critical in future personal and business dealings.
Public Speaking
Many students are very shy, and the only way to break them of this is to have them practice speaking. One method of teaching teens how to introduce themselves is to pass out small pieces of blank paper and have each person write down a number from one to 10. When everyone has finished selecting their numbers, have them lay the papers face up on their desks or hold them out for everyone to see. Each person must tell the group as many things about themselves as the number on the piece of paper. Those with low letters will say very little, while those who choose eights, nines or 10s will have to tell the class that many characteristics or facts about themselves. This is also an effective ice breaker for teens who do not know one another well.
Mentors
Have teens choose a person they admire who exhibits strong conversational and speaking skills. It may be a television personality, movie star or politician. Give the students a few minutes to put together a few short sentences of something that person may say in a movie, conversation or broadcast. Have each student read his compilation aloud and imitate his mentor in tone, voice and eye contact. The other teens can attempt to guess who the person imitated is. This exercise will help teens learn conversational and speaking skills from well-known personalities with more experience. Remind the students, though, that it is their own styles and opinions that are important in future interactions.
Other Games
Other conversation-skill games include any kind of game that requires the teens to team up with one or more players. Then they will be required to work out strategy, cheer each other on and give vocal suggestions as to the best method of getting ahead and winning. A good example would be charades ̵2; two teens plan how they will act out a word or phrase, prompt and signal each other throughout the guessing session from their audience and congratulate each other when the performance is successful. The use of any board or card game will also encourage conversation and word play among teen groups.