Youth Making Choices: Gambling Prevention Program

Unit 6: Moving to ChangeAppendix BTeacher Resource 3Communication SkillsBasic Skills and Concepts• Attending and Focusing Involves the following elements:– eye contact– attentive body language—posture– distance—personal space– vocal tone– verbal tracking—keeping speaker on topic using open-ended questions(questions requiring more than a yes or no response). e.g,. example, “Tell me more about…”– silence—can encourage the other person to speak more– encouragement—verbal and non-verbal– not interrupting.• Paraphrasing (or Restating) Repeating the main thoughts and ideas the speakerhas expressed in your own words so you can check for understanding,e.g., “So what you are saying is…”• Clarifying Questions Gathering information you need to understand the situation• Mirroring Paying attention to the emotions and feelings of the speaker, e.g.,“You sound frustrated.”• Non-verbal Responses Using appropriate body language including gestures andfacial expressions.• Summarizing Pulling together all the information by paraphrasing and mirroring to helpthe speaker determine whether anything is missing, e.g., “We have talked about…”Youth Making Choices: Gambling Prevention Programwww.ProblemGambling.ca6.17