Training staff in working with people with communication difficulties can be tricky and it’s sometimes hard to make it practical. Here are some practical ideas to use to demonstrate what it might be like to have communication difficulties and practical ways to support people. It’s important to always use these tasks as a point of discussion. Consider people who became very frustrated, excited, bored or even passive? These are all things we see in people with communication difficulties and their reactions change depending on their personalities and lots of other factors.
- Sort people into pairs and have them communicate a sentence to each other WITHOUT speaking OR writing. Some of the sentences should be easier and some harder. Have a discussion afterwards on which ones were harder or easier and why that might be. Discuss what helped and what didn’t. Discuss the types of feelings it aroused. Some ideas for sentences are:
- I went to the doctor yesterday and I got some bad news
- The bus has broken down, so I’m going to be late
- My mum is visiting for the weekend and I’m really excited to see her
- My partner wants to go to the pub tonight, but I want to stay in and get a takeaway
- I’m really hungry and I have a sandwich with me for lunch
- I want a cup of tea
2. Get people to imagine they have suddenly woken up on a different planet. Nobody speaks the same language as you. Nobody understands you when you try to speak. The aliens on the planet keep trying to talk you. The aliens are trying to help, but they’re not sure how. They keep bringing you food you don’t like. They keep making you watch TV you don’t understand. They keep asking you questions you can’t answer. You just want to go home. Have a discussion about this situation. How would you feel? How would the aliens feel? What would you do if this was your life everyday for a year? How might you act? What could you do? What could the aliens do to help? Now imagine 1 or 2 of the aliens start to understand you. What would that be like? How would your life change?
3. Watch the Two Ronnies Four Candles sketch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7LKJXvf_do I promise you won’t regret it and it brilliantly demonstrates that communication is a 2-way process and how easily communication can breakdown.
4. Introduce a board with ONLY French words on. How many words do people understand? Can they shout some out? Does everyone understand every word? Could you use that board to communicate effectively to French speakers? Maybe, or maybe not. Now introduce a board with French words AND photos or symbols. How many words do people understand now? If there are any words they still don’t understand, why? Is it more of an abstract concept? Demonstrate the importance of using visuals when communicating with people with communication difficulties as it gives a clear shared language.
5. Put people into 2 teams. Using only paper, straws and Cellotape see who can build the highest tower in 5 minutes. One team can use ONLY verbal communication – there should be no writing, pointing, gesturing or pictures. The other team can use ONLY non-verbal communication – NO talking AT ALL, but they may use writing, pointing, gesturing, vocalisations, pictures etc. See who wins by measuring the tower. Discuss which team found it the hardest and why. Bring it all together by talking about the importance of using EVERYTHING we can to communicate, not just words alone.
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