Set up a useful practice session
Work in pairs or groups of three. Choose a facilitator, agree the activity time and explain that feedback will focus on behaviour rather than personality. Use invented situations so nobody needs to discuss a colleague’s performance or a sensitive customer matter. Participants can pause or choose another example if needed.
The times below are suggested practice timings, not a promise that a skill will be mastered in one session. Leave time to repeat the task after feedback; the second attempt is where participants can test an adjustment.
Exercise 1: listen, summarise, check
Suggested time: ten minutes in pairs. One person describes a fictional change to a weekly team meeting for two minutes. The listener waits, then summarises the purpose, the concern and the next step they heard. The speaker says what was accurate and what needs clarification. Swap roles.
- Did the summary preserve the speaker’s meaning?
- Did the listener ask a question before making an assumption?
- What could be shorter or clearer in the next attempt?
Try a checking phrase such as “I heard that the timing is the main difficulty; have I understood that correctly?” The aim is to test understanding, not to agree automatically or immediately offer advice.
Exercise 2: complete the handover
Fictional brief: “The client has approved the draft. There is one detail to check with operations. Please follow up soon, and send the final version when it is ready.”
One participant plays the sender and one the receiver. The receiver asks questions until they can state the current status, unresolved detail, responsible person, next action and deadline. A third person, if available, records which details were clear at the start and which emerged through questions.
Rewrite the handover in four or five lines. Do not invent missing facts: use a question or a visible “to confirm” label. Read it aloud once and check whether another person could act on it without guessing. Repeat with a different fictional task.
Exercise 3: make feedback specific
Give the observer a made-up statement such as “your updates are confusing.” Ask them to replace it with an observable example, its effect on the task and a clear request. The receiver then summarises the request and asks one clarifying question.
“In the sample update, I could see the completed work but not the next owner. Could you add an owner and deadline beside each open action?”
Compare the two versions. Does the revised wording describe a change someone can make? Does it leave room for the receiver to explain missing context? Avoid using the exercise to rehearse criticism of a real colleague in front of the group.
Choose one habit to take back to work
Finish by asking each person to name one behaviour they will practise in a suitable work situation. A colleague or manager can use the same short checklist to give feedback later. Keep the observation narrow: for example, whether the receiver can identify the next action after a handover.
Download the communication practice sheet (.txt). For a formal speaking task, use the separate three-minute presentation exercise. For planning a workshop, start with a training needs analysis.
Compare the full Workplace Communication course, the shorter Communicate with Impact workshop and English for the Workplace. Meet facilitator Kamine Kethieswaranathan before discussing the team’s learning needs.