Teaching Kids about Communication: How to Improve Communication Skills In a child?

Communication skills for kids are very important in today’s digital world. Today, kids communicate via online and offline means. Teaching kids about communication is not possible without parents. However, teachers also play an important role.

This article talks about how to improve communication skills in a child.

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Benefits of Good Communication Skills

With good communication skills, kids can have many benefits:

#Communication skills help kids do better in academics. Active participation in discussions and speaking up in class makes kids more confident and bold. This gives a clear understanding of what the teacher teaches in the class.

#Kids can have better social standing in the world. They don’t feel nervous when talking in front of relatives.

#Kids who have poor communication skills face low self-esteem problems because they can’t express their thoughts.

Important Rules in Communication of Kids

Kids should be taught various rules while conversing to improve kids’ communication:

#1. Maintain Eye Contact

It’s important to have eye contact with the person to whom you are talking. Eye contact shows you are a confident person.

#2. Kids Should Not Speak Fast

Kids should be taught they are being listened to. So, there is no need to speak quickly.

#3. Should Not Try to Gain Attention

Kids should not try to gain undue attention. It happens with a lot of kids that when they see two adults talking, they start talking and disturb the conversation. The kids should be discouraged from doing so.

#4. Children Also Should Be Made to Listen

Most of the kids have a habit to start talking when an elder is talking to them. This is because they have a habit of talking rather than listening. The kids should talk when the other person has stopped talking and they have listened to his entire conversation.

However, if the child is not able to build his/her communication skills, some steps can be taken:

Steps to Improve Communication Skills

#1. Be Frank

Always be willing to listen to your child. This way the child can talk easily with you. Make sure that the child is not hesitant when he initiates communication with you. It can be a building block to have effective communication with the child.

#2. Stop Being Hypocritical

When the kid is talking to you, refrain from the habit of overcorrecting himself. Minimize interrupting him, so that he can talk freely to you.

#3. Stop Getting Distracted

It’s very important that you pay close attention when your child is talking. When a child communicates with you, he is trying to instil confidence in himself. So, make sure you move your head to show response.

Also Read: IQ Questions for Kids: How to Increase Your Kids IQ & Child Intelligence?

Various Games to Improve Communication

Other ways to improve communication between parent and child are:

#1. Show Directions

Ask your kid to write directions to a certain place frequented by him. When he can write directions, go with him to that place using those directions. You can also teach him how to add more to those directions.

#2. Show and Tell – This is also an important way to encourage a kid to communicate. You can ask him/her to speak about a topic. He can also display objects related to a topic. This is generally a part of a kid’s homework.

#3. Storytelling Through Pictures – A kid can also be given pictures and asked to weave a story around them.

#4. Extempore Speech – You can ask your kid to present an extempore speech at a family gathering. Although he may feel shy at first, it’s a good way to boost his confidence. You can suggest to him topics which are currently popular such as pollution, environmental degradation, etc.

You can provide chits to your kid and he can speak on any one topic written on them. Such an extempore can be part of your daily dinner routine.

#5. 20 Questions – This way a child can be encouraged to describe a place. The rest of the kids have to ask questions about what they think would probably be the answer. The kid describing the place has to say yes/no in response to such questions. This encourages the descriptive skills of a kid.

#6. Play Telephone – This is the game when the family members whisper messages into each other’s years. This is an excellent game for kids who never listen and always talk.

#7. Reading to a Child – It is an important way to encourage the communication skills of your child. A child learns new words when you read them out to him. Reading to the child builds their proficiency in the language.

You can read to kids at night-time to build their communication skills. There are many books given on diversity that can be used to teach kids values such as empathy.

The same holds from refraining from scolding the child in front of everybody. This lowers a child’s self-confidence and can affect his social behaviour.

Effective Communication for Kids

It’s important to have good communication with your kids so that you have a strong relationship with them. Sometimes, kids don’t convey their feelings but their body is saying something else. Parents need to attend to that cue and ask their kids affirmative questions. This will encourage better communication with kids.

Also Read : English Story Telling for Kids: How a Kid Can Win a Storytelling Competition in English?

#1. Make Sure that You Don’t Correct Your Child

When a child is debating with you, make sure that you hear their point first, before responding to it. You can also ask your child questions about why they are reacting a certain way.

This way in the future, children willingly correct you when they feel you are not right. This makes the child stronger to speak in opposing situations.

#2. Refrain From Shaming the Child

If a child does something wrong, don’t shame by using words like Idiot and stupid. Scolding a child makes him feel as if there is something wrong with him. It’s better to give him correctional advice like how he can rectify the mistake. This way, the child won’t hide anything from you in the future.

Activities to Improve Your Kids’ Communication Skills

Here are some games you can play with your children to improve your communication abilities.

Card Pieces

Form at least three teams out of groups of three or four persons. Each team will be given an envelope containing a variety of cut-up playing cards. After that, the sides have 8 to 10 mins to barter and exchange parts to finish their cards. The winning team is the one with the most finished cards.

This game works effectively because it encourages players to refine their negotiating abilities in order to attain the best results. It also aids in accepting defeat and determining what could have been done differently to attain the desired result.

Speak to your sides after the play about what worked and what didn’t. Did they use empathy to see things from someone else’s point of view? This allows them to better personalise their communication. Were they paying attention to each other? Because not everyone communicates themselves in the same way, it’s important to be able to change and understand the communication style of others.

Blindfold Game

With your varied items, create an obstacle course. Organize your participants into two-person teams. One participant should be blindfolded and stand at the “start” of the assault course. The second person must then call out instructions to aid the blindfolded person through the game.

This game promotes collaboration, effective teamwork, and trust, all of which are essential for good communication. Whenever there is a lack of confidence, scepticism grows and buy-in is hampered.

For good customer service, particularly in the following sectors, clarity in presenting directions is essential. It’s tempting to use additional words to explain technical directions when clients are having trouble comprehending them, but this only confuses them further. For improved communication, brevity and precise word selection are essential.

Building Blocks

Assemble a group of at least 4 people and offer them 2 pairs of building blocks that are identical. Allocate one squad member to the role of director, one to the role of builder, one to the role of runner, and the others to the role of observers.

Place the director and the constructor on opposite walls, facing in opposite directions. Have the director construct a one-of-a-kind construction out of the blocks and provide commands to the runner, who will communicate them to the builder. The builder will then follow the instructions to produce a structure that is identical to the director’s in under ten minutes. Share the activity with the team after every round.

If you have a larger group, divide them into groups to see who can finish it the fastest. If your group is smaller, the supervisor can guide the builder without the use of a runner.

Conclusion

Communication skills for kids are important because they have to communicate with their employers when they grow up. Good communication skills are part of almost every job description nowadays. These are the steps to improve communication skills in kids. So, encourage building up good communication skills in your child from the very beginning. Learn more tips and tricks on The Real School Of Montessori.

Also Read : Kiddle Google for Kids: The First Easy-to-Use Safe Search Engine

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