The document outlines the phases and lessons of a communication skills course, including introducing communication skills, preparing for a practice workshop, and preparing for an employer's workshop. The lessons cover topics such as the communication chain, assertive versus passive or aggressive communication styles, and a winter survival team building exercise. The goal of the course is to help students improve their communication skills, which are important for employment.

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A communication skills course

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Phase 1: Communication skills – what are they? (Lessons 1 - 4)
Delivering the Practice Workshop in school
Delivering the Employers’ Workshop
Reviewing learning
Phase 3: Preparing for the Employers’ Workshop (Lessons 9 - 12)
Phase 2: Preparing for the Practice Workshop (Lessons 5 - 8)
Overview of Talk about Talk Secondary course

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Phase 1: Communication
Skills – what are they?
(Lessons 1 - 4)

4. 4
Phase 1: Communication skills – what are
they?
Lesson 1: Introduction to the course
What’s involved in communication
Lesson 2: The Communication Chain
How it works and where it can break down
Lesson 3: Aggressive, passive or assertive?
Features of three styles of communication
Lesson 4:Cooperating with others
The winter survival exercise and agreeing in a group
Overview

5. 5 5
Lesson 1: Learning outcomes
Today we’ll learn about:
• which skills employers want young people to
have
• what else is involved in communication, apart
from talking

6. Introduce yourself: situations
• Watch me role-play these five different styles
• Now look at your situation: which style would you
use to introduce yourself?
6
Activity: Warm up

7. 7
The five styles
Very
unconfident
1
• No smiles
• No gestures, arms wrapped up tight
• Very quiet voice
2 • Quick, nervous smiles
• Tense body, no gestures
• Quiet voice
3 • Short smiles
• Standing normally with handshake
• Normal speaking volume
4 • Big wide smiles
• Standing straight with firm handshake
• Some gestures
• Slightly louder voice
5
Extremely
confident
• Long-lasting eye contact
• Long-lasting wide smile
• Standing very straight with shoulders back
• Big gestures
• Long handshake
• Slightly louder voice

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Which skills do employers
want most?
• Literacy and numeracy
• Teamwork
• Positive attitude and initiative
• Communication skills
• Problem solving
Source: Asdan 2012 survey of employers

9. 9 9
Which skills do employers
want most?
1. Communication skills
2. Teamwork
3. Positive attitude and initiative
4. Literacy and numeracy
5. Problem solving
Source: Asdan 2012 survey of employers

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• Employers say that communication skills
are most important for new employees
• But which communication skills do they
mean?
• In pairs, decide which of the following
communication skills are Most and Least
important to employers
Which skills do employers
want most?

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Remembering
instructions
Confident talking to
other people at work or
people you don’t know
Listening carefully
Being friendly and
approachable
Checks when not sure
or confused
Speaking clearly
Knowing words used in
the workplace
Using good non-verbal
skills: facial expression,
body language
Changing style of talking
to suit different people or
different situations
Looking interested when
other people are talking
Working in a team Explaining things
carefully
Which skills do employers
want most?

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Rank the communication skills like this ...
Least important Most important
Be prepared to say why you decided on this ranking
Which skills do employers
want most?

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Today we’ll learn about:
• the communication chain - what different
stages are involved in using language and
communication to communicate
Lesson 2: Learning outcomes

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• The communication chain is an important
element in both the Practice Workshop and the
Employers’ Workshop
• How will you explain the communication chain to
an audience?
Communication chain

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Introducing the communication
chain …
… which is more like a chain reaction
Each ‘domino’ has to do its
bit so that all the following
ones can work too – and all
in a split second!

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Communication chain
1. Notice someone is speaking to you

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Communication chain
2. Focus attention and listen

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Communication chain
3. Hear and understand the words
4. Understand the sentences

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Communication chain
5. Read other
person’s expression
and body language

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Communication chain
6. Get the meaning

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Communication chain
7. Have an idea about what to say

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Communication chain
8. Know what’s appropriate

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Communication chain
9. Find the words in your memory
10. Make sentences to say

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Communication chain
11. Choose the right
expression and body
language to use

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Communication chain
12. Programme your
speech muscles
13. Speak!

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Then keep the conversation going!
Sounds easy, but many young people have
difficulties with different parts of this chain
Communication chain
14. Check other person’s
expression and body
language

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• In small groups, decide how to explain the communication
chain to an audience
• Use your Handbook that shows and explains the different
parts of the chain
• Try to include talking about parts of the chain you find
difficult
• When you have a plan, practise before showing it to the
whole group
• You might want to use role play to show what a break in the
chain could look like
Presenting the communication
chain

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• In small groups, decide how to explain the communication
chain to an audience
• Use your Handbook that shows and explains the different
parts of the chain
• Try to include talking about parts of the chain you find
difficult
• When you have a plan, practise before showing it to the
whole group
• You might want to use role play to show what a break in the
chain could look like
Presenting the communication
chain

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After this session, which of these is correct?
1. I’m brilliant at communication so my future’s looking good
2. I’m rubbish at communication so I’ll be unemployed
forever!
3. If communication skills improve during secondary school,
then I’ll just wait for it to happen
4. I’m good at some of bits of communication and now I know
other parts I need to work on
Closing thoughts

30. After this session, which of these is correct?
1. I’m brilliant at communication so my future’s looking good
2. I’m rubbish at communication so I’ll be unemployed
forever!
3. If communication skills improve during secondary school,
then I’ll just wait for it to happen
4. I’m good at some of bits of communication and now I know
other parts I need to work on
30
Closing thoughts

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So what do I do now?
• Know your own strengths and difficulties with language
and communication
This is called meta-linguistic skill: without this skill it’s
difficult to improve
• Talk to adults at school about how you can improve
• Practise talking in different situations
• Answer the questions in your Handbook to think about how
well you do

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So what do I do now?
• Know your own strengths and difficulties with language
and communication
This is called meta-linguistic skill: without this skill it’s
difficult to improve
• Talk to adults at school about how you can improve
• Practise talking in different situations
• Answer the questions in your Handbook to think about how
well you do

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Today we’ll learn about:
• three different styles of communication:
aggressive, passive and assertive
• the advantages of communicating in an
assertive style
Lesson 3: Learning outcomes

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Aggressive communicators:
• express their feelings and opinions in a
way that ignores the rights of others
• are often verbally and/or physically
abusive, so make other people afraid
• often use a loud voice
• don’t listen well, are rude and interrupt a lot
• always blame others for their mistakes, so
don’t learn from what goes wrong
Aggressive, passive or assertive?

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Passive communicators:
• don’t express their opinions or feelings
• often speak quietly, and have poor eye
contact
• get ‘walked on’ over and over
• don’t try to do anything about their
difficulties so don’t get better as
communicators
Aggressive, passive or assertive?

36. 36
Assertive communicators
• say what they think clearly; stand up for
their own rights but don’t ignore the
rights of others
• listen well to others
• have good eye contact, a calm voice
and relaxed body language
• get better at communication because
they deal with problems and mistakes
when they happen
Aggressive, passive or assertive?

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Aggressive
communicators
think: ‘I’m OK,
you’re not’
Passive
communicators
think: ‘You’re OK,
I’m not’
Assertive
communicators
think: ‘I’m OK,
you’re OK’
Aggressive, passive or assertive?

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Who uses which style?
[Insert images of three celebrities or soap opera
characters known for their assertive, passive or
aggressive styles of communication.]
Aggressive, passive or assertive?

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Today we’ll learn about:
• cooperating in a team
• completing work to a tight deadline
• the winter survival exercise: deciding which
items would be most important?
Lesson 4: Learning outcomes

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1. You’re going to hear about an imaginary situation – a
plane crash in North Scotland – which you are trying to
survive
2. After that, you’ll get 8 items that will help you to survive
3. Then, you’ll each have 10 minutes to decide which
items will be Most helpful and Least helpful
4. Last, you’ll work in a group to try to agree on the Most
and Least helpful items
Winter survival exercise

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You’re travelling by plane across the north of Scotland in January. Temperatures
often fall to minus 10 degrees Centigrade in January.
The engine fails and your plane crash lands into a marsh. The pilot and co-pilot
are both killed.
All the other people escape with the items on the list. Everything else sinks with
the plane.
You’re dressed in ordinary casual clothes. It’s 20 miles to the nearest village.
Rank the items on the list in order of importance from 1 to 8
Winter survival: situation

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Compass
Cigarette lighter (spark
but no fuel) Heavy canvas cloth
Winter survival: some of the items
Hand axe

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Talking targets
• Make sure everyone says their opinion and is
listened to
• Accept that it’s OK for other people’s opinions
to be different to yours
• Reach a compromise about the ranking in the
20-minute deadline