Thursday, April 16, 2015

2015 RLP #2: Effective Communication



Let's Talk! Effective Communication:

2015 Resident Leadership Program

by Kelsey Sullivan, Resident Engagement AmeriCorps VISTA Member



On Tuesday, April 7, the Community Building & Organizing team was excited to host the second installment of our 2015 Resident Leadership Program. The theme of the workshop was: “Let’s Talk! Tips for Effective Communication” and was facilitated by Velma George, a longtime community member and esteemed Neighborhood Specialist with the City of New Haven's Livable City Initiative.

Velma shared her extensive knowledge and expertise on the qualities of effective communication and the obstacles that break communication down in our organizations, home life, and professional relationships. Through a variety of interactive activities, Ms. George led the class through concrete communication practice with an emphasis on developing a strong understanding of verbal and nonverbal communication as well as reviewing strong listening skills.

The curriculum clearly resonated with the program participants. In the opening ice-breaker, everyone had only two minutes to draft a campaign slogan that they would use if they were running to be the mayor of New Haven, and they were challenged to limit their slogan to only six words. Later, in a unique drawing activity, participants had to sketch a bug creature as Velma described it out loud, but no one was allowed to ask any questions regarding what the bug was supposed to look like. Each interactive activity highlighted the importance of communication skills and different strategies for effective communication. Class participants responded with a candid discussion about how to implement these skills in our own homes and neighborhoods.


Tuesday night’s event was the second of five workshops that Neighborhood Housing Services is offering as its 2015 Resident Leadership Program. The next workshop will be the evening of Tuesday, April 21st and will focus on “Staying Strong through Recruitment and Retention.” It promises to be an inspiring event, and we look forward to seeing our class return on the 21st!

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