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!
No comments:
Post a Comment