LISTENING WORKSHOP

On the 15th of March,Friday,a listening workshop was held by Janet Lee at the Kid's Studio.The workshop,which was attended by both parents and children, started at 9.30 in the morning although we were told to be there by 9.00 a.m.Before we started,each of us took turns to lead the group in warm-ups and exercises to get us going)First of all,Janet asked us why we were at the workshop that day.Some of us said,"To learn how to listen." while others said "To talk less."Janet said that she would ask us that question again at the end of the workshop.

            To begin this workshop,Janet gave each of us a piece of paper and told us to grade ourselves,out of 10,for how well we listen.No one gave themselves a 10.Next,we played 'Simon Says'.Janet asked us to grade ourselves again.After that,we played the 'Whispering Game'.Most of us did not follow the rules as we had the competitive spirit and wanted to win.Therefore,we even took the chance to bend the rules a bit.Once again,we were asked to grade ourselves.(By looking at the gradings on the paper,I realised that the numbers were increasing.Yay!)

            After a 15 minute break,we continued the workshop.In this section,we were asked to partner with a friend and tell him/her about our dream last night.(There were a few funny dreams,mainly because we didn't have a dream last nightnd had to make one up.)Then,we had to tell Janet what made us feel that our partner was listening.Amongst them were:

·Eye contact

·Open body

·Nodding

·Appropiate gestures

Next,we were asked to wear 'masks' called filters.Filters are sentences that appear in a person's mind when talking such as,"Is she listening to me?"It distracts us from paying attention to what the other person is saying.This time we had to partner with an older person and talk about 'The Greatest Challenge In My Life".Then,Janet asked us to write down whatever filters came into our heads.Before lunch break,we had to partner with someone else,this time someone who was close to us,and talk about the same subject.But,including"How I'm Going To Overcome This" and "How I Want You To Help Me".Writing down our filters,we were then allowed to go for our lunch break.

            Finally,Janet asked us to sit in family groups and share our feelings with them while holding hands.At this poin,most of us started to get emotional.Janet then asked us to go around and share our feelings with our other friends.The person who shares must say"Thank you for listening" and the other person must say"Thank you for sahring."Everyone was soon hugging each other.Janet patiently waited for us to settle down before doing our last activity for that day.Each of us was given a piece of manilla card to do something for a family member.I did a card for my brother,Mr.Scientist.At 4.00 in the evening,the workshop ended.I learnt that listening helps us to understand each other a lot more and allows our relationship to become closer.Thank you.

 By:Natalie Ong