Communicating with care - mathematical reason : An activity for teachers and students
Communication...
Well, that's a tough one! Okay so perhaps it's not that tough when you have the luxury of social media or electronic devices, but communication in real life can really cause a pity party, especially if it's done in the wrong way or worse, not at all.
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The act of communicating consists of many parts - the message (or words that you use), the sound or tone of voice, facial expression, and body gestures.
Sometimes we say something and the other person understands it the wrong way just because we used a tone of voice that was misleading.
Draw a pie chart on the chalkboard and identify each slice of pie:
Message, Tone of Voice, Facial Expression, and Body gestures.
Explain that the pie chart represents the entire communication process and each pie slice is a part of that process.
We have to be aware of these different parts of communicating when we send a message, because they help the listener understand our intention.
Ask the class to watch carefully to determine if the messages he/she sends uses equal parts of message, tone of voice, facial expression, or body gestures. Role-model a variety of ways of saying the following sentence:
"I really care about you."
Demonstrate emotions ranging from empathy to boredom, using more or less vivid facial expressions or body gestures for each demonstration.
After each role, ask the class to evaluate the performance, re-divide the pie slices to reflect the emphasis placed on facial expression, body language, and so on.
For example:
- a message that uses no facial expression will only have a pie with three slices;
- a message that is mostly gestures will have one large slice and three small slices.
Wait for class response, then re-draw the pie chart after each demonstration to reflect the correct proportion of his/her use of facial expression, body gestures, and so on used in his/her prior demonstration.
Identify the emotional intent of the message (care, distraction, boredom, and so on). Have students role-model their own messages and have class members correctly identify the proportions of their pie chart after each demonstration. Class will also determine the overall emotional content of each message.
Homework:
Ask the class to deliver the message "I really care about you" to three people who are important to them (for example, parents, friends, relatives) in three different ways. Have students make up their own pie charts to reflect their message deliveries and discuss this with other students the following day (or week).
