A simple, interactive tool to help you practice listening skills. Using a bingo card with techniques like paraphrasing, open-ended questions, and empathy statements, aim to complete a line or the whole card over multiple sessions.
Active Listening Bingo
- Active Listening, Effective Communication, Engagement
Introduction
Objective/Description
Active Listening Bingo is a practical and interactive tool designed to help mentors improve their active listening skills through a structured yet flexible activity. Using a bingo-style card filled with common active listening techniques—such as paraphrasing, open-ended questions, non-verbal cues, and empathy statements—mentors aim to complete a line or fill the entire card as they practice these skills over multiple mentorship sessions.
This activity is adaptable and can be used in various ways to enhance mentors’ self-awareness, boost mentees’ confidence, and foster deeper engagement in the mentorship relationship. By focusing on different active listening techniques, mentors can improve their ability to make mentees feel heard and valued, creating a stronger and more effective mentoring connection.
To get started, mentors can find and download the Active Listening Bingo Card template here.
Steps/Process
Ways to Use Active Listening Bingo
- Self-Reflection Bingo:
- How It Works: After a mentoring session (whether in-person, online, or on-the-job), the mentor completes the bingo card independently by checking off techniques they used during the session. They can make quick notes next to each square on what worked well or where they’d like to improve.
- Goal: After each session, mentors review the card and reflect on which techniques were easy or challenging to use, which felt most effective, and how they impacted the conversation.
- Purpose: This self-reflective approach helps mentors assess their listening skills privately, encouraging them to set personal goals and refine their approach without the mentee’s involvement.
- Mentee Feedback Bingo:
- How It Works: The mentor gives the mentee a bingo card at the beginning of the session or shares it afterward. The mentee can observe and check off techniques during the conversation, or they can complete the card afterward based on which techniques they noticed the mentor using.
- Options:
- Real-Time Use: Mentees use the bingo card during the session to actively observe and check off items as they recognize them in the mentor’s approach.
- Post-Session Feedback: Alternatively, mentors can share the card with the mentee after the session, asking them to reflect on which techniques they noticed and how these made them feel.
- Goal: To create a shared experience where mentees become more aware of active listening skills. They gain insight into the mentoring process and can offer feedback, which helps the mentor understand the impact of their listening techniques.
- Purpose: This variation promotes transparency, deepens the mentor-mentee connection, and empowers mentees to actively engage with and reflect on the mentoring experience.
- Skill building bingo challenge
- How It Works: Mentors set a personal challenge to complete the entire bingo card over a set period (e.g., one month). Each mentoring session, they focus on a few techniques, aiming to use different ones each time until they’ve completed the card. They track progress on the card, making notes on which techniques were used and reflecting on their effectiveness after each session.
- Goal: To build and expand the mentor’s active listening skills gradually across multiple sessions, creating a comprehensive practice of all techniques.
- Purpose: This method encourages mentors to incorporate a wide range of active listening skills over time, allowing them to focus on steady growth rather than immediate results. It also supports long-term development and builds consistency in the use of diverse active listening techniques.
Conclusion/Outcome
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