Active Listening Exercise: The Telephone Game
How good is your team at active listening and communicating details? This children’s birthday party game can
help you figure it out!
The Telephone Game
1. Have the members of your team stand in a line, side by side.
2. Have them whisper two different messages, several sentences each, down the line – the first message
starting at one end, and the second message starting at the opposite end.
3. Turn on some music or introduce some other background noise to simulate a busy or distracting
environment.
4. When both messages have reached their respective ends, ask the people at the each end to share the
messages they received. Then ask them to share the original message they passed on, if they can
remember it!
5. Have the facilitator read the actual messages that were supposed to be communicated. How well did
the team do in remembering the details and passing on the proper messages?
This allows you to highlight the importance of active listening. What were the hardest details to remember? What were the
easiest?