Bell Ringer Open your student workbook and turn to page 63. Under the heading Journal Entry, write a few sentences explaining what “good communication” means to you. What does good communication look like, sound like, and feel like?

Unit 1: Emotional & Mental Health Lesson 8 – Skills for Effective Communication

Healthy Behavior Outcomes Express feelings in a healthful way. Show tolerance and acceptance of differences in others.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: Lesson Objectives By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: Demonstrate the use of I-messages to communicate emotions in healthy ways. Demonstrate effective communication skills to enhance emotional health.

What are some ways you communicate with the important people in your life? Have you ever had a problem or misunderstanding with a family member or friend that was caused by poor or misunderstood communication? What are some benefits of being able to communicate your thoughts and emotions to others in clear and effective ways?

What Can I Say? Turn to page 23 in your workbook.

Summary I-messages let you share how you are feeling without blaming or upsetting the other person. They also open the door for future communication. If you share that you are upset about the lie, without accusing or blaming, chances are your friend will apologize or explain why he or she lied.

Passive Look away Don’t make eye contact Soft and unsure tone of voice Response is uncertain

Aggressive Tense body Crossed arms Glaring eye contact Loud or harsh tone of voice Criticize

Assertive Stand up straight but comfortable Make friendly eye contact Use a moderate and reasonable tone as you clearly and confidently decline the request More likely to get what you want and will be able to avoid something you don’t want to do without upsetting others

Summary When you know someone isn’t listening as you speak, you may think that he or she doesn’t consider what you say to be important. Practicing your own listening skills is a way to make sure you give others the same attention you’d like to receive when you are communicating.

What kind of body language and facial expressions would show that you are listening? Have you ever been talking to someone and that person was looking around the room, texting or reading a text from someone else, or doing other things that indicated he or she was not really listening to you? What did you think? How did you feel?

Practice Communication Skills Now you are going to have a chance to practice your communication skills with a partner.

After practicing these communication skills, which ones do you think you do best? Which ones do you think you need to improve?