Slap What? An Interactive Lesson in Nonverbal Communication
This article discusses the use of nonverbal communication strategies for fostering social health in middle school students. It outlines a teaching technique designed to help students better understand nonverbal cues and their role in maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships. The technique begins with the card game “Slap What?” where the object is to have the most cards by the end of the game. Students play by observing and interpreting their classmates' nonverbal cues and soon realize that actions do speak louder than words. The technique concludes with a discussion on interpreting nonverbal cues as a means of maintaining interpersonal communication and relationships and reducing health risks.
According to Greenberg, social health “is the ability to interact well with people and the environment and having satisfying interpersonal relationships.”1 To cultivate social health in adolescents, it is necessary to develop their ability to communicate verbally and nonverbally. Consequently, the National Health Education Standards (NHES) recognize communication as a strategy to “enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.”2(p.30) Additionally, standard 4 of the NHES stresses the importance of “teaching students how responsible individuals use verbal and nonverbal skills to develop and maintain healthy personal relationships.”2(p.30)
Communication can be defined as the sharing of one's thoughts and emotions with others, either verbally or nonverbally. Verbal communication includes spoken words and sounds, and the volume and tone used to express them. In contrast, nonverbal communication is unspoken, and includes facial expressions, body movements, gestures, observance of personal space, and eye contact.3 Both verbal and nonverbal communication are important for healthy relationships; however, researchers have found that 93% of message meanings come from nonverbal cues.4 Interpreting nonverbal cues is not always easy, especially for adolescents. In fact, research suggests that adolescents are more likely to respond with gut reactions to emotional stimuli, whereas adults are more likely to respond with more rational, reasoned responses.5 One way to facilitate the development of interpretation skills in adolescents is to present opportunities to communicate nonverbally and discuss the reactions that arise. The following teaching strategy is designed to elicit nonverbal cues within the context of a competitive game and encourage students to effectively transfer and interpret them in order to promote healthy communication and interpersonal relationships.
GRADE LEVEL
This teaching technique is designed for middle school youth in formal or informal education settings.
Objectives
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- •
define verbal and nonverbal communication;
- •
identify at least 3 examples of nonverbal cues;
- •
summarize their emotional reactions to 2 nonverbal cues;
- •
identify 2 ways nonverbal communication that can promote healthy interpersonal communication and relationships.
NHES: PERFORMANCE INDICATOR
This activity incorporates the following NHES performance indicator:
4.8.1 Demonstrate effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills to enhance health.
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
The materials listed are for a group of 25 students:
- •
A standard deck of 52 playing cards for every 5 students;
- •
Directions sheet (Figure 1);
- •
Five envelopes;
- •
Desks, tables, or another hard surface for card play. If using desks, have students move them together to form a small table-like surface;
- •
Markers, newsprint, or white board to record responses.
Directions Sheet
Pre-Activity Preparation
A deck of playing cards is needed for every 5 students in the class for this activity. Remove the jokers from each deck. The directions sheet (Figure 1) contains 5 different sets of directions. Make 5 copies of each set of directions and place into an envelope. The directions for each group vary slightly with an emphasis on a particular playing card (eg, Ace, Jack, King). For larger classes, create additional directions sheets for more groups by changing the card specified in the sixth bullet so that the directions ask each group to look for a different playing card.
ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES
Approximately 40 minutes should be allotted for completion of this activity.
Step One
Divide students into groups of 5 and instruct them to spread out to create space between each group. Explain that they will be playing a card game in which the object is to have the most cards by the end of the game. There are 3 guidelines for the game: (1) there is no talking or verbal communication; (2) do not look at your cards; and (3) if you have a question, raise your hand for help from the teacher.
Step Two
The teacher should choose 1 student in each group to be the dealer and distribute a deck of cards and 1 envelope with directions to each dealer. Ask the dealer from each group to pick up the envelope and distribute the directions inside to each group member. Ask students to read the directions silently and return their directions to the envelope, set it aside, and begin playing round one. The teacher will circulate around the room, collect the envelopes, and quietly enforce the guidelines throughout the round.
Step Three
As round 1 comes to an end, instruct students to place their cards in the center of the workspace, and sit quietly until all groups are finished. Once everyone is finished, instruct the dealer to stay at his or her table. Have the person to the dealer's immediate left move clockwise to the first table. Have the second person to the dealer's left also move clockwise but to the second table, repeat for the other 2 or more players. This movement should create new groups in which students will begin play with different sets of instructions. Remind students not to talk as they move, and once the groups are reconfigured begin playing round 2 with the same dealer from round 1.
Step Four
Circulate around the room to make sure all guidelines are observed. This will become increasingly difficult because each group has players with a different set of directions instructing them to slap different cards. Some students may become confused or frustrated while others will catch on to the change and adjust to try to win. Displays of nonverbal communication will increase, and at times, students may resort to verbal communication to resolve the conflict. Continue to circulate and encourage students to adhere to the guidelines and finish the round. Once round 2 is complete, instruct students to put their cards away and tell them the game is over.
DEBRIEFING
Engage students in a whole-class discussion using the following prompts:
- 1
How do you feel right now?
- 2
By show of hands, how many people felt frustrated? Confused? Other feelings?
- 3
How do your feelings at the end of the second round compare to your feelings during the first round?
- 4
What did you or your classmates do to communicate instead of talking?
- 5
What types of nonverbal cues were used during this game?
- 6
How did you interpret those cues and why did you make these conclusions?
ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE
Discussion and Key Content
Use these questions to guide a discussion about the role of nonverbal communication, how it is expressed, interpreted, and how it contributes to interpersonal communication and relationships.
- 1
What is communication?
Communication is the sharing of one's thoughts and emotions with others, either verbally or nonverbally.
- 2
What is the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication?
Verbal communication is spoken words and sounds, and the volume and tone used to express them. Nonverbal communication uses no words. It includes facial expressions, body movements, gestures, and eye contact.
- 3
What are some forms of nonverbal communication?
- •
Facial expressions—smile, yawn, frown…
- •
Gestures—waving, thumbs-up, hands on hips…
- •
Posture—slouching, hunched shoulders, towering…
- •
Bodily functions—sweating, tears, blushing…
- •
Moving in own personal space and in and out of other's personal space…
- 4
What other body language did someone use during the game?
Smiles, frown, slapping harder, pushing back from the table (Possible answers).
- 5
How did you feel when you observed different types of body language—why did you feel this way?
Confused, angry, frustrated… (Possible answers).
- 6
If you saw your best friend sitting alone and crying how would it make you feel?
I would feel sad too. I would want them to feel better or happy again… (Possible answers).
- 7
What would you do to make them feel better?
Talk to them, try to cheer them up… (Possible answers).
- 8
What is social health?
Social health is the ability to interact with others and maintain healthy relationships.
- 9
What are 2 ways healthy communication can affect social health?
Communication is the sharing of one's thoughts and emotions with others, either verbally or nonverbally. When we share our thoughts and emotions we share ourselves. Through effective communication we are able to make friends, show others how we care, show our love for our family and express our concerns when we are unhappy or dissatisfied. If we communicate well our relationships will be stronger and more meaningful.
At the conclusion of the discussion, ask students to write a personal reflection about today's lesson. The reflection must include a comparison of nonverbal and verbal communication, at least 3 examples of nonverbal communication they observed, how they interpreted others' nonverbal cues and why, and 2 examples of how nonverbal communication can promote healthy interpersonal communication and relationships with others. See optional Slap What? Reflection Paper Rubric (Table 1).
| Category | Excellent | Good | Average | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organization | The information is very organized. Paragraphs are constructed well | The information is organized. Paragraphs are constructed well | The information is organized but paragraphs are not well constructed | The information is disorganized. Paragraphs are not well constructed |
| Nonverbal communication observation | Student demonstrates strong understanding by including 3 or more examples of nonverbal communication | Student demonstrates understanding by including 2–3 or more examples of nonverbal communication | Student demonstrates understanding but only includes 1–3 examples of nonverbal communication | Student does not demonstrate understanding/or does not include examples of nonverbal communication |
| Interpretation of nonverbal cues | Student clearly describes their personal reaction to 2 or more nonverbal cues from others and gives reasons for their reaction(s) | Student describes their personal reaction(s) to 1–2 nonverbal cues from others and gives reasons for their reaction(s) | Student briefly describes their personal reaction to 1 or more nonverbal cues, but offers little to no detail about reasons for their reaction | Student does not describe their personal reaction to others' nonverbal cues or reasons for their reaction |
| Lists examples and describes how nonverbal communication can promote healthy interpersonal communication with others | Student clearly describes 2 or more ways nonverbal communication can promote healthy interpersonal communication and relationships with others | Student describes 1–2 ways nonverbal communication can promote healthy interpersonal communication and relationships with others | Student somewhat describes 1–2 ways nonverbal communication can promote healthy interpersonal communication and relationships with others | Student does not describe or offer examples of how nonverbal can promote healthy interpersonal communication and relationships with others |
| Mechanics | No grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors | Almost no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors | A few grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors | Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors |
