Tips, Practices, and Activities for Mindful Communication
published 3/7/20; updated 12/22/20
Photo by Jopwell from Pexels
by Catharine Hannay, founder of MindfulTeachers.org
One of my main goals here at Mindful Teachers is helping educators quickly and easily find the resources you need. Here's a curated collection of useful tips, practices, and activities to help adults and kids express themselves honestly and kindly in a complex, interconnected world.
Mindful Listening
The Gift of Your Presence: quick tips for being fully present in a conversation
Mindful Listening in a Noisy World: three practices to help adults and kids focus in a distracting environment, by Ira Rabois, author of Compassionate Critical Thinking.
Mindful Listening and Mindful Speech: Quotes for Reflection and Discussion
Mindful Speech
Changing the Script: This suggestion from The Autism Playbook for Teens can help any of us calmly respond when we're feeling annoyed.
Four Principles for Mindful Communication with Kids, by Oren Jay Sofer at Mindful Schools
7 Teacher Phrases That Can Change Your Classroom Culture, by Elizabeth Mulhavil at We Are Teachers
What Type of Conversation Do You Want?: Even if the other person doesn't respond exactly as we'd like them to, it can still help to have a plan before going into a difficult conversation. (Also see: Imaginary Script: A Mindful Communication Practice.)
Wise Elder Visualization: a practice for parents and teachers (from Mindful Discipline: A Loving Approach to Setting Limits & Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child): Imagine a supportive elder who can help you respond mindfully in emotionally-charged situations.
How to Have a Good Conversation
(12 minutes)
tips from Celeste Headlee, award-winning interviewer
and the author of We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter
Practices for Adults
Stop, Wait, Go (knowing when to speak, when to be quiet and when to wait and see), by Susan Gillis Chapman for Mindful.org:
Wholehearted Listening (to improve teacher-student relationships), by Tish Jennings for Mindful Magazine
Activities for Adolescents
These are brief 'case studies'/scenarios for discussion, based on typical challenges of adolescents.
Power Struggles, from the Mindfulness for Teen Anger
T.H.I.N.K. Before You Speak 1 and T.H.I.N.K. Before You Speak 2
These are among the most popular activities here at MindfulTeachers.org. I've also got a printable THINK worksheet that combines the two original activities. (This is the version I included in my book Being You: A Girl's Guide to Mindfulness.)
(11 minutes)
Keegan Korf explains some of her own missteps as a young woman on social media, and discusses how we can help kids learn to curate their online content.
Mindful Social Media Use
How Mindful Am I Online?: a quiz about cell phone and social media use
Insta-Ready: Helping teens develop the digital literacy skills they need to manage the glossy images they see on social media, by Bari Walsh for Usable Knowledge (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
Is Your Teen Addicted to Tech? How to Stop Panicking and Create Healthy Solutions, by Erica Marcus for Mindful Schools
Mindful Cell Phone Use, for Students and Teachers: reflections and discussion topics by Ira Rabois, author of Compassionate Critical Thinking
Mindful Social Networking: suggestions for managing our own social media use, by Ethan Nichtern for Mindful.org
12 Brain Benefits of Unplugging—And How to Find Device-Free Time for Your Students, by Stacy Tornio for We Are Teachers.
Academic Discussion and Debate
How to Listen with Compassion in the Classroom, by Martha Caldwell for Greater Good: "Guided by their own questions, which arise out of classroom sharing and compassionate listening, students become inspired to learn."
Only If You Listen Can You Hear: Ira Rabois, author of Compassionate Critical Thinking, explains how to teach students to participate in a learning dialogue, and how to handle tension in class discussions.
Using Mindful Questioning to Enhance Academic Learning: Ira Rabois gives suggestions for integrating mindfulness instruction with academic content in English, Philosophy, Drama, History, and Psychology.
If you found these resources useful, you may also be interested in:
Video Playlists on:
Mindful (vs. Clueless) Communication (includes advice for adults and kids on communicating kindly and effectively
Thought-Provoking Videos about Empathy, Compassion, and Service (includes advice on 'how to have a good conversation' and 'what not to say' to people who are different from us)
Resources for Practicing and Teaching Kindness and Compassion
and see the Mindfulness Resources page for many more posts about practicing and teaching mindfulness, compassion, and SEL.