Find someone with whom you’d like to practice better speaking/listening skills; this could be a spouse, friend, family member or anyone else. Set aside 15 minutes for this practice and remove all cell phones (or just use airplane mode), computers or anything else that could be a distraction. Flip a coin to see who speaks first.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes. Person A speaks while Person B listens. Person A practices the principles of mindful speech and shares something that happened from his/her day (something positive, negative, neutral or some new awareness or use of character strengths. Person B practices mindful listening.
- Switch roles. Set another timer for 5 minutes and now Person B is the speaker and Person A listens.
- Open-ended practice of mindful communication. Both Person A and Person B can speak, but take turns; this segment more closely simulates typical real-world conversations but carries forward the practices from the previous steps.
- If desired by both parties, repeat the steps above or conclude for the day.
- Notice what felt different when you were speaking, listening and actively participating in a standard conversation.