﻿Hello everybody, my name's Emma. And welcome to today's lesson. I'm looking forward to today's session and I hope you are too. I can't wait to get started. But before we do, just a quick reminder. We here at Oak, are here to support any approaches you might already be using, and any work you might have already been set. We know this lesson is going out to so many different children and families. So if you're not sure or have any questions, please do contact your child's school or usual speech and language therapy team. In today's lesson, I'll be talking to you about what non verbal communication is. And we'll be using what we learn to think about how we can read people. We're going to have a go reading some people's non verbal communication, and then I'm going to share some hints and tips for more activities that you could try at home to continue to work on this skill. For today's session, all you'll need is the downloadable resources that's available on the Oak website with this lesson. So before we begin, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Turn off any distractions or notifications that you might have running on the device that you're using for this lesson. And then make sure that you and your talking partner are seated comfortably. When you're ready, let's begin. Okay, let's start by doing some talking and thinking about reading people. When people are talking, they communicate messages in two ways. One way is through the words they say, verbal communication. The second way, is through something called non verbal communication. This is when messages are given away by things like our facial expression, our body language, and our tone of voice. Non verbal communication helps us read how people are feeling and what they're thinking. It can also help other people read us. Here's an example. I'm going to make a facial expression. I wonder if you can work out how I'm feeling. Ready? What did my facial expression tell you? That's right, it was a sad face. What about this one? Yeah, that's right. That was a happy face. So you were able to read my face and have a think about how I was feeling. That's amazing! You used my non verbal communication as a signal for how I was feeling. Let's have another go at reading some non verbal communication. Pause the video to get yourself ready. We're going to have a look at a picture. Okay, here's our picture. How do you think this man is feeling? What is his non verbal communication telling us? Pause the video to have a talk and a think with your adult. And then when you've got a few ideas in mind, press play, to continue and we'll check what the answers are. One of the first things that I noticed when looking at this picture, was this man's facial expression. The look on his face. It tells me, he might be happy. Did you think the same? The other thing I noticed, was what he was doing with his hands. He looks like he's giving a bit of a fist pump. I wonder whether something good has happened to him. He looks like he's feeling happy. Did you think the same thing? Oh, great, well done. Let's continue. In the downloadable resource, I've included an activity that we need right now. With your talking partner, I'd like you to think about what a person's non verbal communication looks and sounds like when they're feeling different emotions. You need to think about what someone's facial expression, body language, and tone of voice are like, when they're feeling different ways. When you've finished, come back to the video and press play, and we'll continue with the rest of the lesson. Non verbal communication can also change the meaning of what's being said. Listen to how I'm about to say, "Oh great." Oh great! Now compare it to this. Oh great. I said the same thing, but how I said it really changed the meaning. When I said it in a happy voice, it sounded good. When I said it a bit annoyed, didn't sound like I really thought it was great at all. We need to listen and look very carefully at people's non verbal communication to really understand what they're saying. And to help us to try not to get mixed messages. So now we're going to have a go playing around with some mixed messages. In your downloadable resource, I'd like you to access activity two. You're going to take it in turns with your adult, giving some messages. You're going to change your facial expression, body language, and tone of voice. And then you're going to think about what happens to the meaning of these messages, when you use different non verbal communication skills. Once you've had a play around with these mixed messages, come back to the video and press play, and we'll finish the rest of the lesson. We need to use and read non verbal communication in conversations. By thinking about our conversation partner's facial expression, body language, and tone of voice, it will help us to keep the conversation going. Non verbal communication tells us whether our conversation partner is interested and still paying attention. We're going to have one last activity now. This is called The Conversation Tree, and it's by a fantastic lady called Michelle Garcia Winner. In the downloadable source, I've included some topics that you could talk about. You need to choose a topic, and then follow the instructions on how to make your conversation tree. Practise keeping conversation going, and try and build a big tall colourful tree if you can. When you're finished, come back to the video and I'll give you a little bit more information before you've finished for today. If it looks like a conversation partner is losing interest, or is not paying attention anymore, there are a few things that we need to think about. We need to think about whether our conversation partner understands what we're talking about. We might not have given them enough information and they might be confused. The other thing we can think about is whether we're still on topic. Sometimes, it can be hard to follow conversation if the other person changes the topic very quickly. And this can be to people feeling confused. The other thing we can think about is how long we've been talking in a conversation. If we talk for too long, this can lead to the other person getting bored because they haven't had that turn. Thinking about these points will help you to get your conversation partner's attention, and try and get the conversation back on track. Use the downloadable resource for more talking topics to practise having conversations. These can be with adults, siblings, or other people in your family, or friends and peers. You should try and role play what happens when conversation goes off track, and have a go thinking up some strategies for how you can try and get conversation back on track and keep it going. Well, that brings us to the end of today's lesson. But well done on all the fantastic learning you've achieved today, about how we can use non verbal communication to read people. Before you go, I'd just like to ask one thing. Please take a picture of some of the work that you've done through the lesson today, and ask your parent or carer to share this with your teacher at school so they can see the fantastic progress that you're making with your social communication skills. If you'd like, you could ask your parent or carer to send a picture of your work to @OakNational on Twitter, so I can see your lovely progress too. Well, all that's left for me to say is thank you. But take care and enjoy the rest of your learning for today. Bye bye.

Non verbal behaviours and how these can be used as cues in conversation

In this lesson, we will introduce the concept of non verbal behaviours and how these can be used as cues in conversation. Resources provided by University of Gloucestershire (CC BY-NC-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0)

Lesson overview:Reading people

Core Content

Equipment Required

Interaction and communication: