10 Ways to Enjoy Yourself and Boost Your Communication Skills at the Same Time

Personal development is big business these days. Everyone seems to be on a crusade of some kind to get fit, lose weight, manage anger, de-stress, and go further in life and career. There’s no shortage of teachers, coaches, books, webinars and courses to help us do it.

One of the top skills we’re encouraged to develop is our communication. Rightly so; communication is a top skill employers look for, and mastering it is a seriously rewarding achievement. It doesn’t have to be seriously hard work though. However, when we hear the word ‘skill’, we tend to think that way — work, study, effort, boredom. Improving your communication (skills) can actually be fun, and be part of your daily routine or leisure time.

The key to making skills development fun is in our intention. Often we partake in the everyday or leisure activities I list below without considering how we might learn from them. We don’t intentionally enter into them with the aim of improving a skill. When we do that however, it becomes a whole new experience. Number one, we become much more present and engaged in the activity through our intention. Number two, we get more from the activity — not just enjoyment, but enrichment and growth too.

Communication isn’t the only strength you can develop either — team-building, attention to detail, multi-tasking, mindfulness, and others can all be built from many everyday things we do — as long as we apply the intention. For example, reading a fictional novel based in the past could simply be a leisure activity. It could also be the chance to educate yourself more about the history of the period in question. Often we passively process information without truly absorbing or critically thinking about what we learn. Keep a notebook handy to record things to research later, new vocabulary, food for thought and conversation — and follow up by doing those things. A little intention takes that simple act of pleasure reading to a new level of development. It’s also a practice of time management when we can achieve several results from one activity.

Take some time before beginning to determine what you would like to get out of a certain activity, apart from the obvious, and how you might best go about it. Do you need to prepare anything in advance to help your success? Ask yourself what are your takeaways after the activity, and how you might improve it next time.

Here are 10 leisure activities that will add enjoyment and contribute to your overall wellness, while improving your communication skills at the same time. Whether it’s your spoken communication for better relationships, written communication for marketing your online business, or non-verbal communication (body language) to build your confidence, adding some laughs, relaxation and ease to your practice will make all the difference. Most of them are lockdown friendly too.

Charades for body language

A game of Charades with friends is a great way to become aware of and practise using body language to express yourself. It’s also an opportunity to watch others in action and make observations on gestures, reactions and harness the power of non-verbal communication.

Conduct a silent retreat

You don’t need to go away from home to do this. Silence is an important and effective element of communication. While indulging in a 10-day silent retreat in an exotic location may be the ultimate way to practise silence, you can recreate your own retreat at home anytime. Just let family and friends know what you’re doing, and establish some boundaries and rules for yourself and others before starting. Learn to get comfortable with silence and observant of your thoughts. Often much of what we communicate is unnecessary, and sometimes it can be harmful or exaggerated. Strengthen your resolve to say nothing, be unreactive, give your voice a rest, and let your senses take over.

Crosswords and coffee or cocktails

Pour a glass of sangria, a cold beer, or a hot cuppa and sit back and relax with a wordsearch or crossword brain teaser. I’m more of a wordsearch girl myself, but I’ll attempt the odd crossword now and again too for a change. You can find both of them free in most magazines and newspapers. Unless you’re really ambitious, don’t attempt the difficult ones and then feel bad because you didn’t get all the answers. Crosswords can be tricky; start with easy ones and build your skills. Wordsearches are just fun and generally doable.

* If you come across words you don’t know, make sure to look them up, record them and learn them.

Actively read or listen to a book

Reading really is cardio for your communication skills. It is an excellent way to broaden your vocabulary, understand others better, expand your knowledge on anything and everything, improve your writing skills, and train your brain. All of that can be achieved from the comfort of your home, on a Sunday morning in bed, at night when the house is quiet, or when travelling on public transport, sunbathing in the park, etc. Combine it with something else you enjoy such as soothing background music or your favourite snack and escape into another world for a few blissful hours.

If, for some reason, reading isn’t possible or simply not what you want to do, plug in your earphones and listen to an audio book. Audible is a great app, but there are many alternatives out there.

People watch

If the weather is good and you’ve time on your hands, or you’re waiting around for someone, avoid the temptation to bury your head in your smartphone. Sit back, relax, enjoy the sun on your face, and watch, watch, watch. It’s better than any social media or soap opera. You will learn so much from observing people’s body language and interactions. Take notes if you want to be a good student, and then experiment and implement what you’ve learned.

Watch a foreign movie with subtitles

Learning a foreign language has endless benefits, one of which is keeping your brain healthy as you age. Foreign language speakers are even said to be at lower risk of debilitating conditions later in life. Even if you don’t speak another language, you can still enjoy foreign movies. In fact, you’re missing out on thousands of excellent titles if you’re avoiding them simply because the original language is foreign. Give your eyes, ears and brain some extra stimulation and train them to work together while enjoying a foreign language movie. Here are some to get you started: Amélie (French); La Vita è Bella (Italian); Todo Sobre Mi Madre (Spanish).

Play a game of Scrabble

This old-school vocabulary game will teach you something every time, and it is a great way to break the monotony on an otherwise uneventful night. Again, you’ll have a laugh with family or friends, work your brain and build your vocabulary.

Download the Words with Friends app

Like Scrabble, but online and interactive, you can also build your vocabulary with this free app. It’s a great way to take a break from work or study, practise your language skills and stay in touch with friends, instead of mindlessly scrolling Facebook.

Read some poetry — explore slam poetry for something different

I always encourage reading a wide variety of material — novels, articles, newspapers, non-fiction, journals, etc. Poetry is a very particular type of literature and it will challenge your brain more than regular prose. It will force you to search for its sense and contemplate its meaning, as you navigate its unconventional structures and rhymes. If you really want to master language use, poetry will help you. Try reading it out loud for maximum effect, and improve your presentation skills.

Listen to some slam poetry on YouTube for something different. There’s a whole world of this material out there that deserves to be explored. If you can find live poetry readings near you, even better. Go have a night out and meet new people. You never know what’s around the corner.

Have fun experimenting with a new look

Communication is everything. We send messages about ourselves through our presentation, our posture, our facial expressions, our gestures, our actions, as well as our speech and writing. They say that a change is as good as a break — so by simply tweaking a few things about your appearance, you could feel like a new person. Invite friends around for a swap party or go on a shopping spree. Get a make-up demo done at a department store, or follow a tutorial on YouTube. The possibilities are endless and they could transform your physical presence, giving you a whole new lease of life, fresh energy and more confidence.

Remember the two additional steps:

1. Think about what you want — intend — to get out of the activity in terms of skills before beginning.

2. Consider your takeaways after completing the activity — what did you learn? What will you do as a result? How can you improve your experience next time?

Ten ways to improve your communication skills that are actually appealing, can be done with friends or alone, and combined with other leisure activities. None of them will break the bank either. Personal development just got much more attractive.

Pick three to get started and let me know in the comments below which you chose.

Originally published at https://www.siobhangallagher.co on June 25, 2021.