Can you use board games to improve communication? With the variety of board games available on retail shelves, you can find different types of games to improve different types of communication breakdowns.
Why Do You Need to Improve Communication
First, figure out what kind of communication you want to develop. Communication doesn't always mean verbal. What about emotional or body language communication? If you do need to improve verbal communication, what specifically?
Do you want more articulation? Comprehension? Maybe you want to increase your vocabulary or general use or want to be able to think quicker on your feet. No matter what your reason is, understanding what you want to improve can help you select a board game to improve communication.
Selection of Board Games to Improve Communication
General Word Knowledge
- Scrabble. A classic word game where you create words based on any number of tiles in conjunction with words already on the gameboard. The more words you know, the better you'll play and higher you'll score. This board game to improve communication does so in that it forces you to seek out new words or concentrate on forming words with what you have.
- Boggle is similar to Scrabble, but instead of a gameboard, you form words from a number of lettered die randomly flipped in a grid. You connect letters to make words so a good knowledge of three, four or five-lettered words is helpful.
Speaking and Articulation
Games that improve speaking and articulation usually involve visual cues or trivia questions or partners.
- Cranium Games. Any type of game from the Cranium library can improve communication. Just about every type of game is represented in the Cranium games, like puzzle solving, acting, singing/humming, sketching and sculpting. Players or teams try to outguess each other in response to silly games that get your brain working overtime to figure out how to best communicate with others.
- Taboo. Teams or partners are given words they must try to get their teammates to say. Unfortunately, you are also given a list of words you can't say; therefore, you must try to get your partner to guess based on other clues. Say one of the Taboo words, and you're out.
Quick Thinking
- Pictionary. Players draw pictures so that teams can guess what they are. The quicker you talk it out and figure out the picture, the better your team does. Answers are blurted out in quick succession, and you must be clear in what you say, otherwise your correct answer may not be heard.
- Scattegories. Playing this game aloud is a good way to improve communication and quick-thinking. Once you are given a category and a letter, you have to come up with words that start with the letter based on the category.
Any Game You Want
The above board games to improve communication are not limited to the ones listed here. You can make any game sitting on your shelf function as a tool for better speaking, articulating and communicating. For example, most families or households have a chess set. Teaching someone to play chess shows how well instructions are spoken and received. Or if two players are veterans of the game, talking about strategies is a great way to get insight to your opponent the next time you play them. Try some of the following games you might have lying around the house to improve communication:
- Monopoly. This game can teach you to communicate needs or wants (payment for landing on property, negotiating.)
- Risk.Using thoughtful strategy and informing your opponent of your actions can either give you away or make you intimidating.
- Battleship. Listening in order to communicate is important in this classic board game.
The most important part of any board game is fun. All board games must have excellent communication between players so that each and every person can have a good time playing the game.
