Discuss the social courtesies expected in answering a phone:
at home.
as if student worked as a receptionist at a business.
Have two students engage in a mock phone call. Without looking at each other, have students practice listening and speaking, attentively waiting for an appropriate pause to hold up their end of the conversation. Do we listen more attentively to tone of voice, if we cannot see the facial expressions of our conversation partner?
Taking Turns Talking:
To prevent anyone from interrupting a speaker, use any object, such as a stick, a ball, a stone etc. and place it in the middle of a small discussion group. Then, take turns reaching for the object. Only the one who is holding the item can speak. When that speaker is finished speaking, the item is placed in the middle of the circle again for another to hold. This forum gives a moment of silence between comments in the discussion.
