3 Great Communication Exercises for Teams

Summary: Ever wonder why smart, capable teams still struggle to get on the same page? I've seen it countless times. Leaders who care deeply about their people, talented teams with great potential, yet somehow they keep missing each other in the day-to-day. The problem usually isn't a lack of effort or good intentions. It's that most teams haven't built the communication muscles they actually need. In this article, I'll share a story that illustrates this perfectly, and then give you three practical communication exercises for teams that you can start using right away to build stronger connections and better alignment.

Why Communication Exercises for Teams Matter

A few years back I was conducting a workshop with a senior leadership team. Our goal was to build greater cohesion amongst them as a team, and also map out some priorities for developing their people in the coming year. Beforehand, some members of the team reached out to express their concern with one individual. They warned me that he had a reputation for being incredibly uncooperative, and that he would probably shoot down many ideas the team came up with.

Sure enough, that is exactly what began to happen as we progressed throughout the day. It was creating challenges for the team moving forward, but I knew that the team needed to have some honest conversations with this individual in order to reach their goals. So contrary to their expectations, I did not intervene. Finally, another team member took it upon himself to challenge this guy. The next couple of minutes probably felt like an hour for the team as tensions began to rise. Then finally, this problematic team member blurted out, "I know I'm being stubborn here, but I just want us to be successful!"

Bingo! That was my cue. I interjected their conversation and said, "can we pause for a second here? I would like to go around the table and have each person define what success looks like for them." As you can imagine, every person at that table had a slightly different definition of success, and you could see lightbulbs going off for everyone in the room as they listened to their teammates. Is it any wonder why they were having problems moving forward? Especially with this one individual. They never created a shared definition of success for themselves as a team.

Assumptions about Communication for Teams

I have heard it said before that conflict is often merely an argument over the definition of words. While it may sound oversimplified, it's not that far from the truth, and we see it in this story I shared. We may hear that story and think how can smart, educated, successful people miss something like that? This is where communication skills come in. While communication is one of the most popular workplace topics today, many people still lack the proper awareness and skills to communicate effectively.

The cost of poor communication is staggering. Research shows that 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication as the primary cause of workplace failures. Furthermore, studies indicate that poor communication is responsible for 70% of corporate errors, directly impacting your bottom line.

I believe a big part of the reason involves some assumptions we have around communication and skill training in general. First, let's talk about communication itself. The transactional nature of the workplace often makes it difficult for leaders and teams to appreciate the value of communication. In a KPI and metrics-driven world, we tend to prioritize things that lead to predictable and measurable outcomes. While not impossible, communication is much more difficult to measure from a performance standpoint, and you often can't draw a straight line from specific communication habits to X% of increased revenue. However, if we think back to the story I shared, how many hours do you think were lost because of miscommunications, conflict, repeat work, inefficient meetings, or low morale, simply because this team hadn't defined success? Communication has a very real and tangible impact on your bottom line. Many of us simply haven't taken the time to consider the implications. This leads to communication being treated as more of an accessory, rather than a foundational skill. Thus, while we may preach the importance of communication, it is not reflected in our behavior. Indeed, I suspect that many leaders embrace communication merely out of herd mentality, without doing the work to properly understand its benefits themselves. If other leaders say it's important, then it must be right?

The second assumption we make is around skill training. For similar transactional reasons, many workplaces treat training and development like knowledge to be acquired, rather than a skill to be practiced. Thus, we see organizations holding workshops or classes for things like communication once or twice a year, without any kind of extra support or follow-up. When we stop and think, we know that human beings do not learn this way. It requires repetition and practice.

This is why I am a big fan of pairing workshop training with follow-up sessions, and 1:1 or group coaching. We can think of the training as the gateway, but these other pieces drive the point home. I have one leader I work with who once told me that, "old habits die hard. We reinforce our safety training on a regular basis, why wouldn't we do the same with communication and conflict resolution?" I don't think I could say it better myself. This leader takes a very unique approach and is actually fine with me repeating concepts and ideas I have already taught his team because he knows it won't stick the first time.

The big takeaway is that whatever training you are giving your team, they will need ongoing support and practice. Otherwise, you are simply wasting resources to maintain a perception of impact, instead of a real impact. So with that said, I have included a few communication exercises for teams here that are great ways to help your team practice the awareness and skills needed to improve their communication. They work great used on their own, or paired with current training you may be doing. The key is to use them on a regular basis. So let's get to the exercises.

3 Powerful Communication Exercises

1. The Story Behind the Story

This is a great exercise to use with any instance of conflict or misunderstanding. Each person involved shares their perspective on 3 layers: what happened (facts), how they interpreted it (meaning), and what they felt (emotions). This will help your team better separate facts from stories and reduce defensive responses. You can also use fictional scenarios with the whole team and have them each give their perspective on those 3 layers.

This exercise builds the self-awareness that effective leaders need to navigate complex team dynamics and resolve conflicts before they escalate.

2. Assumptions Check-In

This can be used in team meetings as a structured pause after each agenda item. After you talk about a certain goal or project, have each team member voice an assumption they are making about it. They must state, "I'm assuming that..." followed by a question to clarify. This builds self-awareness for each team member and a culture of curiosity on the team as a whole.

Given that clear communication can increase workplace productivity by up to 25%, investing time in this simple exercise can yield significant returns for your organization.

3. Clarity Test

Before any important communication goes out in the organization, have a team member practice explaining the message to someone completely unfamiliar with the context. If that person can't understand or properly summarize it back accurately, then the message needs refinement. This is a great way to gauge the effectiveness of your communication and identify gaps or blind spots.

You will notice that all of these communication exercises for teams don't focus so much on specific skills, but on creating awareness and space to better practice communication. This is a missing piece for many teams in their communication development.

Building a Culture for Teams to Thrive

If you could use more help on your own communication, or building a culture of effective communication on your team, this is an area I have helped many organizations with. Not only do I focus on equipping them with tools and strategies, but also providing space for the practice we talked about through coaching and ongoing team check-ins.

These communication exercises for teams are designed to be implemented regularly, not as one-off activities. When you commit to consistent practice, you'll see measurable improvements in team cohesion, reduced conflict, and better alignment around shared goals. And if your team is dealing with ongoing tension or challenging dynamics, you might also find value in learning some practical conflict resolution strategies that complement these exercises.

Go ahead and book a Free Discovery Call with me to get started on your road to better leadership and team performance!