Learners' Own Words

Talking healthy choices with young people in ways they’ll be receptive to isn’t always easy. It’s easier to simply share information about what they “should” do or give advice. But without listening to or understanding their needs first, you risk pushing their motivation to change further out of reach. Fully listening to and clearly hearing a young person is one of the most important assets you can bring to youth work relationships.

Effective listening is the key to setting the stage for positive learning experiences for youth as you help them navigate their choices. You can create an atmosphere for growth by building self-awareness. Recognizing your own communication style will help you consider how to best engage youth in conversations about healthy choices and self-care.

Join us to explore tools and concepts of active listening combined with real youth work stories and experiences. You’ll go beyond theories to learn how to connect and communicate with young people about healthy choices in ways they’ll be more open to. You’ll learn how to talk with youth, how to effectively listen when they respond, and be able to give youth tools to expand their own ways of thinking to better understand themselves. You’ll also consider challenges youth, particularly youth of color, may face when making healthy choices and how to break down those barriers.

• Understand how to connect and talk with youth about making healthy choices
• Improve your active listening skills to understand what youth are communicating verbally and non-verbally
• Explore tools for helping young people recognize if their thinking is clear and unbiased or attached to old learnings and assumptions
• Consider barriers and challenges youth might encounter when trying to make healthy choices