Communication Training

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program title: Personal Trainer 1

  Course Title: Personal Trainer 1

  Course Number: 8907100

  Career Cluster: Human Services

  CIP Number: 0331050704

  CAR-PREP - High School Career Preparatory Program

  CTE-HS.912.8907120.5.2 Demonstrate the communication skills used in health and fitness occupations.

  CTE-HLTH.912.8417120.7.3 Describe characteristics of what effective communication skills are

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, “Talk is for the Weak.” See CPALMS resource ID# 219078.

• Career Connection

  
  

  Students will collaborate and practice the durable skill of verbal communication and communicating for customer service. Students will also work on developing character by being mindful of the importance of being tactful when dealing with clients in the field of health and fitness.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Employ communication skills such as active listening.
  • Describe the components of effective communication.
  • Present information orally.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Collaborate in teams.
  • The definition of active listening.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • Why is effective communication a valuable job skill?
  • How does active listening play a role in communication?

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson the teacher can pose the following industry quotes: "The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply." -Stephen R. Covey & "People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care." – Theodore Roosevelt.

  2. Allow students time to discuss the meaning and implications of this quote, in pairs. Teacher can then give time for students to share their ideas as a whole class.

  3. Teacher can explain that the quotes just discussed relate to the case study that the students will be working on. The teacher can pass out copies of the case study, “Talk is for the Weak,” (see CPALMS resource ID# 219078) or share it with the students digitally. Students can read the case study silently or in pairs/small groups. (Groups should be no more than three participants.)

  • While reading the case study students can discuss the following guiding/discussion questions:
  • • What could Marcus have done differently during the first session to ensure Philip felt comfortable and understood?
    • How could Philip have effectively communicated his concerns and feelings about the training sessions to Marcus?
    • How could Marcus have used open-ended questions to learn more about Philip's fitness goals and health limitations?
    • Identify at least two barriers to effective communication in this scenario and explain how they could have been avoided.
    • How does tailoring communication to a client’s needs (e.g., physical condition, emotional state) help build trust and encourage progress?

  4. After reading and discussing the case study, students should be in groups to role play as characters in the case study. Students will be provided a handout with options for role play scenarios. (See attachment “Role Play Scenarios.”)

  5. Teacher can explain the following before beginning the student group activity:

  • • The first scenario will have the students role play as Philip and Marcus after their first session. The students will be guided to initiate a conversation between Philip and Marcus where Philip initiates the conversation of his frustration with the way Marcus is running his session.
    • The second option for the role play scenario will be a reverse, Marcus will initiate a conversation after the 2nd training session where he is more aware of how unmotivated Philip is and wants to improve his sessions.
    • The third scenario option will be to role play a scenario between Philip, Louie and Marcus where they each get a chance to express their frustrations.
  • The teacher can choose to have students select their own scenarios or divide the 3 scenarios amongst the class. Students will be provided with guiding questions to ensure that the role plays focus on improving client/trainer communication.

  6. Once students have completed their role play, the different teams can pair up and share their ideas with a different role play scenario. While the students are reviewing the other team’s role play. The students can refer to the 2 industry quotes and discuss how they relate to each scenario.

  7. After the students have shared, the teacher can bring the class back to whole group and have any students that would like to share their overall thoughts.

  8. To bring the lesson to a close, the teacher can pose the following career connection questions in order to allow students to examine any real-world applications of this lesson. These can be done as whole group or the students can be given a few minutes to discuss in shoulder partners or groups again.

  • How can personal trainers use active listening to better understand their clients' needs and concerns?
  • How can trainers respond constructively to clients who express dissatisfaction or discomfort with their training sessions?
  • Why is hands-on experience with a variety of clients essential for a trainer’s professional growth?
  • How can personal trainers use client feedback to improve their services?

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • This lesson can be completed over 2 class periods if necessary.