Draft content for review and approval — not yet published to volunteers
Takaful Academy · Level 1
Communication Skills
How to listen, how to be understood, and what to do when a situation escalates — skills that serve your volunteering and your life alike.
What you will learn
Module 1
Active listening
What people need most is rarely your advice — it is the sense that someone genuinely heard them.
Hearing is automatic; listening is a decision. The difference is that in listening you give the other person your full attention, suspend your judgement, and check that you have understood before you respond.
Give full attention
Put the phone away. Look at the speaker. Do not compose your reply while they are still talking.
Reflect back
“So if I understand correctly, you…” — confirms you are with them and surfaces misunderstanding early.
Allow silence
Silence is not a gap to be filled. Sometimes a person needs a moment to continue.
Do not jump to solutions
Jumping to “just do this” signals you did not listen — you rushed to end the conversation.
✔ Listening
- Asking to understand more
- Summarising what you heard to check
- Tolerating silence
- Acknowledging feeling: “That sounds hard.”
✘ Not listening
- Waiting only for your turn to speak
- Comparing to yourself: “That happened to me too…”
- Minimising: “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”
- Offering a solution before understanding the problem
Check your understanding
Someone tells you about a hardship they went through. Which response reflects active listening?
Module 2
Being understood as you intend
The message is not what you said — it is what arrived. And responsibility for arrival is yours.
- Lead with the conclusion, then the detail — not the reverse
- Use plain language; avoid institutional jargon
- One idea per sentence — long sentences lose meaning
- Check arrival: “What is not clear?” rather than “Understood?”
- Numbers and times are repeated and written down, never said once
💡 Why “What is not clear?” beats “Understood?”
“Understood?” puts the other person in the position of admitting a failing, so they say “yes” even when they did not follow. “What is not clear?” assumes the gap is in your explanation, which makes it easy for them to ask.
Body language arrives before words: how you stand, folded arms, glancing at your phone, tone of voice. In many situations people remember how you made them feel far longer than what you said.
Field scenario
What is the most appropriate action?
You are explaining registration steps to a group of older people. You notice puzzled looks, but when you asked “Understood?” everyone said yes.
Module 3
Difficult situations
Anger in the field is rarely about you personally — but what you do next decides whether it settles or escalates.
- Calm yourself first: deep breath, lower voice, slow movement
- Do not argue the facts at the peak of the emotion
- Acknowledge the feeling: “You are clearly upset, and that is fair.”
- Move the conversation somewhere quieter if you can
- State what you can actually do — never promise what is not yours to give
- If it exceeds your role or you feel unsafe: withdraw and tell your supervisor immediately
🛑 Your limits are not a weakness
You are not a negotiator, a therapist, or a decision-maker. Withdrawing from a situation beyond your role and reporting it is not failure — it is the correct professional action, and it protects the other person before it protects you.
Field scenario
What is the right action?
A man raises his voice in front of everyone because his name is not on the beneficiary list, accusing the team of favouritism. A crowd is starting to gather.
Standards this content is built on
- • IFRC Volunteering Policy (August 2022) — volunteer conduct and duty of care
- • Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (2024 edition) — communication and accountability to affected people
- • Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers — WHO, War Trauma Foundation and World Vision International
- • Do No Harm principle in humanitarian action