Purpose: To help participants of customer service or general communication training courses hone their voice clarity, tone, and pacing skills.

 Time Required: 15 to 25 minutes.

 Size of Group: 10 to 15.

 Materials Required: A selection of books by Dr. Suess and a tape recorder.

 The Exercise in Action: Dr. Seuss’s children’s book Green Eggs and Ham provides an effective and entertaining training tool in Rita Dillow’s training for customer service representatives.

Dillow, a training manager at The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, FL, uses the reading exercise to help representatives improve voice tone, pacing, and clarity, which she finds occasionally need refreshing. She also uses the books in more general courses about communication skills.

Each of the participants’ readings is taped, and then constructively critiqued by the rest of the group. “Participants really have a good time with the exercise,” Dillow says, “and each tries to outdo the other in technique.”