Talking at Work Task Box: Face-to-Face Job Skills for Transition, Ages 14 to 21

This talking at work task box teaches face to face communication on the job in three levels: body language, words and tone, and real situations with coworkers, supervisors, and customers.

Why I made this: A lot of what a supervisor or customer remembers about a worker is how they talked: the greeting, the tone, the face, and whether they said "okay" or "whatever." Students often have the job skills but not the small talk and short polite answers that make people want to work with them. This box teaches face to face talk at work, one level at a time.

What’s included (20 pages):

• Level A ●: 12 body language picture cards to sort "friendly and polite" or "not"

• Level B ■: 24 words and tone cards to sort

• Level C ▲: 24 face to face situations at work with 3 choices

• A sorting mat, a "Body language and tone at work" chart, a joining and leaving page, and 6 cue cards

• 3 practice pages, one for each level

• Answer key for every card

• Data sheet and a 10 session accuracy graph

• A try it for real page with an adult check

• Ideas for practice at school, home, and job sites, and blank cards

How I use it: I teach the body language and tone chart first, and we practice faces and voices out loud. Then students work on their level in the task box, and we role play greetings and polite answers during a school job, using the adult check.

Who it is for: Transition, special education, life skills, and vocational teachers, job coaches, and paras working with students in grades 9 to 12 and 18 to 21 programs.

What you download: Talking at Work Task Box Face to Face.pdf (20 pages, US Letter, print ready).

How this is different: This box is about in person talk only: body language, tone of voice, short polite answers, small talk, joining and leaving a conversation, and talking with customers face to face. Job Skills Communication: Calling In Sick, Texting + Emailing the Boss | Scripts covers phone, text, and email. Asking for Help Task Box | Self Advocacy Social Skills for Special Ed covers who can help, when to ask, and how to ask. Personal Space Task Box | Social Skills + Greetings for Special Education covers distance, touch, and greetings by person and place. Soft Skills Scenario Cards | 40 Job Skills Situations | High School SPED and Workplace Behavior Task Box | Job Skills Soft Skills for Transition cover work rules and choices. All cards and text here are new.

Part of the Job Ready Task Box series.

Made by Jeremy D. Gooch, special education teacher and transition coordinator. Drafting and layout had AI assistance; every page was checked by me.