listening skills

What is listening

Listening" is receiving language through the

ears. Listening involves identifying the sounds

of speech and processing them into words and

sentences. When we listen, we use our ears to

receive individual sounds (letters, stress, rhythm

and pauses) and we use our brain to convert

these into messages

We Spend a lot of Time in Listening

Adults spend an average of 70% of their time

engaged in some sort of communication, of

this an average of 45% is spent listening

compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and

9% writing.

There 5 level of listening

1. Hearing but ignoring (no idea what you just

said)

2. Pretending (yes, oh, I see)

3. Selective listening ( I hear part of what

you’re saying )

4. Attentive listening (no evaluation, e.g.

taking notes at a lecture)

5. Empathic listening (I fully understand &

feel what you’re saying

Always remember…

"we were given two ears but only one

mouth, because listening is twice as hard

as talking.”

Effective listening skills

In most Western cultures, eye contact is

considered a basic ingredient of effective

communication.

1.Eye contact

2.Stop Talking

“If we were supposed to talk more than we

listen, we would have two tongues and one ear.”

Mark Twain.

When somebody else is talking listen to what

they are saying, do not interrupt, talk over them

or finish their sentences for them. Stop, just

listen. When the other person has finished

talking you may need to clarify to ensure you

have received their message accurately.

3.Remove Distractions

Focus on what is being said: don’t doodle,

shuffle papers, look out the window, pick your

fingernails or similar. Avoid unnecessary

interruptions. These behaviors disrupt the

listening process and send messages to the

speaker that you are bored or distracted.

4.Ask Question

When you notice that your question has led the

speaker astray, take responsibility for getting the

conversation back on track by saying something

like, “It was great to hear about …”

By frequently asking questions, you display an

open mind

It shows that you are listening

5.Paraphrase

What I hear you saying is......

Do you mean...?

I understand from what you saying that.....

6.Be attentive, But relaxed

Mentally screen out distractions, like

background activity and noise. In addition, try

not to focus on the speaker’s accent or speech

mannerisms to the point.

don’t be distracted by your own thoughts,

feelings, or biases.

7.Make smooth transitions In most situations, you are continually shifting

back and forth between the roles of speaker and

listener.

The active listener makes transitions smoothly

from speaker to listener and back to speaker.

From a listening perspective, this means

concentrating on what a speaker has to say, and

avoiding thoughts about what you are going to

say as soon you get a chance.

8.Avoid interrupting the speaker

Let the speaker complete their thought before

you try to respond.

Do not try to second-guess where the speaker’s

thoughts are going.

When the speaker is finished, you will know it!

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