LISTENING SKILLS

Basic Communication Skills Profile

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Communication Order Learned Extent Used Extent Taught

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Listening First First Fourth

Speaking Second Second Third

Reading Third Third Second

Writing Fourth Fourth First

Meaning

Listening Is With The Mind

Hearing With The Senses

Listening Is Conscious.

An Active Process Of Eliciting Information

Ideas, Attitudes And Emotions

Interpersonal, Oral Exchange

Fallacies about Listening Listening is not my problem!

Listening and hearing are the same

Good readers are good listeners

Smarter people are better listeners

Listening improves with age Learning not to listen

Thinking about what we are going to say rather than listening to a speaker

Talking when we should be listening

Hearing what we expect to hear rather than what is actually said

Not paying attention

( preoccupation, prejudice, self-centeredness, stero-type)

Listening skills are difficult to learn

Stages of the Listening Process

Hearing

Focusing on the message

Comprehending and interpreting

Analyzing and Evaluating

Responding

Remembering

Types of Listening

Informative Listening Vocabulary Concentration Memory

Relationship Listening Attending Supporting Empathizing

Appreciative Listening Presentation Perception Previous experience

Types of Listening (Cont.)

Critical Listening Ethos

Logos

Pathos

Discriminative Listening Hearing Ability

Awareness of Sound Structure

Integration of non-verbal cues

Barriers to Active Listening

Environmental barriers

Physiological barriers

Psychological barriers

Selective Listening

Negative Listening Attitudes

Personal Reactions

Poor Motivation

How to Be an Effective Listener

What You Think about Listening ?

Understand the complexities of listening

Prepare to listen

Adjust to the situation

Focus on ideas or key points

Capitalize on the speed differential

Organize material for learning

How to Be an Effective Listener (cont.)

What You Feel about Listening ?

Want to listen

Delay judgment

Admit your biases

Don’t tune out “dry” subjects

Accept responsibility for understanding

Encourage others to talk

How to Be an Effective Listener (cont.)

What You Do about Listening ?

Establish eye contact with the speaker

Take notes effectively

Be a physically involved listener

Avoid negative mannerisms

Exercise your listening muscles

Follow the Golden Rule

Improving Listening Comprehension

Listening comprehension is the act of understanding an oral message

It involves speech decoding, comprehending, and oral discourse analysis

Speech Decoding

Sound Perception and Recognition

(Recognising sounds and sound patterns accurately, recognising the way sounds combine to form syllables and utterances)

Speech Decoding (Cont..)

Word recognition

( Recognising words accurately, understanding the definitions of the words being use, recognising the way words are used un context, identifying attention signals)

Speech Decoding (Cont..)

Accent recognition

( recognise stress, identify pauses, hesitations )

Comprehending

Comprehending a verbal message involves the ability to:

• Identify the central theme, main ideas and supporting details;

• Concentrate and understand long speeches

• Identify the level of formality

• Deduce incomplete information

• Deduce unfamiliar vocabulary

Oral Discourse Analysis

Is the process of identifying relationships among different units within the speech or oral message:

Critical skills

Attitude analysis

Inferential skills

Listening to structured talks

Pre-listening analysis-determining the purpose, knowing your speaker

Predicting about the content of a verbal message

Using background knowledge

Intensive listening

Intensive Listening

1. Listening to the introduction? • What is the position, knowledge,

background, experience of the speaker? • What is his credibility? • What is the overall purpose of the talk? • What is the central idea or theme? • What is the overall structure? • What does the speaker intend to do? • What are the main points of the talk?

Intensive listening (Cont…)

2. Listening to the Body

• Contains the main message-pay attention

• Concentrate on verbal signposts

• Recognise main supporting details of the oral message

• Concentrate on visual aids

Intensive Listening ( Cont..)

3. Listening to the conclusion

• Understand the main themes of the verbal message

• Recognise the speaker`s focus of the talk

• Concentrate on what the speaker wants the listener`s to do, or remember

Signal Phrases Purpose of the speaker Signal phrases

* Introduces a topic Today, I`d like to talk about…, What I am going to discuss is…

* Develops an idea If we critically examine the situation.., The most significant point is…

* Emphasises a point I am sure you will agree with me.., I`d like to emphasise..

* Contrasts several ideas On the other hand., In contrast,…

* Shows transition of ideas My next point is…

* Concludes Finally.., I`d like to sum up

Logical Connectors and Transitional Signals

Purpose of the speaker Logical connectors

Adds a point Moreover, in addition

compares Similarly, likewise

contrasts In contrast, However,

Shows segmentation Right, OK, And, Now, That`s all

Exemplifies In other words, For instance

Temporal Eventually, For the time being, Before

Explains Therefore, Thus

Effective Note Making

Note making is essential in college:

For lectures, which are a highly condensed methods of passing on information

For reading, because what you don't write down, you don't remember

Effective Note Making (Cont.)

Note making is a skill:

Most people feel deficient

It can be learned

This takes understanding of what you're doing

It takes practice, which involves effort

Effective Note Making (Cont.)

Note making is difficult because:

Spoken language is more diffuse than written

Speaker's organization is not immediately apparent

Immediate feedback seldom occurs

Spoken language is quickly gone

This makes analysis difficult

Five purposes for note making:

Provides a written record for review

Provides a definite, limited learning task

Forces you to pay attention

Requires organization, and active effort on the part of the listener

Listener must condense and rephrase, which aids understanding

Sequence

Listen and focus on meaning

Evaluate what is being said

Is it relevant to your purpose? What are the high points?

Record the information

Make use of it

Physical factors

Seating Near the front and center - easier to see and hear

Avoid distractions - doorways, windows, glare; friends, foes

Materials Loose leaf notebook: lies flat - organization and additions are

easier

Two pens, wide-lined, easy-eye paper; use dividers

Course, date, and topic clearly labeled

Before taking notes - PREVIEW

Prepare yourself mentally - What do you need to get out of this? Review notes from last time and homework. Nail your attention

down tight. Review the outline from your reading assignment Think through what has happened in the class to date Generate enthusiasm and interest Increased knowledge results in increased interest A clear sense of purpose on your part will make the course content more

relevant Acting as if you are interested can help Don't let the personality or mannerisms of a speaker put you off

Be ready to understand and remember Anticipate the next step and compare what you've guessed with

what happens

Get Involved!

Tune-in, look, listen for clues: Tone or gesture of Professor

Repetition; cue words: "remember!"

Notice what conflicts with your current opinions They are harder to understand and remember

Keep thinking... Look for emerging patterns

Write questions in margins to be answered later

While taking notes Don't try for a verbatim transcript Get all of the main ideas Record some details. illustrations, implications, etc.

Leave plenty of wide space for later additions - underscore or star major points

Note speaker's organization of material

Organization aids memory Organization indicates gaps when they occur - you fill in later

Be accurate

Listen carefully to what is being said Pay attention to qualifying words like: sometimes, usually,

rarely, etc. Notice signals that a change of direction is coming: but,

however, on the other hand

While taking notes (Cont.)

Be an aggressive, not a passive, listener Jot questions in your notes Do you believe what you're hearing? What do you believe? Seek out meanings. Look for implications beyond what is being

said. Relate the material to your other classes and your life outside

of school.

Develop a shorthand of your own Jot down words or phrases; use contractions and

abbreviations Leave out small service words, use symbols: +, =,&, ~)

Try to get the hang of listening and writing at the same time. It can be done

You may practice listening to the news on TV and taking notes

POST VIEW: Don't move - go over notes at once!

Review and reword them as soon after class as possible

Build review time into your schedule Don't just recopy or type without thought "Reminiscing" may provide forgotten material later Rewrite incomplete or skimpy parts in greater detail Fill in gaps as you remember points heard but not recorded Arrange with another student to compare notes Find answers to any questions remaining unanswered Write a brief summary of the class session Formulate several generalized test questions based on the

material

POST VIEW: Don't move - go over notes at once! (Cont.)

Use your notes as a learning tool Review at spaced intervals it is more effective than the same

effort spent cramming We forget 50% of what we hear immediately, two days later,

another 25% is gone. But relearning is rapid if regular review is used. Compare the information in your notes with your own

experience - don't swallow everything uncritically Don't reject what seems strange or incorrect. Check it out. Be

willing to hold some seeming inconsistencies in your mind over a period of time.

Build a good "thought map" of the ideas. Explain it to anyone who'll listen.

Memorize that which must be memorized.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS – KEITH DAVIS

Stop Talking.

Put The Talker At Ease.

Show Him That You Want To Listen.

Remove Distractions.

Empathize With Him.

Be Patient.

Hold Your Temper.

Go Easy On Arguments And Criticism.

Ask Questions.

Stop Talking!

Thank You