Listening Skills(1)

8/3/2019 Listening Skills(1)

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LISTENING SKILLS(I)

By MOKSHDA BHUSHAN



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The Plan

Introduction to listening

The Listening Process

Tips to become a good listener Class Activity 1



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What is listening?

³We were given two ears but only one mouth.

This is because God knew that listening wastwice as hard as talking.´

What do we understand by listening?

What is the difference between listening andhearing?

Different words formed from listening &hearing

How do we listen? Scientific, biologic process



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Practice makes perfect

You probably spend more time using your

listening skills than any other kind of skill. Like

other skills, listening takes practice.

People need to pr actice and acquire skills to be

good listeners, because a speaker cannot throw you

information in the same manner that a dar t player

tosses a dar t at a passive dar tboard.

Information is an intangible substance that must be

sent by the speaker and received by an active

listener.



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WHAT DOES IT REALL Y MEAN TO LISTEN?

Real listening is an active

process that has three basic

steps.



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Step 1: HEARING

Hearing just means listening enough to catch

what the speaker is saying. For example, sayyou were listening to a repor t on zebr as, and

the speaker mentioned that no two are alike.

If you can repeat the f act, then you have

heard what has been said.



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STEP 2: UNDERSTANDING

The next par t of listening happens when you

take what you have heard and understand

it in your own way. Let's go b

ack

tothat

repor t on zebr as. When you hear that no two

are alike, think about what that might mean.

You might think, "Maybe this means that the

pattern of stripes is different for each zebr a."



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Step 3: Processing/ Judging

what you have heard

Af ter you are sure you understand what the speaker has said,think about whether it makes sense.

Do you believe what you have heard? You might think, "Howcould the stripes to be different for every zebr a? But then again,

the fingerprints are different for every person. I think this seemsbelievable."

You will then reach your own conclusion, or be able to relate tothe topic and get the bigger picture in your mind, structure it andstore it in either your long term or shor t term memory.

If you judge someth

ing is impor ta

nt, you will defini

tely s

aytoyourself: ³ah, I must remember that.´ But if you don¶t listen well,

chances are that you will forget within 10 minutes of havingheard it.



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TIPS TO BE A GOODLISTENER

Pr actice Active Listening



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Become a better listener-

practice active listening

Active listening is a vital par t of good

communication.

Mirroring, par aphr asing, and clarification are

examples of active listening skills that have been

demonstr ated to be effective for reaching

understanding. Most communication exper ts

recommend some variation of these skills.

Use them to bridge the gap in your listeningdifferences. To listen effectively you should CARE

for those you're listening to:



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The C.A.R.E. approach

C - concentr ate - focus on the speaker

A - acknowledge - through body language - nod

your head occasionally or say µuh-huh¶ or such

phr ases

R - respond - ask questions for clarification and

interest, and give feedback

E - empathize - share in the speaker¶s emotions and

feelings in a non-judgmental way. Validate your

speaker¶s point of view, and make him/her feel that

he/she is heard..



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Be Positive

Embr ace a positive approach and

attitude. We get more in life of what we

concentr at

e on. A positive conversation is more likely when

you star t it in a positive way.

It sets the tone and will determine where the

focus of the conversation is likely to head.



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Focus on the Speaker

Give your full attention on the person who is

speaking. Don't look out the window or at what else

is going on in the room.

Look at the speaker¶s f ace, listen to what is being

said, and also what is not being said.

E.g. if I say ³ Lawyers are clever. Lawyers are also

rich. I want to be a lawyer.´, what do I mean to say?

Connotation, double meanings, insinuations, etc



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2. Keep your mind focused

Make sure your mind is focused, too.

It can be easy to let your mind wander if you think

you know what the person is going to say next, but

you might be wrong!

If you feel your mind wandering, change the position

of your body and try to concentr ate on the speaker 's

words.

Another good trick is to eat a toffee or something

when you feel your mind is switching off. It helps to

re-focus.



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3.Do not interrupt

Let the speaker finish before you begin totalk. Speakers appreciate having the chanceto say everything they would like to say

without being interrupted. When you interrupt,it looks like you aren't listening, even if youreally are.

Interrupting is also impolite. It breaks thethread of thought of the speaker. Give theperson the time to finish will ensure you alsowill have the time then to have your say.



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4. Finish listening before

speaking

Let yourself finish listening before you

begin to speak! You can't really listen if you

are busy

thinking

abou

t how you will coun

ter the arguments of the speaker.

It helps to make notes while listening

because it helps you structure your ideas at

the same time you record the structure of thespeaker.



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5. Listen to main ideas

The main ideas are the most impor tant points

the speaker wants to get across. They may

be mentioned

at th

e sta

r tor end of

a ta

lk,andrepeated a number of times. Pay special

attention to statements that begin with

phr ases such as "My point is..." or "The thing

to remember is..."



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6. Ask questions

If you are not sure you understand what the

speaker has said, just ask. It is a good idea to

repeat

in your own words what

th

e spea

ker said so that you can be sure your

understanding is correct.

E.g. you might say, "When you said that no

two zebr as are alike, did you mean that thestripes are different on each one?"



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7. Give feedback non-verbally

Sit up str aight and look directly at thespeaker. Now and then, nod to show that youunderstand. Tilting your head to one side

shows you are very attentive to what thespeaker is saying.

At appropriate points you may also smile,frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all waysto let the speaker know that you are reallylistening. Remember, you listen with your f ace as well as your ears!



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8. Think fast

Remember: time is on your side! Thoughts

move about four times as f ast as speech. With pr actice, while you are listening you will

also be able to think about what you are

hearing, really understand it, and give

feedback to the speaker.



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CLASS ACTIVIT Y 1

Scene: Child standing in front of his Dad, just bursting to tell himwhat happened in school. Unfor tunately, dad has the paper infront of his f ace and even when he drops the paper down half-way, it is visibly apparent that he is not really listening. How do

you make him listen to the child? A student solved the problem of getting dad to listen from behind

his protective paper wall. Her solution was to say, "Move your f ace, dad, when I'm talking to you.'' This simple solution will forceeven the poorest listener to adopt effective listening skillsbecause it captures the essence of good listening.

Pr actice in teams of two, where one talks and one will pretendnot to listen attentively. Have many people talk at the same time.Can you make out what is being said? Are you able to listen?Can you make sense? Can we multi-task with listening?



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HOW TO LISTEN TO YOUR LECTURES

Very impor tant!!!



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Introduction

The aver age college student spends about 20 hours per week in class listening (or per haps I should say ³hearing" or

³daydreaming´--!!) to lectures. Effective listening will ensure you will spend

less time studying when exams come,because you assimilate 50 % if you listen andprocess the information correctly.

So,to improve your listening skills, applysome of the following str ategies:



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1. Eye contact

Maintain eye contact with the instructor .

Of course you will need to look at your

notebook to write your notes, but eye contact

keeps you focused on the job at hand and

keeps you involved in the lecture.



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2. Focus on content

Focus on content, not delivery. Have you

ever counted the number of times a teacher

clears his/her throat or flicks her hair in a

fif teen minutes period? If so, you weren't

focusing on content.

Visualize the structure of the lesson. If you

are following, the lecture plan will emergegr adually and you will get the macro-picture

of the lesson.



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3. Stay objective

Avoid emotional involvement. When you

are too emotionally involved in listening, you

tend to hear what you want to hear--not what

is actually being said. Try to remain objective

and open-minded.



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4. Avoid distractions

Don't let your mind wander or be distr acted

by the person shuffling papers near you.

If the classroom is too hot or too cold try toremedy that situation if you can.

Do not encour age side whispers or friends

disturbing you.



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5. Listen to process

Treat listening as a challenging mental

task. Listening to an academic lecture is not

a passive act--at least it shouldn't be.

You need to concentr ate on what is said so

that you can process the information into your

mind and into your notes.



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6. Mental Mapping

Stay active by asking yourself mental questions.

Active listening keeps you on your toes.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself as

you listen. What key point is the professor making?How does this fit with what I know from previous

lectures? How is this lecture organized? What

implications does it have on other issues? This will

increase your analytical and reasoning powers.



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7. Think, think, think!

Use the gap between the rate of speech

and your rate of thought. You can think

f aster than the lecturer can talk. That's one

reason your mind may tend to wander. All the

above suggestions will help you keep your

mind occupied and focused on what being

said. You can actually begin to anticipatewhat the professor is going to say as a way to

keep your mind from str aying.



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CONCLUSION

Your mind does have the capacity to:

listen,

think,

write and,

ponder at the same time, but it does takepr actice.

The more you will pr actice, the sharper your br ain will become, and the more your teacher will be impressed by you!



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THANK YOU!

Any questions?

Listening Skills(1)

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