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Listening
Skills
1.
First of all, what do we mean by "listening"?
- It
is more than just hearing, which is only the first part of listening,
the physical part when your ears sense sound-waves.
- There
are three other parts that are equally important. There is the interpretation
of what was heard that leads to understanding or misunderstanding.
- Then
comes the evaluation stage when you weigh the information and decide
how you will use it.
- Finally,
based on what you heard and how you evaluated it, you react. That
is listening.
2.
Before we can become good listeners, it helps to know why people talk
to each other.
- There
are four basic types of verbal communication. There is the "getting-to-know-you"
or the "building of relationships" kind of talk which
is called phatic communication.
- Next,
there is cathartic communication which allows the release of pent-up
emotion and often amounts to one person spilling his or her troubles
on concerned, caring ears.
- Then
there is informative communication in which ideas, data, or information
is shared.
- Last
of all is persuasive communication where the purpose is to reinforce
or change attitudes or to produce action.
3. Listening is our primary communication activity.
Studies
show that we spend about 80% of our waking hours communicating.
And, according to research, at least 45% of that time is spent listening.
In schools, students spend 60-70% of their classroom time engaged
in listening. And, in business, listening has often been cited as
being the most critical managerial skill.
4.
Most individuals are inefficient listeners.
Tests
have shown that immediately after listening to a ten-minute oral
presentation, the average listener has heard, understood, properly
evaluated, and retained approximately half of what was said. And,
within 48 hours, that drops off another 50% to a final 25% level
of effectiveness. In other words, we quite often comprehend and
retain only one-quarter of what is said.
5.
Some of the benefits of good listening:
- Encourages
the speaker
- Promotes
trust and respect
- Enables
listener to gain information
- Improves
relationships
- Makes
resolution of problems more likely
- Gains
cooperation
- Promotes
better understanding of people
6.
Ten Keys to Effective Listening:
|
The
good listener
|
Key
to effective listening
|
The
ineffective listener
|
| Tunes
out dry subjects |
Find
areas of interest
|
Opportunist:
Asks "What's in it for me?" |
| Judges
content; skips over delivery errors |
Judge
content, not delivery
|
Tunes
out if delivery is poor |
| Does
not judge until comprehension complete |
Hold
your fire
|
Tends
to enter into argument |
Listens
for ideas
Listens
for facts
Listens for central themes
|
Listen
for ideas, facts, themes
|
|
Takes
intensive notes
Uses 4-5 different systems, depending on the speaker |
Be
flexible
|
Takes
fewer notes
Uses only one system |
| Works
hard, exhibits active body state |
Work
at listening
|
Shows
no energy output; Attention is faked |
| Fights
or avoids distractions, tolerates bad habits, knows how to concentrate |
Resist
distractions
|
Distracted
easily |
| Uses
heavier material as exercise for the mind |
Exercise
your mind
|
Resists
difficult expository material |
| Interprets
emotional words; does not get hung up on them |
Keep
your mind open
|
Reacts
to emotional words |
Thought is faster than speech: challenges, anticipates, mentally
summarizes, weighs the evidence, listens between the lines to
tone of voice. |
Capitalize
on fact
|
Tends
to daydream with slow speakers |
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