Listening: An Important Skill (LEAP PDF)

 Listening: An Important Skill and Its Various Aspects Listening skill is key to receiving messages effectively. It is a combination of hearing what another person says and psychological involvement with the person who is talking. Listening is a skill of language. It requires a desi...

 Listening: An Important Skill and Its Various Aspects Listening skill is key to receiving messages effectively. It is a combination of hearing what another person says and psychological involvement with the person who is talking. Listening is a skill of language. It requires a desire to understand another human being, an attitude of respect and acceptance, and a willingness to open one's mind to try and see things from another's point of view. Listening requires a high level of concentration and energy. It demands that we set aside our own thoughts and agendas, put ourselves in another's shoes and try to see the world through that person's eyes. Listening understanding - a language modality. - helps to understand symbols we have seen and heard - one of the four skills of a language (i.e. listening, - we must analyze the meaning of the stimuli we have perceived speaking, reading, writing). - symbolic stimuli are not only words but have symbolic meanings - involves an active involvement of an individual. as well, wherein the meanings attached to these symbols are a - involves a sender, a message, and a receiver. function of our past associations and of the context in which the - is the psychological process of receiving, attending to symbols occur. constructing meaning from and responding to spoken - for successful interpersonal communication, the listener must and/or non verbal messages. ' understand the intended meaning and the context assumed by the sender. Listening comprises of some key components, they are: Remembering - discriminating between sounds - an important listening process; it means that an individual has - recognizing words and understanding their meaning not only received and interpreted a message but has also - identifying grammatical groupings of words added it too the mind's storage bank. - identifying expressions and sets of utterances that act to - in listening, our attention is selective, so is our memory–what is create meaning remembered may be quite different from what was originally - connecting linguistic cues to non-linguistic and seen or heard. paralinguistic cues - using background knowledge to predict and to confirm Evaluating meaning and - only active listeners participate at this stage in listening - recalling important words and ideas. - at this point, the active listener weighs evidence, sorts fact from opinion, and determines the presence or absence of bias or Process of Listening prejudice in a message - the effective listener makes sure that he or she doesn't begin The process of listening occurs in five stages. They are this activity too soon; beginning this stage of the process before a (1) hearing, (2) understanding, (3) remembering, (4) message is completed requires that we no longer hear and evaluating, and (5) responding. attend to the incoming message– as a result, the listening process ceases Hearing - Refers to the response caused by sound waves stimulating the Responding sensory receptors of the ear (physical response) - is perception of sound waves; you must hear to listen, but you - this stage requires that the receiver complete the process don't need to listen to hear (perception necessary for listening through verbal and/or nonverbal feedback; because the speaker depends on attention) has no other way to determine if a message has been received, - brain screens stimuli and permits only a select few to come this stage becomes the only overt means by which the sender into focus– these selective perception is known as attention (an may determine the degree of success in transmitting the important requirement for effective listening) message. Strategies of Listening Passive or Attentive Listening - The listener is genuinely interested in hearing and Listening strategies are techniques or activities that contribute understanding the other person's point of view. He will be directly to the comprehension and recall of listening input. attentive and will passively listen. Listening strategies can be classified by how the listener - The listener assume that what he heard and understand is processes the input. correct but stay passive and do not verify it. Top-down strategies Competitive or Combative Listening - are listener based. The listener taps into background knowledge of the topic, the situation or context, the type of text, - It happens when the listener is more interested in promoting and the language. his own point of view than in understanding or exploring - This background knowledge activates a set of expectations someone else's view. He either listen for openings to take the that help the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate floor, or for flaws or weak points. what will come next. Top-down strategies include: Types of Listening - listening for the main idea _ predicting Based on objective and manner in which the listener takes and - drawing inferences respond to the process of listening, the different types of listening - summarizing are: Bottom-up strategies 1. Active listening - are text based. - Listening in a way that demonstrates interest and - the listener relies on the language in the message, that is, encourages continued speaking. the combination of sounds, words, and grammar that creates meaning. 2. Appreciative listening - Looking for ways to accept and appreciate the other person Bottom-up strategies include: through what they say. - listening for specific details - Seeking opportunity to praise. recognizing cognates - Alternatively listening to something for pleasure, such as recognizing word-order patterns to music. Three Basic modes of Listening Active or Reflective Listening 3. Attentive listening - Listening obviously and carefully, showing attention. - It is the single most useful and important listening skill. In active listening , the listener is genuinely interested in 4. Biased listening understanding what the other person is thinking, feeling, - Listening through the filter of personal bias wanting or what the message means. (i.e the person hears only what they want to listen.) - The person is active in checking his understanding before he respond with his new message. 5. Casual listening - The listener restate or paraphrase our understanding of - Listening without obviously showing attention. Actual the message and reflect it back to the sender for attention may vary a lot. verification. This verification or feedback process is what distinguishes active listening and makes it effective. 6. Comprehension listening - Listening to understand. Seeking meaning (but little more). Essentials of Active Listening - Intensity 7. Critical listening - Empathy - Listening in order to evaluate, criticize or otherwise pass - Acceptance judgment on what someone else says. - Recognizing responsibility for completeness 8. Deep listening Importance of Listening Skill - Seeking to understand the person, their personality and their real and unspoken meanings and motivators. Good listening skills make workers more productive. The ability to listen carefully will allow a person to: 9. Discriminative listening - understand assignments in better way and find what is - Listening for something specific but nothing else (eg. expected from him. a baby crying). - build rapport with co-workers, bosses, and clients; - show support; 10. Empathetic listening - work better in a team-based environment; - Seeking to understand what the other person - resolve problems with customers, co-workers, and bosses; is feeling. Demonstrating this empathy. - answer questions - Find underlying meanings in what others say. 11. Evaluative listening - Listening in order to evaluate, criticize or otherwise pass Barriers to Listening judgment on what someone else says. Listening is not easy and there are a number of obstacles that 12. Inactive listening stand in the way of effective listening, both within outside the - Pretending to listen but actually spending more workplace. These barriers may be categorized as follows. time thinking. 1. Physiological Barriers 13. Judgmental listening - some people may have genuine hearing problems or - Listening in order to evaluate, criticize or otherwise pass deficiencies that prevent them from listening properly, but it judgment on what someone else says. can be treated. - some may also have problems in processing information or 14. Partial listening retaining information in the memory. - Listening most of the time but also spending some time day- dreaming or thinking of a response. 2. Physical Barriers - These referred to distraction in the environment such as the 15. Reflective listening sound of an air conditioner , cigarette smoke, or an - Listening, then reflecting back to the other person what overheated room that can interfere the listening process. they have said. - They could also be in the form of information overload. i.e., you are in a meeting with your manager and the phone 16. Relationship listening rings and your mobile beeps at the same time to let u know - Listening in order to support and develop a relationship that you have the message - it could be very hard to listen with the other person. carefully to what is being said. 17. Sympathetic listening 3. Attitudinal Barriers - Listening with concern for the well-being of the - pre-occupation with personal or work related problems can other person. make it difficult to focus one's attention completely on what the speaker is saying, even though what is being said may be very 18. Therapeutic listening important. - Seeking to understand what the other person is feeling. Demonstrating this empathy. Another common attitudinal barrier is egocentrism, or the belief that the person is more knowledgeable than the speaker, 19. Total listening or that there is nothing new to learn from the speaker's ideas. - Paying very close attention in active listening to what is People with this kind of close minded attitude are very poor said and the deeper meaning found through how it is said. listeners. Wrong Assumptions Benefits of Effective Listening Skills - The success of communication depends on both the sender and receiver. Learning the skill of effective listening benefits personal - It is wrong to assume that communication is the sole growth and development in the following ways: responsibility of the sender or the speaker and that listeners have no role to play. Such an assumption can a Effective Communication – Clear and concise be big barrier to listening. transmission of information is an important component Ex., a brilliant speech or presentation, however well of effective human interaction. Though the onus is often delivered, is wasted if the receiver is not listening at the placed on presenting clear and concise written or other end. spoken directions, the listener also bears a responsibility - Listeners have as much responsibility as speakers to to hear and understand messages. make the communication successful. The process should be made successful by paying attention, seeking Fewer Misunderstandings – Regardless of the clarifications, and giving feedback. clarity of written or spoken messages, the effective listener can prevent misunderstandings and salvage Cultural Barriers what otherwise might be a miscommunication by - Accents can be barriers to listening, since they practicing active listening skills. interfere with the ability to understand the meaning of words that are pronounced differently. The problem of Improved Relationships – Relationships are different accents arises not only between cultures, but damaged by misunderstandings that can lead to also within a culture. For example, in a country like India unsatisfactory business transactions as well as hurt where there is enormous cultural diversity, accents may feelings in personal relationships. Excellent listening differ even between regions states. practices tell others that they are important, special, and what they have to say is valued. That is very attractive Gender Barriers and contributes to strong relationships. – communication research has shown that gender can be barrier to listening. Studies have revealed that men Personal Growth – A person learns and grows by and women listen very differently and for different listening and understanding other viewpoints, differing purposes. Women are more likely to listen for the ideas, and exploring connecting viewpoints. Learning the emotion behind a speaker's words, while men listen skill of active and effective listening not only adds a tool more for the facts and the content. to the personal development portfolio, but equips you to continue growing with tools for exploring new ideas. Lack of Training - Listening is not an inborn skill. People are not born good listeners. It is developed through practice and Common Listening Mistakes training. Lack of training in listening skills is an important barrier. There are some common mistakes which are made by an individual while Listening. Some of them are: Bad Listening Habits - Most people are very average listeners who 1. Interrupting the speaker. have developed poor listening habits that are hard 2. Completing the speakers sentences in advance. to say and that act as barriers to listening. For example, some people have the habits of "faking" - Habit of topping another person's story with your own is attention, or trying to look like listeners, in order to demeaning and relegates the speaker's story to impress the speaker and to assure him that they something less important. are paying attention. Others may also tend to listen to each and every fact and, as a result, miss out Dominating Conversations – A person who the main point. dominates conversations probably commits all of the above mistakes and is not listening at all. Ways to improve Listening skill Hearing and Listening are two different activities. Hearing is passive whereas Listening is active. Listening is a psychological process. It can therefore be improved by regular practice. Listening is a very helpful skill. Active listening is really an extension of the Golden Rule. Here are some of the tips which can help a person to improve his Listening skill: 1. Face the speaker. Sit up straight or lean forward slightly to show your attentiveness through body language. 2. Maintain eye contact, to the degree that you all remain comfortable. 3. Minimize external distractions. Turn off the TV. Put down your book or magazine, and ask the speaker and other listeners to do the same. 4. Respond appropriately to show that you understand. Murmur ("uh- huh" and "um-hmm") and nod. Raise your eyebrows. Say words such as "Really," "Interesting," as well as more direct prompts: "What did you do then?" and "What did she say?" 5. Focus solely on what the speaker is saying. Try not to think about what you are going to say next. The conversation will follow a logical eow after the speaker makes her point. 6. Minimize internal distractions. If your own thoughts keep horning in, simply let them go and continuously re- focus your attention on the speaker, much as you would during meditation. 7. Keep an open mind. Wait until the speaker is finished before deciding that you disagree. Try not to make assumptions about what the speaker is thinking. 8. Avoid letting the speaker know how you handled a similar situation. Unless they specifically ask for advice, assume they just need to talk it out. 9. Even if the speaker is launching a complaint against you, wait until they finish to defend yourself. The speaker will feel as though their point had been made. They won't feel the need to repeat it, and you'll know the whole argument before you respond. Research shows that, on average, we can hear four times faster than we can talk, so we have the ability to sort ideas as they come in... and be ready for more. 10. Engage yourself. Ask questions for clarification, but, once again, wait until the speaker has finished. That way, you won't interrupt their train of thought. After you ask questions, paraphrase their point to make sure you didn't misunderstand. Start with: "So you're saying..."