Improving Listening Skills

Improving Listening Skills - Transcript

Improving Listening Skills Business Communication Session 6 7
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Learning


Understanding the intricacies of the listening process and enhancing skills to identify the preferred mode of listening in the given context

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Listening The Nelson Way


Horatio Nelson England s greatest naval hero often achieved his famous victories by acting independently of his superiors He lost his right eye when he was commanding the British Warship Agamemnon and fighting in the Mediterranean Sea in 1793

Eight years later he was second in command of a British attack on the Danish fleet off Copenhagen His superior judged 3

Agenda Types of Listening The Listening Process Barriers to Effective Listening

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4 How to Improve Listening

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Introduction


A process of receiving interpreting and reacting to a message received from the speaker No communication process is complete without listening Art of hearing and understanding Making sense out of what we hear



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Fast Facts
We listen at 125 250 wpm think at 10003000 wpm 75 of the time we are distracted preoccupied or forgetful 20 of the time we remember what we hear More than 35 of businesses think listening is a top skill for success
6 Less than 2 of people have had formal











Definition
Look Identify Set up Tune in Examine Note

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Listening


The mother of all speaking because both the communicator and the communicatee need it to carry on conversation

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Listening vs Hearing


Hearing and listening are not similar Hearing physical process natural passive Listening physical mental process active learned process a skill Listening is hard







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STEPS INVOLVED

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TYPES


Appreciative Listening is listening to derive aesthetic pleasure Empathetic Listening is listening to a distressed person wherein one provides emotional and moral support Comprehensive Listening is done when someone understands and comprehends the message in greater detail like in a class Critical Listening is evaluating the message critically Used when the purpose is to accept or reject the message







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You do not listen with just your ears you listen with your eyes and with your sense of touch you listen by becoming aware of the feelings and emotions that arise within yourself because of this contact with others You listen with your mind your heart your imagination Egan Gerard

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Barriers
Content too much too little selective Speaker delivery attitude Medium distance and environment Distractions extraneous Mind Set attitudes Language ambiguity misinterpretation Listening Speed rate think time Feedback inappropriate hasty

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Strategies
Decide your goals Be aware of your options Decide when to speak and when to listen Plan what to say when you speak focusing and clarifying Be Attentive stop multi tasking recap use body language

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Prepare to listen

ACTIVE versus PASSIVE Listening



Avoid pre judgement Be open minded Establish eye contact Watch for signals Use verbal cues such as I see and yes Phrase interpretations to verify understanding extract main points Make notes if possible Give FEEDBACK
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DON TS


Pay undue emphasis to the vocabulary Pay to much attention to the accessories and clothing of the speaker Concentrate too hard Interrupt too often Show boredom to an uninteresting speaker
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Activity Time

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Let s practice


Tell the student next to you about your next assignment

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Tell me your stories


Do you feel your partner understood you What made your partner easy hard to listen to



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Paraphrasing Summarizing and Questioning

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Techniques to improve listening skills
PARAPHRASE
Restate what was said in your own words

SUMMARIZE
Pull together the main points of a speaker

QUESTION
Challenge speaker to think further clarifying both your and their understanding

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U s e

Practice Paraphrasing

p Paraphrasing is simply restating what h another person has said in your own r words a s e s s u c

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T r y


Practice Summarizing
Summarizing pulls important ideas facts or data together Useful for emphasizing key points and setting the stage for further discussion The person summarizing must listen carefully in order to organize the information systematically

o u t t h e s e





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Two basic types of questions
1 Closed questions


Get a one word response and inhibit thought
Questions begin with who when and which



2 Open ended questions


Invite unique thought reflection or an explanation Questions begin with how what and how come



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Practice Questioning


Rephrase the following closed questions to make them open ended Are you feeling tired Isn t it a nice day Was the last activity useful Is there anything bothering you So everything is fine then
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Behaviors that support effective listening



Maintaining relaxed body posture Leaning slightly forward if sitting Facing person squarely at eye level Maintaining an open posture Maintaining appropriate distance Offering simple acknowledgments Reflecting meaning paraphrase Reflecting emotions Using eye contact
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Behaviors that hinder effective listening Acting distracted


Telling your own story without acknowledging theirs first No response Invalidating response put downs Interrupting Criticizing Judging Diagnosing Giving advice solutions Changing the subject
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Exercise Listening
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Who are the people it s easiest to listen to

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What is it about these people that makes it easier to listen to them

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Who are the people you listen to least

What is it about them that makes it difficult to listen to 28 them
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Let s practice


Tell the person next to you about the latest business news you read in the newspaper
Speaker talk for 2 min Listener listen using the skills we ve discussed Observer observe the application of the skills and take notes

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Video

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