LISTENING SKILLS

Basic Communication Skills Profile

________________________________________________
Communication Order Learned Extent Used Extent Taught

____________________________________________
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing

First
Second
Third
Fourth

First
Second
Third
Fourth

Fourth
Third
Second
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
Dont 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