The Importance of Listeningby Robert M.

Sherfield,
Ph.D.
Listening is, by far, one of the most important aspects of communication. So often, you pay attention to your speech, your words, your dialect, but neglect your ability to listen. Your self-esteem can be greatly enhanced by learning how to be a more effective listener. Effective listening helps create more positive and productive professional and personal relationships. Effective listening allows you to be in control of the information that is disseminated. When you are an active listener, you are able to more accurately pinpoint potential problems on the horizon and possibly stop them before they fester. Active listening helps you obtain more information, thus helping you make more effective decisions. Lastly, active listening demands that you become a part of the communication process. If you are listening, truly listening, you are involved in the process of two-way communication. You listen at a much faster pace than people talk. You speak at a rate of 90 to 200 words per minute, but you listen at a rate of 400 to 600 words per minute andthink at a rate of 500 to 1,000 words per minute. The difference in the speed of speech, listening, and thought can be an obstacle to the listening process simply because your mind can begin to wander. The Benefits of Listening The benefits of being an active listener are incalculable. They range from increased knowledge to being able to have more compassion. Listening (and yes, deaf people can listen, too) is a hallmark of successful people. It is a skill practiced by so few that to be able to do it well sets you apart from the pack. Some of the benefits of listening include:

You are better able to help others.

You have more power and influence in the world. You are able to understand things on a deeper level. You are able to understand more about different cultures. You have the resources to make more informed, rational decisions. You have the tools to avoid conflicts and reduce problems. You are able to participate in life more because you know more. You can become a more effective leader. You will become more popular because people admire good listeners. Your self-esteem in greatly enhanced.

Listening with an Open Mind Open-minded! What a word. So many people profess to be openminded, when in actuality, they are only open to things that they already know and like. Things from cultural barriers to ignorance cause people to not listen to ideas, concepts, desires, and frustrations of others. We were all given one mouth and two ears. The wisest people use them in that proportion. Anonymous Open-minded listening is a tall order. It requires that you shed your fears, your inhibitions, your prejudices, your own knowledge, and your judgments. It is not an easy thing to do, but it is a necessary and important thing to do. If you are an American Caucasian female, you will never know what it is like to be an African-American male in this country. There is no way that you could possibly understand what it is like. You can imagine, you can read, and you can pretend, but you will never know. The only way that you will ever come close to knowing what it is like to be African-American, Hispanic, Asian, gay, poor, disabled, or anything

that you are not is to listen to the people who are. This is your only hope for ever having the tiniest clue as to what happens in the daily lives of people who are different from you. The only way to ever begin to understandwhat you are not is to listen, really listen to those who are.

Listening Versus Hearingby Robert M. Sherfield,

Ph.D.
There are weighty differences between listening and hearing. Hearing is an automatic response while listening is a voluntary action. Hearing has little to do with choice, while listening has everything to do with choice. Think of it in this light: Just because you have hands, this does not make you a painter, sculptor, or carpenter. Just because you have feet, this does not make you a dancer or marathon runner. Thus, just because you have ears, this does not make you a listener. Stop reading for a moment and listen to the sounds around you. What are they? Do you hear traffic? Do you hear the buzz of a florescent light? Do you hear children playing, neighbors talking, or music in the background? If you can answer this question, you were listening. Yes! It is that simple. If you stopped to focus on the sounds around you, it was a voluntary decision and your hearing went a step further and turned into listening. Test Your Listening Abilities The only real test for listening is to listen. The following assessment will, however, help you understand if you are using your listening skills to best advantage. Review the following statements. Put a check by the statements that most closely match your listening traits. 1. I tune out when something is boring to me.

2. I listen to the whole story before making a decision or coming to a conclusion. 3. I often begin formulating a response in my head as the other person talks. 4. I really try to understand the other person's point when listening. 5. Sometimes, I start listening on a negative note. 6. I objectively evaluate all information, regardless of the source. 7. My mind wanders to unrelated material when the speaker is talking. 8. I can tune out distractions such as noise when I am listening. 9. I judge the information before I truly understand what the speaker means. 10. I leave my emotions outside when listening. I listen with an objective mind. 11. I often interrupt the speaker so that I can say what I want to say. 12. I force myself to never mentally argue with the speaker when he or she is speaking. 13. I answer questions that are asked of other people. 14. I usually accept information as true from people I like and respect. 15. I eliminate some information from the message to simplify what I am hearing. 16. I force myself to be silent during conversations so that I can focus on what is being said instead of what I am going to say. If you checked more odd numbers than even numbers, you have created some monumental barriers to effective listening. If you checked more even numbers than odd numbers, you have learned how to eliminate many barriers to the listening process. The Listening Process

Listening does not just happen. There is a process that takes place in the brain that allows us to become more active listeners. The process involves four parts: 1. Receiving 2. Focusing 3. Understanding 4. Reacting 5. If you hear a car horn blowing behind you, you have received the sound. This does not mean that you were listening; it simply means that you were within the range of the sound. 6. If you turn down the radio to see if the horn is blown again (or if it was a horn at all), you have begun to focus on the sound. This is the beginning of the listening process. You have made a voluntary decision to begin doing more than hearing. 7. If the horn blows again and you recognize the sound as definitely being a horn, you have begun to understand the sound. Your brain relates this sound to sounds it has heard before and lets you know that the sound is indeed a horn, not a baby crying. Research suggests that 24 hours after you hear something, you will only remember about 50 percent of the information. After 48 hours, you only remember about 25 percent. 8. Finally, you will have a reaction to everything you hear. The reaction may be to speed up or slow down or pull over if a horn is blowing. The reaction may be to change the baby's diaper if the baby is crying, or the reaction can be to do nothing. Doing nothing is still a reaction. 9. These four steps can take place in less than a second. Think of the last time that you heard someone scream loudly or if you heard something fall, crash, and break right behind you. What was your reaction? You probably screamed and jumped. This took place almost immediately. This is how quickly these four steps can happen.

Although listening is the very first language skill developed by those who have the gift of hearing, it is often the least regarded. Seldom does anyone have a class or formal training in listening. Most people, educators included, take listening for granted and assume it is automatic. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Listening
By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide

See More About:

effective listening communication non-verbal communication interpersonal communication

A woman listens to a colleague. Pando Hall / Getty Images

Ads How To Speak EnglishLearn To Improve Spoken English. Study English with Online Courses.www.eagetutor.com IIT JEE Chemistry Videos100 hrs of Chemistry Videos, Notes Phone & Video Session. Buy Now!www.TheDigiLibrary.com Free Printable WorksheetsColorful Worksheets-Engage & Learn. Much Cheaper than Printable Sheetsedurite.com/book/Worksheets Definition: Listening is to give your attention to something or someone who is making a sound. In active or deep listening, which are words used to describe effective listening styles, the listener exhibits certain powerful listening behaviors. This listening is perceived, by the person who is being listened to, as evidence that the listener is really hearing and understanding what the person is trying to communicate. In active listening, the person who is the listener, conveys to the person whom he or she is listening to, their deepest respect. This is conveyed through a serious effort to focus in on

and concentrate on the words and the meaning that the person who is communicating with them, is trying to convey. In active listening:

The listener asks questions that probe and focus on understanding and clarifying the meaning of what the communicator is trying to convey. The listener focuses his or her mind and full attention on the words and meaning of the person communicating as observed and heard through such components of speaking as their words, tone of voice, nonverbal facial expressions and body language, examples, and speaking speed. The goal of active listening is shared meaning in which the listener and the person communicating are in agreement about what was conveyed. In active listening, the listener provides the communicator, affirming body language, murmured agreement words, and other sounds and actions that help the person communicating feel heard out and listened to.

If an employee repeatedly raises the same issues or points of view to you, as a listener, the fundamental issue to consider is that the employee repeats himself because he doesn't feel you are hearing him. Look at your active listening habits to see if the needed listening component is here. Also Known As: active listening, deep listening Related to Listening Active Listening: How to Listen Deeply and Effectively Listen to Understand Listening - Definition and Examples of Listening Related to Listening Shared Meaning in Communication Interpersonal Communication Success Tips Related to Listening Provide Feedback That Has an Impact Receive Feedback With Grace and Dignity How to Use Nonverbal Communication in Hiring

Active Listening
Opening Page | Glossary | Menu Shortcut Page

Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. Often when people talk to each other, they don=t listen attentively. They are often distracted, half listening, half thinking about something else. When people are engaged in a conflict, they are often busy formulating a response to what is being said. They assume that they have heard what their opponent is saying many times before, so rather than paying attention, they focus on how they can respond to win the argument. Active listening is a structured form of listening and responding that focuses the attention on the speaker. The listener must take care to attend to the speaker fully, and then repeats, in the listener=s own words, what he or she thinks the speaker has said. The listener does not have to agree with the speaker--he or she must simply state what they think the speaker said. This enables the speaker to find out whether the listener really understood. If the listener did not, the speaker can explain some more. Often, the listener is encouraged to interpret the speaker=s words in terms of feelings. Thus, instead of just repeating what happened, the active listener might add AI gather that you felt angry or frustrated orconfused when@. . .[a particular event happened]. Then the speaker can go beyond confirming that the listener understood what happened, but can indicate that he or she also understood the speaker=s psychological response to it. Active listening has several benefits. First, it forces people to listen attentively to others. Second, it avoids misunderstandings, as people have to confirm that they do really understand what another person has said. Third, it tends to open people up, to get them to say more. When people are in conflict, they often contradict each other, denying the opponent=s description of a situation. This tends to make people defensive, and they will either lash out, or withdraw and say nothing more. However, if they feel that their opponent is really attuned to their concerns and wants to listen, they are likely to explain in detail what they feel and why. If both parties to a conflict do this, the chances of being able to develop a solution to their mutual problem becomes much greater.

Roles of the Teacher - Communicating

Aims The major aims of the communicating role in the classroom are to:

Initiate and sustain effective communication systems and techniques so as to establish and maintain group cohesion and on-task behavior. Develop communication skills of teacher and students to facilitate the management of classroom activities, both behavioral and instructional. Maximize the exchange of information within the classroom and with other sections of the school and its community, so as to develop common understandings Devise effective communication strategies for overcoming classroom management issues.

Learning and teaching in the classroom predominately take place through interpersonal communication between teachers and students. The context in which this communication occurs and the relationships between teachers and students are neither fixed nor predetermined. Rather they are constructed by the teacher and students, and negotiated by them as they act and react through verbal and non-verbal behavior. The management of communication is one of the central tasks of the classroom teacher. Effective student learning depends largely upon the strong and positive management of classroom communication in all its forms and situations. In turn, effective classroom management and the roles of planning, organizing, controlling and motivating depend upon the management of effective communication. Communication is at the heart of classroom processes. Types of Communication There are numerous types of communications that relate to interactions within the classroom, these include written, verbal and nonverbal, and direct and indirect. Conran (1989) discussed three types of communication that may be found in a typical classroom environment, each type having a different purpose and effect. The first form is called Proactive Communication. This type of communication is a closed and direct form, mainly used by the teacher. Its purpose is ordering or directing. It is characteristic of structuring a task and producing instructions. The second form is Defensive Communication. This type is employed when someone feels threatened. It is not an open form of communication and is neither constructive nor effective. It has the result of closing off communication. The third form is Interactive Communication. This type is indirect and an open form of interaction used to describe and explore. It is characteristic of many teaching/learning situations.

While each of these forms of communication has a place in the classroom, the open and interactive form is probably most effective in facilitating successful learning by students, fostering positive classroom climate, and enhancing relationships between teacher and students. Interactive communication is based on trust and respect and is important in achieving goals of the class agenda. Interactive communication is characterized by the use of humor, which has been found to be an important feature of successful classroom teachers. Research has shown that teachers are responsible for 60% or more of classroom interactions, and that 60% or more of these interactions are directive and proactive. A more effective management of communication would move towards reducing the directive dominance of classroom communication and emphasize more interactive and open communication. Types of communication can be classified on the richness of information conveyed, and can be placed on a six step continuum (see below). Face-to-face, which is the common form of communication, is richest because it provides immediate feedback through verbal and visual cues. Comprehension is generally higher when material is presented in written form, while changes of opinion and belief occur through face-to-face interactions (Hoy & Miskel, 1987) Three other media should be added to Daft & Lengel's continuum. The first is interactive multimedia, the second is video in all its forms (both probably rate second to face-to-face in terms of their richness of information), and the third is some combination of written and graphic or written and numeric media. The third type of media would probably be placed between the telephone and personal written media. The appropriate medium depends on the purpose of the message. Generally the most effective communication uses a combination of oral and written media. In addition it employs the principle of redundancy (repetition of the message in different forms). Thus a teacher might convey the same message verbally while using the blackboard or the overhead projector. These are different media and are supported by a third, body and facial expressions. Usually, within reason, the more media used to convey a message, the more likely it is that the message will be transmitted effectively. At least as important as verbal, graphic, and numeric media are non-verbal signals and paralanguage such as stress, inflection and speed of speech as well as grunts and laughter (Johnson & Johnson, 1987). This emphasis's the importance of nonverbal gestures and the body positions of teachers and students in classroom communication. Tone of voice, however, carries a much greater proportion of verbal messages than words, while sight is a more important receptor of information than ears or body. There have been many studies that have investigated teacher's communicating behavior. In summary, the following findings can be noted:

Student achievement is maximized when teachers actively present material, structure it by providing overviews of the task and advance organizers, outline content and signal transitions between lesson parts, Summarise sub-parts during the lesson and review main ideas at the end.

Student achievement appears to be higher when information is presented clearly, with enthusiasm, and with a degree of redundancy or repetition through various channels. Teacher questioning is most effective when questions are pitched at the appropriate conceptual level, are asked clearly, and are followed by a pause to allow students to think before responding. Student responses should be acknowledged by providing verbal and constructive feedback, and assisting partially correct respondents to greater success through prompting and rephrasing of questions. * Teachers should encourage student initiations, directing them to other class members for comment and response, and including them within the talk about the topic.

Apart from the importance of managing effective classroom communication, teachers must also coordinate communication with parents and members of the school community. Parents generally wish to be involved in their children's education (Lindle, 1989), and have a right to be informed about their own children's progress and achievement. Generally, findings from research into teacher/parent communication suggests that it is insufficient, irregular, infrequent and based too heavily on symbolic and numeric forms. In addition, it tends to occur when there is a problem rather than emphasizing student success and achievement (Mellor & Hayden,1981).