Listening: The process of receiving, constructing meaning from and responding to,

spoken and/or non-verbal messages, to hear something with thoughtful attention.

Importance of listening skills
Listening skills are important for advancement in any career. Children need to focus on
learning these essential skills, especially in grade school. Good listeners know what's
happening, learn new things, get better grades, make fewer mistakes and even can have more
friends because people like to be heard. (Resource 2). Listening has three parts to it: hearing
the speaker, understanding what the speaker is saying and making a judgment based on that
understanding. Active listening also includes concentration---focusing on a speaker's eyes
while processing inflection and body language. Listening skills involve patience as well by
not jumping in and cutting off the speaker. Active listeners tend to be successful in their
endeavors because they don't miss opportunities.

active listening:Following are the principles of good listening

1-Maintain eye contact. This is the first and foremost principle of good listening. It helps the
listener to concentrate on the speakers words. It save him from distracting his attention from
the spaeaker.
2-Focus on content, not delivery. A Good listener never focus on the delivery ,he always
become all ears for the contents. He does not allow his attention to go astray from the words
of the speaker.
3-Avoid emotional involvement. When you are too emotionally involved in listening, you
tend to hear what you want to hear--not what is actually being said. Try to remain objective
and open-minded.
4-Avoid diversion and distraction. A good and active listener focus on the contents he is
listening not the nearby voices or sounds.
5-Consider the listening an inspiring intellectual job. Listening to an educational lecture is
not a passive work. It is always edifying and useful for listener that is why he should take
listening as an inspiring job.
6- Ask questions in your mind. Active listening keeps you alert. Always ask yourself some
questions about the contents of the speaker. Keep evaluating his ideas during listening.
7- Keep your mind focused on the Speech.
Use the rate of speech and your rate of thought to anticipate what the speaker will say
next.
In this way you will be able to keep your mind from straying.
8-do not interrupt the speaker. Let the speaker complete his speech or lecture and then
ask question if any .Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak.

9- Try to infer the main idea .The main ideas are the most important points the speaker
wants to convey. Always try to infer the theme of the contents of the speaker.
10- Express that you are listening and understanding. Try to look at the speaker and
express your attention by nodding now and then. Appropriate feedback at different points
with smile, frown or laugh shows that you are actively involved in listening.
11-Remain Objective .Avoid emotional involvement because it will deviate your attention
from the real contents of the speech.
12- Do not make assumptions about the speaker.
Barriers to effective listening
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Environmental distractions
Pride
Assumptions
Close mindedness
Defensiveness
Meeting

a gathering of people for a particular purpose (such as to talk about business)

: a gathering of people for religious worship
: a situation or occasion when two people see and talk to each other
A meeting is a gathering of two or more people that has been convened
for the purpose of achieving a common goal through verbal interaction,
such as sharing information or reaching agreement. [2] Meetings may occur
face to face or virtually, as mediated by communications technology, such
as a telephone conference call, a skyped conference call or a
videoconference.
Types of meeting:

Meetings are broadly of three types:

(i) Informative, where the purpose is to give information to the participants about a new
scheme, product, etc.
(ii) Consultative, in which the members are consulted to solve a problem.
(iii) Executive, in which decisions are taken by those empowered to do so
Purpose of a meeting:

The purposes of holding meetings are listed here in a skeleton form:

To reach a common decision/agreement

To solve a problem
To understand a situation, exchange ideas and experiences
To inform, explain, present ideas
To give and get feedback on new ideas
To give training
To plan and prepare for action
To resolve differences and misunderstandings
To generate enthusiasm and seek cooperation
To review past performance and evaluate it
To create a feeling of continuity and solidarity in a bodys working
Advantages of Meetings:
1. Save time
2. Addressing groups
3. Cope with information explosure
4. iv) Social and emotional support:
5. Feeling of being consulted:
6. Idea development:
Disadvantages:

1. Time-consuming
2. Inability to arrive at a decision:
3. Lack of seriousness:
4. Inexpert chairing
5. Expensive
6. Open to disruption
Planning and organizations of meetings
Good meeting planning is a necessary prerequisite for any effective
business meeting. Here are the key considerations and practical tips to
guide you through the meeting organization process.
1. What are the desired outcomes from that meeting?
2. What is the best tool to reach that outcome?

3.
4.
5.
6.

Who are the right people to be at the meeting?

Who will chair the meeting?
The next meeting planning step is to decide on time and place
At this point of meeting organization you are finally ready to
prepare and distribute an agenda
7. During the meeting, the agenda sets priorities and time frames.
It is a necessary tool for keeping the meeting focused and
productive.

Sample Job Application Form

Many employers require all applicants, regardless of the job they apply for, to complete a job
application form. This way the employer will have consistent data on file for all prospective
applicants
City, State, Zip Code
_______________________________________________________
Phone Number
(___)___________________________________
Are you eligible to work in the United States?
Yes _______ No_______
If you are under age 18, do you have an employment/age certificate?
Yes ___ No ___
Have you been convicted of or pleaded no contest to a felony within the last five years?
Yes_______ No_______
If yes, please explain: _________________________________________
________________________

Drafting the application - formalising the documentation

Compiling a grant application requires specialist contributions to ensure that the expected
amount of the grant is allocated strictly, methodically and in the optimum manner.
Welcomeurope assigns the building of your project to a pair of experts with several years of
experience in your field and the type of projects run by your organisation.

Method:
Stage 1: Critical analysis of your project in relation to the grant programmes identified
Stage 2: The pair of Welcomeurope experts drafts the application documentation together
with your teams
Stage 3: Final compilation of the complete application documentation and submission within
the prescribed deadline