Listening

Listening skills significantly improve interpersonal relationships to a great extent mindfully and intentionally if a person listens, he can be successful in interpersonal interactions We spend 53% - listening, 17% reading, speaking 16%, writing 14%

What are the purposes and benefits?

Learning Relating Influencing helping

The Listening Process

1. Receiving begins here message may be both verbal and non-verbal 2, Understanding learning what the Tx means 3. Remembering here memory becomes reconstructive not reproductive 4. Evaluating judging the messages in some ways 5. responding

Difference between hearing and listening

Hearing physiological process listening takes thought, intention, effort, and even some training Listening is a choice a workintensive task when you listen, your brain is working

Mindfulness and Listening

Being fully present in the moment keeping your mind on the present, and paying attention to the here and now Not distracted, no mind-wandering Mindfulness first step towards becoming an effective listener not a skill to be developed, but a choice one has to make

A cultural form of communication

Listening a reflection of ones culture or co-culture Speech and language cultural differences Nonverbal behavioral differences Direct and indirect styles Credibility Feedback Gender and Listening

Types of listening

1. Content listening 2. comprehensive / Informational Listening 3. Discriminative listening 4 Critical listening 5. Empathic listening 6. Appreciative listening 7. Marginal listening 8. Projective listening 9. Pseudo Listening

Content listening

Is essentially listening for information is also known as called attentive / active listening there is a participative contribution from the Rx there is rarely any kind of miscommunication here. questions are asked - motivation for the speaker also is a byproduct of this communication

Comprehensive / Informational Listening

Listening to gain knowledge or information obvious place classroom One of the most common forms of listening

Discriminative listening

Can be used for the right understanding of an oral report, plea or complaint the Rx should discriminate between truth and error through what is said and not said, real state of things , overestimation or underestimation, a transparent speaker or one who misleads

Critical Listening
A form of discriminative listening Also called evaluative listening Context free and applies to an Rx who listens to any speaker. Grasps the main focus of a speech, its essential ideas, weighs and evaluates from the point of view of context, contribution, logic, relevance etc

Empathic listening
Has psychological therapeutic value. Also called sensitive listening Rx is able the viewpoint of the speaker Meaning lies not in words here, but in the same kind of perception But should avoid sentimental identification sympathy and empathy, but not pity

Appreciative listening
Has to do with listening to music or a lecture that soothes the spirit Different kind of listening relaxed listening

Marginal Listening
information load hampers listening results in superficial Reasons may be fatigue or boredom Better than passive listening in this case small chinks of information are listened to and assimilated

Projective listening
Response of the Rx in a state of restful alertness. Is a kind of selective listening Assimilation from the Rxs limited personal perspective

Pseudo Listening
Refers to a state when one wants to appear as if he/she is listening, when he/she is not A state when you make others think youre interested, buying time for the next moment, looking for vulnerabilities, or checking for the reactions of others All signs of listening may be present

Blocks to effective listening

Comparing focusing attention on ourselves Mind reading when you mind read, you do not trust what the other person says Rehearsing ones own messages Filtering - Some listen selectively listen to only what interests them Prejudging a closed mind can hamper listening

Blocks to effective listening

Advising: searching your thoughts for the best advice limits effective listening Debating: when you are too quick to point out mistakes Being right: when you feel the need to be right by whatever means it takes yelling, distorting, dominating, making excuses, accusing, putdowns etc)

Blocks to effective listening

Derailing you derail the speaker by changing the topic Placating: a prime example of pseudo listening being nice, supportive, and pleasant while not truly listening

Blocks

Emotional Blocks most have deaf spots. Cannot listen to figures or to descriptions of surgical procedures or horror stories a deep-seated inability to endure going through something which we find painful causes us to block it out of the mind

Blocks

Emotional excitement may get excited by the speakers use of certain words connotative words in different cultures may be responsible for this feeling angry in the name of gender bias, racial prejudice may affect the listening process

Barriers to Effective Listening

1. Noise External and Internal 2. Information overload 3. Speech rate / Thought rate differential : processing time 600800 words per minute Speaking time 125 words per minute 4. Motivation missing

Improving listening skills

1. pay close and full attention to the speaker needs determination to concentrate mind and body should be alert 2. use your eyes as well as ears while listening a spoken msg does not come only through words look for non-verbal signs a) facial expressions, gestures and posture b) tone and pitch of voice and speed of speaking high tone and pitch show excitement, anger high speed shows nervousness or impatience c) what is left unsaid: omissions show gaps in the speakers knowledge

Improving Listening skills

3. show the speaker that you are listening through your posture, body language and eye contact must indicate interest and attention cannot be acted a person with good listening ability has a) a comfortable eye contact b) reflects appropriate feelings through facial expressions c) attentive posture d) tunes in to the speakers line of thought e) uses empathetic questioning technique asks open-ended questions, seeking info and clarification

Tips for good listening

Stop talking Put the speaker at ease Show a desire to learn Write down the main points and get them checked for correctness Do not create or tolerate distractions Be patient

Tips for good listening

Keep your temper cool no matter how angrily the speaker speaks Listen between the lines Concentrate on the unsaid words also from tone of voice, facial expressions, postures and gestures Ask questions at suitable moments to get a clear understanding Keep an open mind

Importance of silence in communication

Humans have a need for self-expression which causes us to be eager to speak and narrate our ideas, experiences, and views it requires training and self-discipline and self-control to listen silently The silence we maintain while listening is not empty silence must be filled with nonverbal indications of listening and attention your response should be indicated positively

Importance of Silence cont..

For total concentration the listeners mind must also be silent if it is mentally engaged in some other activity, argument or judgement, it cannot catch all that the speaker is saying. Silence requires not only self-control to hold ones tongue but also self-confidence and maturity to silence ones mind. Controlling the thoughts that go on in the mind not easy- requires practice and discipline many successful managers practise meditation to train their mind in the art of silence