improving your listening skills
TRANSCRIPT
Improving Your Improving Your Listening SkillsListening Skills
How to be an Active ListenerHow to be an Active Listener
Active ListeningActive Listening
►Good listening skills are important in school the workplace day-to-day living
►Yet most of us receive very little training in effective listening.
►Take the Effective Listening Quiz!Take the Effective Listening Quiz!
Good Listeners:
► Minimize or remove any barriers to communication that may threaten their effectiveness.
► Physically face towards and pay attention to the speaker.
► Listen for and verbally confirm the speaker's intent or purpose.
► Confirm the content or the speaker's request (the who, what, where, when, why and how).
► Clarify the degree of importance of the request to the speaker. What is the reason, need or urgency of the request?
► Recognize the level of emotion demonstrated by the speaker.
► Summarize and share their understanding of what is being requested.
► Indicate the level of response they will be able to provide.
Factors That Hinder Listening
►Many factors hinder our listening. Here are a few examples:
Daydreaming.
Preparing our responses ahead of time.
Thinking about other people, places or things.
7 Ways to Improve Your Listening
►Here are 7 strategies and suggestions to help you improve your listening skills.
1.) Increase your listening span: ►Try to resist the temptation to interrupt.
►Make sure the speaker has had a complete chance to make his or her point before you speak.
► If you don't get the whole message, ask the speaker to repeat what they said.
Ways to Improve Your Listening
►2.) Take time to listen: Don't put obvious limitations on your
listening time - the speaker will feel rushed.
►3.) Listen between the lines: Don't just listen to what is being said.
Try to understand the attitudes, needs and motives behind the words.
Ways to Improve Your Listening
►4.) Give your full attention: Nodding or interjecting occasionally to
clarify a point lets the speaker know you are interested.
If the speaker pauses briefly, don't rush to fill the silence.
Use open-ended questions to encourage elaboration.
Ways to Improve Your Listening
►5.) Restate the message: When you are sure that the speaker has
finished, restate the main points.
This is a good organizing strategy for you.
It also gives the speaker assurance that the message has been received.
Ways to Improve Your Listening
►6.) Listen for ideas as well as facts: A good listener makes an effort to understand
what the facts add up to.
►7.) Don't monopolize: Resist the urge to dominate a situation or to feel
that you know everything about a situation.
Be open to new ideas and allow the speaker to have his or her say.