LISTENING SKILLS

Listening is the ability to ACCURATELY receive and interpret the messages in the communication process. Note that I have stressed on the word accurately. It is necessary to listen rather than hear. Listening and hearing are two different concepts. Listening is active while hearing is passive. When you listen to a person, you are attentive to the person’s speech and you will follow it accurately. Means you feed the instructions into your mind when you listen. In short, when you pay attention, you are listening. So listening is a conscious/voluntary task. Whereas hearing is involuntary, where you just hear the sound without trying to make sense of the words or sound heard. Thus it can be said that Hearing is physical ability and listening is a learned skill.

A good speaker also needs to be a good listener. People will only approach you when you are a good listener. It is said that 45% of your time while communicating should be spent in listening. Being a good listener is not an easy task. Only practice can make a person a good listener. The process of listening involves:

1. Receive:- Receiving the words/sound
2. Focus:- Focusing on the received content
3. Interpret:- Attaching meanings to the content
4. Understand:- Understanding the information according to own perspective
5. Evaluate:- Filter the merits of the information
6. Resolve:- Decide what to do with information

There can be many barriers to listening such as physical, physiological, psychological or factual. Overcoming these barriers and promoting better listening is the characteristic of a good listener. Here are few tips to become a better listener:-

1. Stop Talking and listen: - To become a good listener first you need to stop talking and listen to the other person. Do not interrupt or complete the sentences. Be calm and listen to the other person’s point of view. Focus your attention on the speaker. Once they have finished speaking, you can start speaking
2. Be prepared to listen: - Prepare yourself to listen. We humans get easily distracted because of our thought process. Be attentive and consciously focus on the speaker. 
3. Help the speaker: - Here, to help the speaker means to make him feel at ease and not be interrupting him or completing his sentences. Smile, be relaxed and assure the speaker that you are listening to him. Maintain eye contact and nod to show that you understand. Encourage the speaker to speak. Also maintain yours as well as the speaker’s personal space.
4. Remove Distractions: - Do not fidget, pick your fingernails, shuffle books or any similar things. Avoid interruptions. This may show the speaker that you are distracted or bored, thus disrupting the communication process.
5. Pay attention to the non-verbal language: - Focus on the speaker’s gesture, eye contact and other non verbal features. A person communicates through both verbal and on-verbal language. Pick up the additional information given through gestures.
6. Keep an open mind: - Empathise with the speaker. Try and understand the speaker’s view. If you disagree with the speaker, then make a counter question after the speaker has finished talking. Do not interrupt the speaker. If you interrupt it shows a disrespect and shows that you are not a good listener.
7. Be patient: - Give the speaker adequate time to convey his ideas. A pause or a long pause may not indicate that the speaker has completed his speech. Allow ample time to the speaker.
8. Grab the ideas: - A good listener will grab the whole idea and not just the bits of it. It may be difficult to link the together the parts, but with focus it becomes easier.

By following the above steps it will be easier for you to be a better listener. But before following the above tips, it is necessary for you to identify your present listening habits and to generate the motivation to be a better listener. Keep evaluating your progress and keep improving.

“Be a Positive, Active and Interactive Listener.”

COMMUNICATION SKILLS (Verbal And Non-verbal)

Communication is the most essential part of our life. Communication is needed in our daily life, may it be at home, your work place or your educational institution. Communication means exchange of information through a medium. We not only communicate through words, but also through our body language. And so, in soft skills we broadly classify communication as:

1.) Verbal communication- Related to speech or talking.

2.) Non verbal communication- related to body language like facial expressions, posture and so on.

When we relate soft skills to our work place we need more communication skills:

3.) Written communication- related to emails, blog, and text messages and so on.

4.) Visual communication- related to signs, symbols, and pictures.

Listening skills is also a major part of Communication. We will be discussing it further. Verbal and non-verbal communication is the part to be focused more on. They play a vital role in exhibiting our personality.

To leave an impression on an individual, we need to possess communication skills. To improve verbal skills means to feel confident while speaking. Here are few tips to improve Verbal Communication:

Start speaking: The most important part in communication is to speak up. Unless you do not speak, the communication remains incomplete. If you are afraid to speak in public, take a step and try to eradicate that fear. Participate in college speech competitions. Be the host of the next social gathering at your workplace. You may go wrong at the start, but be confident and try.

Get your Grammar right: When you speak, it is necessary to speak right. Grammatical mistakes show that you are not well versed with language and leave a bad impression on the listener. Be fluent with the language you are using. Use simple sentences. Avoid complexity in your speech.

Be confident: Be confident about yourself. Be sure that you can do it. Communicating with your boss will be easier if you feel confident. To feel confident you should be confident from within and for that you need practice.

Rehearse the important part: If you are giving an important speech or presentation, then practice it. Stand in front of the mirror and rehearse the speech. Stand in front of your family or friends and rehearse. Ask them to give you feedback and improve on those points.

Take charge: Only you can improve yourself. Unless you do not feel like improving your skills, you cannot improve. Try till you feel confident. Be determinant and face the audience. Be yourself and speak up.

Speak on the topic: Speak about the topic only. Do not add irrelevant points. The listener may lose interest. Keep your points concise, valid and clear. Do not leave your points incomplete. If you are not sure about the topic, apologize politely and be silent. Do not speak invalid points and make a fool of yourself.

Listen: The most important part is to listen. Be attentive to what others have to say. Respect the opposite person and listen to what he has to say. And give your opinions in a polite tone. Do not use an arrogant tone. Stay calm and be polite while speaking.

Non verbal communication is equally important as verbal communication. In fact, it is said that we express more through our gestures than our words. Gestures speak about your confidence, personality and your attitude. If used appropriately, your body language can be a catalyst for your success. Below are some tips to be better at non verbal communication to emerge as a self-assured and credible individual:

Have a pleasant face:  A smiling face shows your comfort and conveys to the environment that you are an approachable person. When you smile, you get back a smile and it shows your positive and open minded attitude. Wear a genuine smile and speak politely to be known as a person with charm.

Speak in low tone: Your voice is a factor that sends a positive signal about yourself. Keep your voice low to be seen as a powerful and confident person. Do not shout or disrespect the other person. Speak politely and convey your message.

Correct posture: You need to maintain correct posture. Stand straight and always hold your head high. While sitting, keep your spine straight and keep your feet flat on the ground. Maintain your space and do not enter other person’s personal space. Your correct posture shows that you are confident and respect others space too.

The art of handshake: A warm handshake is the right gesture to show your presence and warmth. But you should be well versed with the different diversities of handshake. Do not use an untidy or sweaty hand for a handshake. Be sure you have a clean hand else it will leave a bad impression on the opposite person.

Use open gestures: When you keep your movements relaxed, you send a message of being transparent. This will increase your trustworthiness and truthfulness factors, through which you are perceived to be sincere.

Following the tips , you can be better at communicating with people. Speaking and listening are two sides of the same coin. Speak out your opinion but at the same time listen to other’s opinion too.

Remember “Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”

SOFT SKILLS MADE EASY

                A person is always judged by the skills he exhibit. Skills set shows not only your knowledge but also personality. The skills which shows your knowledge is known as "Hard Skills" For example, Your skills to operate a machine, knowledge about coding language and other related skills of your professional field. And the "Soft Skills" shows your personality. For example, how you handle a difficult situation, confidence level, communication skills and so on. The job market looks for both the skills in their employees before hiring one. Hard skills can be achieved through degree and certification. But achieving Soft skills is a personal task. Even if you are taught about soft skills, unless you do not practice it, you cannot attain it.

                  I have seen students who are excellent in their technical field. They have knowledge about their field and are ready to be dedicated to their field. But they lag in soft skills which ultimately leads them to unemployment. Soft skills has become a major part of job industry. We cannot afford to lag in soft skills if we are planning to build a career and excel. 

                  Soft Skills consists of:

                       1. Communication Skills

                       2. Non-verbal Skills

                       3. Listening Skills

                       4. Conflict Management Skills

                 These can be said as the major parts of Soft Skills. But they include various sub parts which will be discussed further. Make Soft skills a part of your daily routine for just one week and you yourself will see the beautiful change in your personality.

                  It is said "Beauty captures the eye but Personality captures the heart". Develop your personality in such a way, that no person can afford to reject you. Exhibiting your knowledge in the right way is essential, may it be in IT field or Marketing field. To excel in your field, you need knowledge, confidence, time management and verbal/ non-verbal skills. Using soft skills in the right way will lead you to success.