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.”