10-07-2019

Honing Listening Skills

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 10-07-2019

Issue: Basic Communication Skills

________________________________________________
Order Learned Extent Used Extent Taught
_________________________________________________________

Listening First First Fourth

Speaking Second Second Third
Reading Third Third Second
Writing Fourth Fourth First

Listening –a challenge: Why?

Thoughts and thinking : a perennial issue for human beings and a challenge
for effective communication?!

Brain :
13 billion cells vs.
speed of words :125-
150 words/min …
But we can hear
about 1000 wpm !
INFERENCE : ???

LOTS
OF
SPARE
TIME !!

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Stages of the Listening Process

• Hearing
• Focussing on the message
• Comprehending and interpreting
• Analyzing and Evaluating
• Responding
• Remembering

Key Tips: From Reading

 Build Awareness about ‘aural experiences’

 Think ahead of the speaker ( related to the topic)
 Weigh the Evidence of speaker to support his views
 Review and mentally Summarise Points
 “ Listen between Lines” ( develop interpretive skills)

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• Meaning … Meaning
• Listening Is With The Mind
• Hearing With The Senses
• Listening Is Conscious
• An Active Process Of Eliciting
Information
• Ideas, Attitudes And Emotions
• Interpersonal, Oral Exchange

Barriers to Listening ( Reading)

• Tracks and Side Tracks- think ahead, weigh the

evidence, review and summarise and listen
between lines
Emotional Filters- withhold evaluation; hunt for negative evidence

Active vs. Reflective Listening – Listen reflectively

Video : Reflective Listening : 3 tips !

Maintain Eye Contact, Do not interrupt, Paraphrase

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Listening Exercises…
Remembering and Forgetting

Listening Exercises—Handouts - followed

by scores

 7 Levels of Listening

 Laws of Remembering and Forgetting

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Listening Bad Habits:

Following is a list of ten bad habits of listening. Check those that
you are sometimes guilty of committing .BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF !
 I interrupt often and try to finish the other person’s sentences
 I jump to conclusions
 I am often overly paternal and answer with advise, even when not
requested
 I make up my mind before I have all the information
 I am a compulsive note taker
 I don’t give any response afterward, even if I say I will
 I am impatient
 I lose my temper when hearing things I don’t agree with
 I try to change the subject to something that relates to my own
experiences
 I think more about my reply while the other person is speaking than
what he or she is saying
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Listening Questionnaire
While listening to Always Usually Often Rarely Never
another person ( 1 pt.) ( 2 pts.) (3 pts.) ( 4 pts.) ( 5 pts.)
I…
Get distracted
Listen only to
facts
Interrupt
Presume what the
other person is about
to say

Prejudge
Tune out
Ignore non-verbal
clues
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Total + + + + +

Listening Questionnaire Scoring

31-35 points : Effective Listener

21-30 points : Good Listener
14-20 points : Not-So-Good Listener
13 points or less : Huh ??

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Listening Concepts…
Remembering and Forgetting
 7 Levels of Listening:

 Not Listening
 Pretend Listening
 Partially Listening
 Focussed Listening
 Interpretive Listening
 Interactive Listening
 Engaged Listening

 Laws of Remembering and Forgetting

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Remembering and Forgetting

Laws of Remembering :
 Recently, Frequently, Impact and Application

 Laws of Forgetting :
 We forget 50% of what we hear immediately; 75%
within two months and of the 25% we remember,
only 60% is correct, plus we add things that were
never said in the first place… rumours and
grapevine!

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How to be an effective Listener …?

 What You Do about Listening ?

 Establish eye contact with the speaker
 Take notes effectively
 Be a physically involved listener
 Avoid negative mannerisms
 Exercise your listening muscles
 Follow the Golden Rule
 City Year, a Boston based, nationwide non-profit service organisation, has an
interesting policy for all its meetings called NOSTUESO-”
 No one Speaks Twice Until Everybody Speaks Once”

5 Benefits in Business due to good Listening ( reading)

 Less Paper Work !

Promotes Upward Communication
Non-directive listening develops human
relations
Listening to Sell : imp. mktg tool
Learn to Listen : can be a theme promoted in
conferences by the leader

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What can Organisations do to promote good listening?

-> From Reading
Executive Seminars
 Filmed Cases
 Qualified Speakers
 Daily Self Inventory to assess job effectiveness vis a vis Listening :
NAME OF READING WRITING % SPEAKING% LISTENING
EMPLOYEE % %
Vikas -HOD 10 15 65 10
Rachna-mgr 5 15 35 45
Amit - mgr 5 5 20 70
Gaurav-HOD 25 20 20 35

 OTHERS :Test in listening ability, build a library of spoken word records of

literature, speeches, educational videos, record actual briefing sessions, Role Plays,
salesmen to listen and record customer responses, Listening critique by amiable
customers, lecture series for employees and families
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Title: 100 ways To A Stress-Free Life

Inter and Intrapersonal Skills and Body language :

an important element of work place communication

Video : Julian Treasure – TED Talks : Five Ways to Listen better …

Conscious Listening Creates Understanding -60% time spent
on Listening,->“Sonority is Time and Meaning” > five guidelines:
 1)Silence – 3 minutes every day ,2)Mixing, 3) Savouring –Enjoying
mundane sounds, 4)Listening Positions :active/passive,
reductive/expansive, aggressive/empathetic etc 5) RASA: Receive,
Appreciate & Acknowledge, Summarise and Ask ->Listen actively
and reflectively
Tip for sessions 5(part) & 6(in the session plan-will take place as
sessions 3-4: “Speaking and Presenting Confidently)
Impact of Words, Tone of Voice and Body Language
 W: 7%, Tone : 38% Body Language : 55% ...
Video exercise :kinesthetic-> body movement[(2 min)--credible & approachable
approachable -> [This pen will last you for a lifetime and its easy to use!]