Techniques to improving listening skills and the characteristics of a good

listener in the field of social work.

Listening is defined as the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the
communication process. To listen is to pay attention to a sound or an action. By listening, a
person hears what others say and tries to understand what it means. Listening involves
complex affective, cognitive and behavioural process. ( Tyagi , 2013)

Listening skills are skills that contribute to your ability to accurately receive information
when interacting with others. These skills are an essential part of effective communication.
Developing good listening habits will help ensure that one understands information correctly,
interprets messages accurately, and optimizes conversations and interactions for greater
effectiveness. (Tyagi, 2013)

The importances of listening skills are as follows, reduces misunderstandings, poor

communication is a result of people mishearing and misinterpreting information. However
good listening skills enhance the communication process providing better understanding of
the information. It builds empathy, empathy is essential to effective listening. Good listening
skills allow one to mirror the emotions of the speaker and understand how they feel in order
to provide the appropriate and useful feedback. It promotes limits judgments, good listening
skills enable one to actively listen and keep their concentration in the conversation with an
open mind, carefully listening to the speaker’s perspective before rushing to any judgments.
Improves communication skills, good listening skills play a huge role in the effectiveness of
the communication process.

Some of the listening skills techniques are paying attention to non- verbal signs, non –verbal
signs are things such a body language, facial expressions and tones. Paying attention to these
improves the listening skills in a way that a person also focuses on non-verbal signs and get
more of what is being said by the person conveying the message. People can be able to get a
lot of information about one another without needing to say anything. Someone’s actions can
disclose about what is yet to be said. The voice tone of someone even over the phone can
convey almost as much about them. It’s important to pay attention to nonverbal signs because
words can convey a part of messages but these signs can add more. For example if a person is
angry the voice tone can say it all. Facial expressions such as mouth twisting and eyes rolling
can indicate boredom in a person.

Another learning skill technique is that a learner can be more attentive by being alert but not
intense. The learner could listen and concentrate better by making eye contact and relaxing
into the conversation, although an individual does not always have to fix their eyes on the
other. Being too attentive or intense may result in unsettling the speaker. Some may find it
difficult to follow the conversation without regular contact. It is useful to use methods that
may help the learners pay attention. (Hamada, 2016). The learner should learn to shut down
all back round sound and activities. The learner mustn’t focus on the speaker’s accent,
behaviour or mannerism because this is distracting. The learner shouldn’t allow personal
sentiments, beliefs or biases to get in the way of learning.

The other learning skill technique is being open minded makes you more approachable and
interesting to others. No one wants to have a conversation with someone who has already
formed an opinion is not willing to listen. An open mind set is a belief that other people
should be free to express their beliefs and arguments even if you don’t agree with them.
Being open minded offers mental and emotional benefits such as: Boosting your confidence
in your beliefs and ideas, gaining empathy for other people even if you have little in common
and being more honest about your emotions with others and yourself. ( Ekayati, 2020)

To also improve a learner listening skill you have to consider eye contact that is maintain eye
contact with the speaker. When you are listening to someone talk, one should avoid looking a
window, texting or scrolling through the phone. One should limit any unnecessary
distractions, provide the speaker with your undivided attention and make an effort to look at
them. This provide them with a nonverbal cue that you are interested in what they are saying,
which encourages them to continue expressing themselves. You should consider that the
speaker may not look at you because they might be feeling shy or uncertain, but you should
continue to face the speaker even if they do not look at you. (Herrity, 2023)

Providing feedback may also improve a learner's listening skills by helping learners to
identify their strengths and weaknesses. Feedback provides learners with an opportunity to
evaluate their listening skills and identify areas where they need improvement. This self-
awareness helps them focus on specific areas of weakness and work towards improving them.
For example, if a learner struggles with understanding spoken English, feedback can help
them identify specific sounds or words they need to work on. Encourages active listening,
feedback encourages learners to listen actively by paying attention to the speaker's message,
asking questions, and clarifying doubts. This helps them develop better listening habits and
improves their ability to comprehend complex messages. (Yagang, 1994)It provides
motivation, positive feedback can be motivating for learners as it reinforces their efforts and
encourages them to continue working towards improving their listening skills. It also helps
build confidence, which is essential for effective communication. On the other hand
constructive feedback helps learners understand what they need to work on and how they can
improve. It also helps learners develop critical thinking skills, feedback can help learners
develop critical thinking skills by encouraging them to analyse the speaker's message,
evaluate its relevance, and draw conclusions based on the information provided. This sill is
important in many fields such as business or academia. In conclusion, providing feedback can
be an effective way to improve a learner's listening skills. It helps them identify their
strengths and weaknesses, encourages active listening, provides motivation, and helps
develop critical thinking skills. By providing regular feedback, educators can help learners
become better listeners and communicators.

We move on to the characteristics of a good listener in the field of social work, first we have
deferring judgement, remaining neutral and non- judgemental in your responses enables the
other person to feel comfortable with sharing their thoughts. It makes the conversation a safe
zone where they can trust that they won’t be shamed, criticised, blamed or otherwise
negatively received. One should not judge when someone has experienced trauma, when
someone is disclosing information and during conflict or heated discussions. In cases where
judgement could result in negative consequences for the other person, it is best to avoid
offering feedback so you can continue listening attentively.

The “don’t interrupt” characteristic stands out as the primary foundation of active listening
(Wilson, 2019). This attribute signals that the listener values the speaker’s ideas and wants to
hear them out entirely before responding. Interrupting speakers can be discouraging and
make them feel like their opinions do not matter. This attitude undermines the entire
communication process, as it can cause frustration, misunderstandings and loss of trust
between the speaker and the listener (Hosking, Pucciarelli and Planalp,2019).

Listening with their whole body means paying attention not only to what the client is saying
but also to their nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and
emotions. By doing so, social workers can gain a deeper understanding of the client's
thoughts and feelings and respond appropriately. In the field of social work, listening is an
essential skill that helps professionals build relationships, understand clients' needs, and
provide effective support. (Wizner, 2003) Listening with their whole body is a technique that
can help social workers become better listeners and improve their ability to connect with
clients. Here are some ways in which listening with their whole body makes a good listener
in the field of social work. In conclusion, listening with their whole body is an important
technique for social workers who want to become better listeners and provide effective
support to clients. By paying attention to nonverbal cues, social workers can build trust,
improve communication, identify underlying issues, and enhance empathy. ( Kadushin, 1992)

Paying attention is one of the characteristics of a good listener in the social work field.
Maintaining eye contact and good posture are good signs to the individual in session that the
social worker is paying attention. Turning of devices would be recommended whilst in
session to maximize concentration and silence, which could be used as a tactic to make the
individual talk because silence makes, most people fill uncomfortable. (Fuentes, 2021)The
listener could provide encouragers small ways that can tell the individual that they are present
and engaged in the current moment .For example one could use an occasional nod here and
there and saying “ yes” in agreement but not too often ,to avoid interrupting the individual in
session. (Bloom, 2021)

Another major quality of a good listener is the ability to clarify. Oftentimes, people will
speak without fully articulating their thoughts, leading to confusion on the part of the listener.
A good listener, however, will take the time to clarify what the speaker is trying to say. This
may involve asking questions or paraphrasing the speaker’s remarks. By taking the time to
clarify, a good listener shows that they are engaged in the conversation and are truly
interested in understanding what the other person is saying. (Tyagi, 2013)
Lastly, another characteristic of a good listener in social work is the ability to give undivided
attention. Listening is more than just hearing what the other person is saying. It’s about
understanding the message and being present in the moment. When social workers are fully
present, they are able to connect with the speaker on a deeper level and engage in meaningful
conversation. This requires them to put aside their own thoughts and biases (phones and
technology) and really listen to what the client is saying. Only then can they truly understand
their perspective and build strong professional relationships.

In conclusion, listening skills are very important in the learning process. It is essential that
learners improve their learning skills to ensure that the learning process is effective. They
also help in the social work intervention process. Social workers deal with people and as a
helping profession, the practitioners has to interact and communicate with clients. They have
to be equipped with good listening skills to ensure that the communication process is
effective and they are able to satisfy the exact needs of their clients.
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