Listening Skills

Introduction
• Almost 45% of time we spend in listening.
• An essential management and leadership
skill.
• A process of receiving, interpreting and
reacting to a message.
• Difference between listening & hearing
 Types of Listening
• Appreciative listening

• Empathetic listening

• Comprehensive listening

• Critical listening
 Traits of a Good Listener
• Being non-evaluative
• Paraphrasing
• Reflecting implications
• Reflecting hidden feelings
• Inviting further contributions
• Responding non-verbally
 Active Versus Passive listening
• Show keenness
• Expressions
• Alertness
• Questions
• Not neglecting physical aspects
• Valid reason for criticism
 Implications
• Good listening helps you to take better
decisions and make better policies in
organization.
• On the contrary lack of proper listening can
lead to embarrassing situations because of a
gap in coordination and understanding.
 Tips for Effective Listening
• DO’s
• Be mentally prepared to listen
• Evaluate the speech not the
speaker
• Be unbiased to the speaker by
depersonalizing your feelings
• Fight distractions by closing off
sound sources
• Be open minded
• Ask questions to clarify and not
to overshadow intelligence
• Paraphrase from time to time
• Send appropriate non-verbal
signals time to time
• Don’ts
• Not to pay undue emphasis on
vocabulary as you can use the
context to understand the meaning
• Not to pay too much attention to
the accessories and clothing of the
speaker
• Not to prepare your responses
while the speaker is speaking
• Avoid preconceptions and
prejudices
• Not to get distracted by outside
influences
• Not to interrupt too often
• Not to show boredom
 Conclusion
• You do not listen with just your ears. You
listen with your eyes and with your sense of
touch. You listen with your mind, your
heart, your imagination. (Egan Gerard)

• A good conversationalist is popular, a good

listener even more so. Talk only if you have
something to say.