Active Listening

and Nonverbal Messages

Bus 313
Md. Hasan Tawhid
Assistant Professor, Khwaja Yunus Ali University
 Index

- Listening
- Hearing Vs. Listening
- Guidelines for Effective
Listening
- Nonverbal Communication
- Types of Nonverbal
Communication
  Listening is challenging because people don’t work as hard as they
should. Because listening seems to occur naturally, we feel that it
isn’t necessary to put effort into it. However, it is a learned skill;
hard work and effort are required if listening is to be effective.
Listening Listening is also challenging because people have different
reasons for listening. They listen to gain information, to receive
instructions, to hear complaints, to enjoy entertainment, and to
show respect.
  Hearing is a physiological process; listening is a mental one. For
Hearing example, you may have attended a class session during which the
instructor gave directions for assignments and projects to be
versus included in your portfolio for the class. Later, as you began
Listening preparing the portfolio, you realized that you could not recall all
the items that were to be included. You heard the instructions but
did not listen to them. Listening involves understanding and
retaining what is heard.
  CONCENTRATE ON THE MESSAGE: People normally speak at
150 to 200 words a minute and listen at 400 to 500 words a
minute. This gap between speaking and listening speeds requires
the listener to make a conscious effort to focus and concentrate
on the message to avoid “mind drift.” Focusing your concentration
and mental energies on the message is the foundation of effective
Guidelines for listening.
Effective  DETERMINE THE PURPOSE OF THE MESSAGE : Oral messages
have purposes, as do written messages. As a listener, you need to
Listening determine the purpose of the oral message so that you can decide
on the mode that you will use when listening. Three modes
commonly used to listen to messages are cautious listening,
skimming, and scanning.
cautious listening, is used when you need to understand and remember both the general concept and all the details
of the message, Skimming is used when you need to understand only the general concept of the message, When
scanning, you concentrate on details of specific interest to you instead of on the general concept
  KEEP AN OPEN MIND: The speaker presents the message from his or her
perspective. Respect the speaker’s viewpoint by not allowing your own
Guidelines for biases to block what is being said. Don’t listen just for statements that back
up your opinions and support your beliefs. Your listening ability may be
Effective impaired if you are not receptive to the message or if you have a strong
emotional reaction to the speaker’s use of impact words (also called color
Listening words). Another obstacle may be your expectation not to understand a
speaker with a dialect different from yours. When you listen with an open
mind, both you and the speaker will benefit.
  PROVIDE FEEDBACK: Feedback is important. It is your response
to the speaker, and it lets the speaker know you are listening.
Feedback may be verbal or nonverbal. Use eye contact and body
Guidelines for language, such as nodding and maintaining an upright posture. At
appropriate times, you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be silent.
Effective  MINIMIZE NOTE TAKING It may be wise to record complicated
Listening presentations for later review. Although your goal should be to
have thorough notes, you will not be able to concentrate on
listening if you attempt to record everything that is said. Instead,
record key words and ideas in an outline
  ANALYZE THE TOTAL MESSAGE Listen “between the lines” to
understand the full message. Many cues to meaning come from
the speaker’s tone of voice, facial expressions, and gestures.
People don’t always say what they mean, but body language and
tone of voice are usually accurate indicators of the intent of the
Guidelines for message. Your vocal and visual observations will help you
determine the speaker’s emotional state and intent, as well as the
Effective message content.
Listening  DO NOT TALK OR INTERRUPT An individual cannot talk and
listen effectively at the same time. Listening should occur more
often than speaking. When you are talking, you cannot use all the
elements of effective listening. Interrupting a speaker or having
side conversations is rude and reduces the effectiveness of the
communication
  Nonverbal communication is a message without words. A
nonverbal message is one that communicates without words.
Nonverbal Nonverbal messages are an important part of the communication
Communication process because they provide added information the receiver can
use in interpreting what is said. Nonverbal behavior may
constitute two thirds or more of total communication.
  physical Appearance :The physical appearance of a speaker influences an
Types of oral message as much as the appearance of a letter influences a written
message. Listeners use physical appearance as a clue to the speaker’s
Nonverbal credibility.

Communication  Body Language :Body language conveys instant feedback to the sender.
A smile is interpreted almost universally as an expression of friendliness
and approval. A smile indicates satisfaction, but a frown shows
disagreement. The eyes are also a powerful indicator
  Space: The amount of space people control influences our attitudes and,
therefore, inadvertently is a form of nonverbal communication. The size
of a person’s office, the number of windows, and the paintings on the
Types of wall are all indications of importance within the hierarchy of an
organization.
Nonverbal
Communication  Time: Communicators must be aware that the amount of time devoted
to a subject transmits a nonverbal message. If the president of a
company, for instance, meets with one manager for ten minutes and
another manager for two hours, a nonverbal message is being
transmitted about the importance of the message or the message
receiver.