LG 104

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
TOPIC TWO – Listening Techniques &
Note Taking
 Effective Listening and Note Taking Techniques
Meaning of Listening and its importance

• No matter how you communicate, listening is the most

important communication technique one needs to master.
• Listening is the physical reality of hearing what another
person says.
• This is an essential for good communication. It implies active
decoding, i.e. translating the symbols into meaning and
interpreting the verbal message correctly.
• Listening is a receptive skill (decoding). It is the receiver’s
activity in communication.
• Is essential skill for good communication.
• It involves concentration on what the other person is saying.
 The Difference between Listening and Hearing

• Hearing:
• Is the process of collecting the sound waves
through the ears and sending them to the brain.
• It involves perceiving the sound.
• It is the physical component of listening.
• It is a passive and effortless activity which does
not involve understanding.
• Hearing is an act that happens automatically
when sounds reach your ear.
 The Difference between Listening and
Hearing cont…
• Listening:
• listening is a course of action that involves hearing
and understanding what you hear.
• It involves hearing and listening with
understanding.
• It involves both body energy and mind in the
whole process.
• It requires both deliberate efforts and keen mind.
• It needs both physical and psychological efforts.
 The Difference between Listening and
Hearing cont…
• Listening cont…:
• It does not necessarily mean to close your
mouth, but to concentrate on the speaker to
understand or feel like he/she feels.
• You cannot carry on a conversation if you
don’t listen to what another person is saying.
Restating what another person said shows
that you are listening effectively.
The Difference between Listening and Hearing cont…

• As explained earlier, listening is an act of actively paying

attention to and attempting to understand and retain what
you hear.
• You may hear a person saying I told you that I am sick, but you
did not listen to me. Such an expression is an indication that
listening requires more than hearing the noise and, thus, it
requires an understanding what another is saying,
sympathizing with another, giving a quick feedback, acting
upon the matter, etc.
• One may shortly say that listening is to put yourself into the
shoes of another. The following settings may help to further
understand what listening is:
 The Difference between Listening and Hearing cont…

• A boss
• Giving a sick leave to an employee who request a permission because he/she is
sick; allowing an employee to attend his/her child who is sick; accepting fair
criticisms from subordinates; showing a smiling face, nodding, and responding
when a subordinate or another person is talking to you
• A nurse
• Warmly responding to a sick person who is talking to you; giving instructions to
a patient who requested for the help; saying words like sorry, you will get well
soon; these medicines will help you, don’t worry, etc. when talking to a patient
• A teacher
• Showing positive attitude to students asking questions; allowing students to
express their excuses and give them a fair judgment; meeting the appointments
you give to students, etc.
 The Difference between Listening and Hearing cont…

• A politician
• Giving another a chance to finish talking before you
interfere; avoiding abusive responses for criticisms;
accepting fair criticisms; giving honest answers for the
raised questions; sympathizing with others when in
difficulties; representing the people’s ideas or feeling
• A student
• Paying attention to understand the teacher/lecturer in
classroom; doing assignments; tolerating each other
differences in group discussion; responding to
teacher’s/lecturer’s questions, etc.
 The Difference between Listening and
Hearing cont…
• Think of an employee’s attitude towards an organization or a boss
who does not listen when he/she falls sick; think of a teacher who is
teaching in the classroom where students are not listening; or a
nurse who does not listen to patients who complain for their
sickness.
• Indeed, if that is a private organization, the organization is likely to
lose customers; if it is in a group discussion or a teacher, you are
likely to lose friends and get all the bad names you know.
• We should be listening to people since listening is crucial for the
health of an organisation and for social capital.
• You are likely to cause psychological tortures to the speakers if you
are not a good listener; you are likely to lose your boyfriend or
girlfriend if you are not a good listener.
 The Process of Listening

• a. Receiving: during listening one receives both verbal and nonverbal messages,
not only the words but also the gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.
• b. Understanding: this involves learning what the speaker means. One put into
consideration both the thoughts that are expressed and emotional tone that
accompanies these thoughts. In this stage avoid premature judgment until you
understand message fully, you need to ask questions etc.
• c. Remembering: simply mean retaining the massage that we receive and
understand. You can augment your memory by taking notes, tape recording the
message.
• d. Evaluating: refers to the judging of message or rather doing a critical analysis.
During evaluation insist until you fully understand the speaker’s point of view.
• e. Responding: responses are feedback or information that one sends back to the
speaker. It tells the speaker how you feel and think about his or her message.
 Types of Listening
• 1. Active listening: this occurs when one
decide to participate fully in the conversation.
It involves investing mental and emotional
energy in the listening process.
• 2. Passive listening: this occurs by exercising
little or no energy in the listening process e.g.
listening with drifting mind. Passive listener
cannot expect to understand much about the
message.
 Broad Types of Listening
• a) Attentive listening
• The main goal of attentive listening is to understand
and remember of what is heard. Three attentive
skills are, Attending skills, Following skills and
Reflecting questions.
• b) Critical listening
• The goal of listening critically is to evaluate, assess
or interpret the heard message. In contrast to
attentive listening, critical listening is related to
questioning.
 Listening in Public Speeches
Factors for Good Listening

• A good listener could do the following:

• Start with a positive attitude. For instance you may say, “I am
going to concentrate and pay attention.”
• Avoid day dreaming by actively trying to listen, understand,
and remember what is being said.
• Don’t look around at your friends in class, out the window,
etc. Focus your eyes and ears on the speaker.
• Concentrate to what the speaker is saying. Stop talking, it is
not possible to listen while talking.
• Be attentive by paying attention to the key points, be alert,
and avoid any kind of noise/distraction.
 Factors for Good Listening cont…

• Do not assume that you know what the speaker is

about to say (premature judgment about the
message).
• Do not ignore information considered necessary.
• Summarize the ideas of the speaker to avoid
misunderstanding of thoughts.
• Concentrate on the speaker kindly and generously
by making deliberate efforts to give chance to the
speaker to express his/her thoughts or views.
 Factors for Good Listening cont…

• Try to learn from the speaker, evaluate ideas in a spare

time, and focus on the content and not on the speaker’s
personality.
• Try to benefit from the opportunity arising from the
speaker.
• Block out any destruction like noise inside or outside the
classroom or any concerns or thoughts you had earlier in
the day.
• Put away anything that may destruct from your attention
to the speaker: magazines, homework, schedules etc.
 Factors for Good Listening cont…

• Put the speaker at ease: encourage the speaker to talk

comfortably.
• Show a desire to listen show by using nonverbal features that
you are interested to listen . Make eye contact with the speaker.
• Be patient. Keep your temper under control since angry persons
cannot speak clearly and cannot listen.
• Listen between the lines, ask questions at suitable moments to
get a clear understanding.
• Keep an open mind, do not jump to conclusions. Avoid making
any judgements until the speaker has completed speaking.
 Factors for Good Listening cont…

• Keep a pen and paper handy in case you want

to take notes. Write down the main points and
check for their correctness
• Find out in advance what main topic will be
discussed to get what to focus on when
listening.
• Therefore, inattention to any of these
concerns would prevent hearing because they
may act as berries for effective listening.
 Barriers to Effective Listening
• Effective listening requires the listener to
direct all the attention to the speaker
otherwise communication may be blocked.
• The factors which can hinder communication
are simply referred to as communication
barriers
 Barriers to Effective Listening cont…
• The following are the barriers to effective listening
communication process:
• Mental distraction: trying to think of other things than
the lecturer or speaker’s talk.
• Lacking focus on the message: this occurs when we
bring into the communication setting our feelings,
values, and attitudes. Sometimes the speaker may
present a thought or word which triggers a past
experience. At that point we start to think about the
past experience and soon forget the message being
presented.
 Barriers to Effective Listening cont…
• Prejudgment: this occurs when one think that
he/she knows what the speaker wants to say,
before she/he actually finishes to saying it. One
may interrupt the speaker or try to complete the
sentence for him.
• Filtering: it refers to the situation where by the
sender purposely manipulate information so it will
be seen more favourable to the receiver e.g. when
the subordinate tells his boss what he thinks his
boss wants to hear.
 Barriers to Effective Listening cont…
• Information overload: this is seen when
information we want to work with, exceed our
processing capacity. This is evident since individual
have a finite capacity for processing data.
• Trying to be helpful: trying to be helpful may seem
beneficial, but it becomes problematic when the
listener thinks about how to solve what he
perceives to be the speaker’s problem.
Consequently, he misses what the speaker is
actually saying.
 Barriers to Effective Listening cont…
• Method of delivery: using a very unique
system or unusual method for delivering the
message.
• Mixed messages: body language or nonverbal
elements contradicting or interfering with the
verbal messages, such as smiling when anger
or hurt is expressed.
 Barriers to Effective Listening cont…
• Daydreaming/pseudolistening: this occurs when one thinks
that the subject is not interesting enough or is too difficult.
This hinders listening since the listener gets bored to the
subject presented or topic under discussion. So one become
physically present in the listening situation, but mentally far
removed.
• Environmental Noise: this is seen when people walk or talk
outside the room in which you are trying to listen. When
people around you are talking, drooping items, and any
other destruction occurs during listening. Again in a room
that is too hot or too cold, one may have trouble
concentrating on the speaker.
 Barriers to Effective Listening cont…
• Listener’s tendency to criticize the speaker.
• Emotional blocks: listener is carried away by
emotional fantasies and imaginations.
• Impatience.
• Poor health.
• Excessive note taking.
• Planning to present a good argument.
• Wandering attention: this is when the listener’s
mind is set away from the speaker’s talk.
 Note Taking Skills

• Note taking is done by people who listen from lectures. Also

done from oral presentation and written sources.
Why do People/Students take Notes?
• They take notes for future study/revision while preparing for
tests and examinations.
• For writing in future time (essays, newspapers, radio
programming).
• They can be used for recording evidence such as to be used in
courts.
• They are valuable clues to what information the teacher or
speaker thinks, and are the key points in understanding a
subject.
 Why do People/Students take Notes?
Cont…
• To assure ourselves the availability of the
material when we need them e.g. when you
go in library next time you don’t find the book.
• Notes simplify the process of studying
(sometimes books contain unnecessary issues
while notes have all important points for
revision.
• People/students take notes in order to be able
to teach others.
 Why do People/Students take Notes?
Cont…
• They are useful on job for recording meetings
and seminars.
• Help to have a permanent written record of
main points & supplemantary details one may
refer to it latter.
• Taking notes helps one to focus and
concentrate in class or while listening to a
speaker on television, at conference hall or
lecture room/theater.
 Note Taking Techniques
1. Organisation & Layout of Notes
• The format in which you make notes depends
on the subject and whether they are from
reading text or from a lecture. There are 3
forms:
• Outline notes
• Branching notes
• Tabulated notes
 1.1 Outline Form of Notes

• Notes from a lecture/book should reflect the way in

which the lecturer/author has organized his
information.
• Main section and subsection should be separated in
notes by:
• Numbering,
• Spacing,
• Capitalisation, and
• Indentation which can all be used to show sections
clearly.
 Outline Form of Notes cont…

• You must distinguish between main and subsidiary

ideas, and also indicate relationship between them.
These are shown by:
• i. Arabic numerals: 1.2.3.4.5… (it can be used with
decimals)
• ii. Roman numerals: I, II, III, IV, V…
• iii. Letters A, B, C, D, E…
• Note: number (ii &iii) can either be used in
upper/lower cases.
 Outline Form of Notes cont…

• The following is a sample of how outline notes can be made:

• I. Main Idea
• A. Subsidiary idea to I
• B. Subsidiary idea to I
• 1. Subsidiary idea to B
• 2. Subsidiary idea to B
• a) Subsidiary idea to 2
• b) Subsidiary idea to 2
• II. Main Idea
• A. Subsidiary idea to II
• B. Subsidiary idea to II
• C. Subsidiary idea to II
 Outline Form of Notes cont…

• Major Aspects of Aids

• I. Transmission of AIDS
• A. Transfusions
• B. Body fluids
• 1. Sexual
• 2. Non-sexual
• II. Societal Consequences of AIDS
• A. Epidemic disease pattern
• 1. Teenagers
• 2. Women
• 3. Homosexuals
B. AIDS babies
• C. Overburdened health care
• D. Increased homophobia
•
• III. Research solution to AIDS
• A. HIV virus
• B. Other viruses
 1.2 Branching Notes

• This type is not common but equally useful. It

enables to see the ideas very clearly.
 1.3 Tabulated Notes

• These are notes summarised using tables. It is

useful in note taking because it is capable of
carrying much information in few words. It is also
easier, using tables, to show the relationship
between the main points and the subordinate
points using columns & raws.
• Tabulated notes are very useful in writing
summaries of reports where opinions are solicited
for such reports. There is no need for indentation
and numbering.
 1.3 Tabulated Notes cont…

• E.g.Tabulated Notes
 2. Taking Notes from Reading Texts

• Before taking notes from the text survey the

relevance of the text first if it suits your
purpose of study. Once you get a relevant
section for your study please do the following:
• Look at the headings, sub-headings of the
chapters of the text; and check the beginnings
and ends of paragraphs to get a general idea
of the chapter or paragraph.
 Taking Notes from Reading Texts cont…

• Look for important ideas only. Some prefer to earmark

important points by underlining or highlighting (but this is not
allowed with public properties). Don’t scribble or mark on the
textbook.
• Make summaries of source materials rather than direct
quotations.
• Leave spaces between points for further comments, examples
and citations.
• Highlight key words in order to expand them with definitions
and illustrations later.
• In the summaries you take please retain the original structure
of the text.
Taking Notes from Reading Texts cont…
• In any note taking please record the following:
the name of the author; the year of
publication; the title of the article, book, or
journal; the vol. & issue no. (in the case of a
journal); the name of the publisher; the place
of publication; the pages where your notes
come from (in the case articles in journals or
chapters in books).
 3. Taking Notes from the Lectures

• Note taking skills Before Class

• 1.Develop a mindset which is geared towards listening.
• 2.Go over the materials of the previous lecture while
waiting for the next lecture to begin.
• 3. Preview the assigned readings to establish some
background knowledge.
• 4. Determine what you know and what you do not know
about the material in order to focus your listening or
learning.
• 5.Skim relevant reading assignments to acquaint you with
the main ideas, new technical terms etc.
 Note taking skills Before Class cont..

• 6. Do what you can to improve your physical

and mental alertness (tiredness, hunger,
sleepiness, the place where you sit in the
classroom, can affect motivation and
attention).
• 7.Choose note books that will enhance your
systematic note – taking; have a separate note
book with full sized pages for each course.
• 8. Develop the positive intention to listen.
 Strategies of Note taking in lectures and
Seminars during Class Session
• Arrive on time
• Sit where you can see and hear the speaker
easily
• Make sure you are an active listener
• Concentrate on what the speaker is saying
• Develop a flexible note-taking strategy
• Review your notes after the lecture
• Use abbreviations when necessary
 Strategies of Note taking in lectures and
seminars during Class cont…
• Ask yourself: what questions does this lecture answer?
• Use symbols (where necessary or important) e.g.= equals, >
more, % percentage.
• Organize your notes as a way to review and get prepared for
exams.
• Write the notes in your own words, but if you cannot don’t let
it take away your attention from the lecture.
• Ask questions if you don’t understand: The lecturer/presenter
may give time for questions at the end of the class.
Otherwise, approach the lecturer or presenter after the class.
Identifying Main Ideas & Major Details
• During the process of listening from a lecture/talk the
following issues should be taken into consideration
so as capture the intent of the lecture or speech:
• The first thing to do while you are in a lecture room is
to write the lecture topic, followed by the name of
the lecturer, and date of the lecture.
• During the delivery of the lecture, you need to
identify important points by paying attention to the
speaker/instructor where he/she emphasizes points
by:
 Identifying Main Ideas & Major Details
cont…
• Drawing attention to important points by saying
that they are important.
• Saying what needs to be remembered in each
point.
• Citing/showing examples or facts relating to
each point.
• Using clues such as, remember…, most of all…,
implicitly…, to sum up…,
• What is written on the chalk board.
 Identifying Main Ideas & Major Details
cont…
• Does he/she repeats idea/phrase/point
several/number of times or emphasizing its
importance by his/her tone of voice/by
gestures/other non-verbal features.
• Variation of voice (rising the pitch, speaking
loudly, reducing the speed) at an important
point, or by using other paralanguage features.
• Using transitional markers by saying for instance:
the 1st point, the 2nd argument, the next.
 3.1 Expressions Used in a Lecture

• There are number of expressions lecturers or

other speakers use to signal various things in a
lecture/talk. As a student/listener you should
be able to recognize the things speakers
do/signify/mean/when using these
expressions. Some of these language
expressions and things they signal are:
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• a) Introducing the topic:
• “The topic of this lecture is about/states…”
• “Today’s talk/discussion/lecture topic is about... ”
• “My presentation is concerned with…”
• b) Indicating the structure of the talk/presentation:
• “I intend to divide the talk into… ”
• “This presentation is divided into… ”
• c) Starting the talk/presentation:
• “Let’s look first of all at…”
• “I shall begin/start by looking at… ”
• “I would like to start by… ”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• d) Moving to a new section:
• “Let’s turn our attention to… ”
• “Now we can move on to the next section… ”
• “Turning now to… ”
• “Next thing to consider is… ”
• e) Adding a new point:
• “Further more…”
• “In addition to what we saw/heard…”
• “Another point we should look at/or consider…”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• f) Clarifying a point:
• “What I mean by this is…”
• “That is to say…”
• “In other words…”
• “To put it more clearly…”
• g) Illustrating a point/giving examples:
• “Let’s take the example of…”
• “Let me give an example…”
• “Let me illustrate with an example…”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• h) Stressing a point:
• “Let me remind you the factors I have mentioned…”
• “Let me just repeat that…”
• “Just to go over that again…”
• i) Drawing conclusions:
• “So we can see that…”
• “Therefore, we can come to a conclusion that…”
• “So, from these examples/results we can say
that…”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• j) Giving personal opinion:
• “In my opinion then…”
• “I think that…”
• “In my view…”
• k) Concluding a lecture/talk:
• “To sum up then…”
• “To finish then…”
• “I will conclude by…”
• “I will finish then by…”
 3.2 Coping with the Lecturer’s Speed
• Other speakers are too fast when they speak, to
the extent that one may not catch up with the
speed or following accurately the lecture.
• So the following principles may guide a listener so
as not to be left behind:
• Familiarizing with brevity. Write your notes briefly
but clearly.
• Write only the main points, differentiate between
main and minor points. Don’t write everything.
 Principles guiding the listener cont…
• Organize your points in an outline forms rather than
writing in a continuous form. Put your notes in skeleton
form.
• Balance your time to listen to the lecture and take
notes.
• Leave out all words considered redundant/unimportant
for grasping intended meaning and grammatical words,
for example, is, was, the, would, that…
• Avoid using longer expressions where shorter ones can
do.
 3.2.1 How to Shorten your Sentences
• Use abbreviation: for instance;
• cf - compare;
• Nb- Nota Bene;
• P.a - Per annum;
• viz – namely;
• vs – against;
• i.e. – that is.
 How to Shorten your Sentences cont…
• Use symbols and signs: For example,
• The symbol = means the same, equals.
• +/& - means plus, and, in addition to.
• Use of figures instead of words: For example, 2200, 1567,
• Omit unnecessary words: For example,
• E.A, E.U, U.N,
• Combine related ideas or points into shorter sentences: For
example:
• The President of Tanzania, Dr. Joseph John Pombe Magufuli
visited the university of Dodoma and had a chance to
address the students and staff.
 4. Note taking skills After Class
• Clear up any questions or doubts raised by the
lecture by asking either the teacher or classmates.
• Fill in missing points or misunderstood term from
text or other sources.
• Edit your notes: Label main points, add questions
to be answered. Highlight key points in the notes
with different colours of ink.
• Think over what you have learnt; make separate
notes of your ideas and reflections
 Note taking skills After Class cont...
• Recognizing the main ideas.
• Identifying what information is relevant to your
task.
• Having a system of note taking that works for you.
• Reducing the information to note and diagram
format.
• Where possible, putting the information in your
own words.
• Recording the source of the information.