Listening: Principles of Effective Listening: Course Lecturers: Prof Sanjay Misra Engr. Etinosa Noma-Osaghae Ebere Owuama

LISTENING: PRINCIPLES OF
EFFECTIVE LISTENING
Course Lecturers:
Prof Sanjay Misra
Engr. Etinosa Noma-Osaghae
Ebere Owuama
Learning Outcomes
• At the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
1. Mention the factors that differentiate ineffective and effective

listening
2. State the components of active listening
3. Name five (5) types of active listening
4. State five (5) strategies of becoming an active listener
5. Mention key needs for effective note taking
6. Enumerate the keys to critical listening
7. State four (4) ways to detect bias in the media
• Listening is the most important communication skill.
• The first communication skill we use the moment we are born

is listening
• Is listening is a passive activity?
• It is important to note that there can be no speaker without at

least a listener.
• The speaker is a mirror of the listener. The speaker considers
the audience while the listener considers the knowledge of the
speaker.
• It has been discovered over the years that listening man’s most
underdeveloped skill
Definition of Listening
• Listening is the process of making accurate sense of and
responding to received verbal and non-verbal information.
Differences between learning and Listening
Hearing Listening
It is a physiological process (unconscious process) It is a psychological act (conscious process)
It can be measured in terms of conventional units It is difficult to measure and gauge. It is subjective
like the Decibel (dB)
It does not require any level of intelligence It can be influenced by levels of intelligence
Characteristics of competent and effective listeners
1. They are open-minded.
2. They are interested in a broad range of issues.
3. They have a positive attitude.
4. They maintain regular eye contact
5. They pay attention to verbal and non-verbal cues
6. They do not interrupt the speaker
7. They show verbal and non-verbal signs of followership
8. They ask questions in a polite and “Want to know” manner
9. They can accurately summarize what the speaker says
10. They can give constructive verbal and non-verbal feedback
11. They make genuine effort to understand the speaker
12. They show interest in the speaker as a person
Characteristics of incompetent listeners
1. They are always too busy to pay attention
2. They are quick to give their opinion
3. They are pre-occupied with something else
4. They are prone to being talkative
5. They do not want to know or hear other people’s opinion
6. They can be very judgmental
7. They are quick to switch subject matters
8. They give very little verbal and non-verbal feedback to the
speaker
9. They do not show any interest in the speaker
10. They do not maintain eye contact with the speaker
11. They are very impatient and can interrupt the speaker
12. They do not pay attention to what the speaker says
The Listening Process
1. Sensing: the message verbal/nonverbal is received.

2. Interpreting: the message is processed for understanding
3. Evaluation: the message is either accepted/ rejected
4. Responding: a verbal/non-verbal reply is given to the message
• To sense or receive the message we must pay attention ( a

voluntary process) to the speaker.
Obstacles to the listening process
1. Mindlessness: the heavy dependence on already formed
perceptions to the detriment of current and intelligent
judgment based on the present situation.
2. Noise:
a. Situational noise (unpleasant jumble of sounds)
b. Interpersonal noise (wandering minds)
c. Semantic Noise (trigger words)
3. Speaker perception
4. Information overload
5. Self-perception and personal biases
6. Dogmatism
How to reduce distractions when listening
1. Leave noisy areas for quieter areas
2. Sit close to the front row
3. Sit comfortably and ensure the room is well illuminated
4. Use a paper and pen to jot down the things you need to do
while listening to set your mind free from the burden of
repeated thoughts.
5. Repetitions:
a. Repeat some of the speaker’s message to yourself
b. Repeat key points to yourself
How to make your audience listen
• Repetition: repeat messages more than once but be careful not

to repeat them to the point that interest is lost.
• Change: vary the pitch of your voice, the speed of your speech
and use technology (like PowerPoint slides)
• Novelty: Look for ways to captivate your listeners. Tell a good
story or use an unconventional approach. Listeners lose interest
the moment they have got what they want.
• Intensity: Amplify the sound when necessary using amplifiers.
Types of listening
1. Discriminative listening: the process of separating facts
(objective information) from opinion (subjective information)
2. Comprehensive Listening: the process of discerning the
emotions behind speech through vocal sound differentiation
3. Critical nor evaluative listening: the process of considering the
content of speech to decide on its acceptance or rejection
4. Therapeutic listening: the process of paying attention to the
speaker with the aim of encouraging the speaker to make
progress.
5. Appreciative listening: the process of paying attention to the
speaker for entertainment and motivation e.g. poetry,
comedy.
Others
a. Active/reflective listening
b. Emphatic listening
c. Relational/dialog listening
Positive listening behaviors
1. Direct eye contact
2. Smiling
3. Nodding
4. Eyes wide open
5. Forward lean
6. Positive facial expression
Negative listening behaviour
1. Stare
2. Yawn
3. Looking away
4. Nervous habits, fidgeting
5. Shaking head negatively
6. Moving away from speaker
7. Negative facial expression such as frowning and pouting
8. Crossed arms
How to be an effective listener
1. Define the “goal of listening” (prepare mind and body to

listen)
2. Outlining and note taking
3. Visual mapping and mind mapping
Exercises:
1. How are languages learned and acquired?
2. State five (5) definitions of listening according to five (5)
different sources and cite those sources.
3. Give the definitions of the following types of listening
a. Active/reflective listening
b. Emphatic Listening
c. Relational /dialog listening
1. List five (5) ways to take notes effectively
2. Name five (5) types of active listening
3. State five (5) strategies of becoming an active listener
4. Mention key needs for effective note taking
5. Enumerate the keys to critical listening
6. State four (4) ways to detect bias in the media.

Listening: Principles of Effective Listening: Course Lecturers: Prof Sanjay Misra Engr. Etinosa Noma-Osaghae Ebere Owuama

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Listening: Principles of Effective Listening: Course Lecturers: Prof Sanjay Misra Engr. Etinosa Noma-Osaghae Ebere Owuama

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Listening: Principles of Effective Listening: Course Lecturers: Prof Sanjay Misra Engr. Etinosa Noma-Osaghae Ebere Owuama

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

LISTENING: PRINCIPLES OF

1. Mention the factors that differentiate ineffective and effective

• The first communication skill we use the moment we are born

• It is important to note that there can be no speaker without at

1. Sensing: the message verbal/nonverbal is received.

• To sense or receive the message we must pay attention ( a

• Repetition: repeat messages more than once but be careful not

1. Define the “goal of listening” (prepare mind and body to

You might also like