Developing Effective Listening Skills

DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE LISTENING SKILLS
LISTENING IS AN ART:
There is a strong difference between listening and hearing. Hearing takes place when
something disturbs the atmosphere. Listening is different. It expands on hearing when we
pay attention to the meaning of what we hear. So we can overtly say that listening is all
about consciously, actively, and systematically processing information. Effective listening is a
dynamic activity that seeks out the meaning intended to be given in messages. It considers
the motivation, judges the reliability and reasons, calculates the value and integrates them
creatively into the world of the listener.
POOR LISTENING VS EFFECTIVE LISTENING:
Poor listening:
1. A poor listener either tries to blame the speaker or considers the subject to be dry.
2. He gets distracted easily.
3. He tends to enter into unnecessary arguments
4. He resists new ideas. He pays too much attention to appearance and delivery.
5. He always waits for his turn to speak.
Effective listening:
1. An effective listener thinks and mentally summarizes and keeps listening patiently.
2. He fights against all the distractions and knows how to concentrate.
3. He avoids all the unnecessary arguments, takes notes and organizes important
information.
4. He listens to new ideas. Pays attention to body language, tone along with the
messages being conveyed by the speaker.
5. Patiently listens to the speaker and responds when required.
ADVANTAGES OF GOOD LISTENING:

1. We generally find that good listeners are better performers. Thus , listening starkly
differentiates between a poor and a good performer.
2. Listening is a vital skill which helps in our learning. Good listening ability increases
knowledge and develops the power of critical thinking
3. It prevents miscommunication
4. Effective listening helps in sharing problems, ideas and expectations
TYPES OF LISTENING:
Content listening: in this type of listening, the primary focus is on understanding of

the messages sent by the speaker and to gather and understand the information. Therefore
it is also known as informative listening.
Empathetic listening: this is also known as therapeutic listening for the obvious
reason that it is used in the time of crisis. This is mostly done when we allow any troubled
person to express his feelings. Doctors, counsellors, psychiatrists use this method in their
profession.
Appreciative listening: this type of listening is done for pleasure and enjoyment.
One does not do content listening or empathetic listening when he is listening to music or
watching a movie. In these situations, you appreciate listening since you appreciate lyrics,
melody, style etc.
Analytical listening: the purpose of this listening is twofold. On one hand you try to
absorb the message and on the other hand you attempt to analyse the facts and make a
critical judgement. . it helps you to evaluate the strength of argument and accuracy of the
facts.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING:

FORGED ATTENTION: this is one of the most common barriers to effective listening. We
usually find audiences looking at the speaker while thinking about something else. Their
minds are already occupied with something else. They have a very attentive listening
posture but they are not even listening.
PREMATURE EVALUATION OF THE SUBJECT MATTER AND THE SPEAKER:
We have often found that poor listeners convince themselves as if the subject matter is dry
and uninteresting. And from there a chain of negative reactions start mushrooming. And
another common notion is the speaker is dull and boring. On the contrary a good listener
will try listening to the speaker and get something good even if the speech is not interesting
NON-ATTENTIVE STATE OF MIND: the listener fails to listen when she is pre-occupied with
certain thought or exhausted. Various distractions hunger, drowsiness, tension can prevent
him to concentrate well.
Some other reasons can be poor interpersonal relationship, over excitement, different
languages, distractions due to noise etc.

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DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE LISTENING SKILLS

POOR LISTENING VS EFFECTIVE LISTENING:

ADVANTAGES OF GOOD LISTENING:

Content listening: in this type of listening, the primary focus is on understanding of

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING:

PREMATURE EVALUATION OF THE SUBJECT MATTER AND THE SPEAKER:

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