Listening

Why as a human being we should listen

1. LISTENING

2. INTRODUCTION Every person has a story and every wants to be heard. In today’s busy world of technology doing more and pressures to meet deadlines, a person’s need to be listened to is sometimes rushed. So listening receiving language through ears and identifying the sounds of speech and processing the into words and sentences. Listening is often confused with hearing. While hearing is a biological process that can be scientifically explained, listening is a neurological cognitive regarding the processing of auditory stimuli received by the auditory system.

3. Definition Listening is the ability to identify and understand what others are saying. This involves understanding a speaker's accent or pronunciation, his grammar and his vocabulary, and grasping his meaning ( Howatt and Dakin ). Roland Barthes , a linguist, distinguishes between hearing and listening, stating , "Hearing is a physiological phenomenon; listening is a psychological act ."

4. Types of Listening • Attentive Listening – involves paying attention to the words that are being spoken rather than understanding the head and heart of the person speaking. Also called as effective listening . • Pretending listening – pretending through facial expressions that communicated message is listened. It is basically hearing and not listening . • Selective Listening – it means not taking messages as it is, but adding or deducting according to one’s own whims and wishes i.e selecting the desired part and ignoring the undesired part. It generally involves strengthening one’s own beliefs and restrains further listening. • Intuitive listening – listening through intuitive mind by silencing the other internal dialogues going simultaneously.

5. Objectives of Listening Communication is a central theme in all situation, so there are several reasons why, as people and as a professionals, we should listen to others. To acquire information To empathize To discriminate To evaluate To appreciate To derive others benefits

6. PROCESS OF LISTENING Understanding Remembering Evaluating Responding Receiving

7. 1. Receiving It refers to the response caused by sound waves stimulating the sensory receptors of the ear . 2. Understanding It is the stage at which you learn what the speaker means. 3. Remembering It is important listening process because it means that an individual has not only received and interpreted a message but has also added it to the mind's storage bank . 4. Evaluating It consists of judging the messages in some way . At times you may try to evaluate the speaker’s underlying intentions or motives . 5. Responding This stage requires that the receiver complete the process through verbal and/or Non-verbal feedback.

8. Active Listening People want more than a physical presence in human communication, they want the other person to be present psychologically, socially and emotionally. So active listening is about being present in ways that identify key messages and feelings, attempting to understand the client in terms of his/her context. Active Listening is the ability to focus on a speaker, understand their message, comprehend the information and respond thoughtfully. Validates one’s need to vent, need to be understood, need to be heard.

9. Active Listening Process : 1. HEARING Hearing is the first essential step in the listening process and relates to the sensory perception of sound . 2. FILTERING The next step involves sensing and filtering of heard sounds. The heard message is categorized as wanted or unwanted. The unwanted message is discarded . 3. COMPREHENDING The listener understands what the speaker has tried to convey . This activity can be described as absorbing, grasping or assimilating. The listener uses his knowledge , experience, perception and cognitive power. 4. REMEMBERING The assimilated message is stored in memory to facilitate future recall. 5. RESPONDING Responding to a message takes place at the end of the communication , immediately after or later, to show that the message is being received and comprehended.

10. Skills involved in Listening Being as open, intuitive, empathetic and self aware as possible. Maintaining good eye contact . Paying attention to Non-verbal forms of communication and their meaning. Picking up and following cues. Being aware of own distracting mannerisms and behavior. Avoiding making vague, unclear and ambiguous comments. Minimizing the possibility of interruptions and distractions. Being aware of the importance of timing, particularly where strong feelings are involved. Avoiding the dangers of preconceptions, stereotyping or labeling or making premature judgments or evaluations. Being as natural, spontaneous and relaxed as possible.

11. Verbal Active Listening Skills : Paraphrase : Summarize the main points of the message the speaker shared to show you fully understand their message or meaning. This will also give the speaker an oppurtunity to clarify vague information. Display Empathy : Make sure the speaker understand you’re able to recognize their emotion and share their feelings. By showing compassion you’re able to connect with the speaker and begin establishing a sense of mutual trust. Use Short Verbal Affirmations : Short positive statements will help the speaker feel more comfortable ad shoe you're engaged and able to process the information they’re providing. Recall Previously Shared Information : Try to remember key concepts, ideas or other critical points the speaker has shared in the past.

12. Non-Verbal Active Listening Skill : Nod : Offering the speaker a few nods shows you understand what they’re saying. A nod is helpful, supportive cue. Smile : Like a nod, a small smile encourages a speaker to continue. This helps to diffuse any tension and ensures the speaker feels comfortable. Avoid Distracted Movements : Being still can communicate focus. To do this avoid movements like glancing at watch or phone, audibly sighing , doodling or tapping a pen. Maintain Eye Contact : Always keep your eyes on the speaker and avoid looking at other objects in the room.

13. Smith (1986) divides poor listeners into three categories : Pretend Listeners : Who are ‘not actually listening at all but pretending to’ . They have learnt to respond in appropriate places, thereby giving the impression of listening. Limiting Listeners : Who practices ‘a type of partial listening where the listeners consciously determines that he/she will attend only certain portions of the speaker’s remarks’. Self Centered Listeners : Who ‘are concerned only with themselves and pay little or no attention to others’.

14. Barriers to Effective Listening • Physical Barriers • People – Related Barriers : i. Physiological Barriers ii. Psychological Barriers Physical Barriers : • Noise • Poor acoustics • Frequent interruptions • Uncomfortable seating arrangements • Uncomfortable environment

15. People – Related Barriers : i. Physiological Barriers : • State of Health – State of health of the listener and the speaker affects the listening ability. Fever, pain or any other form of bodily discomfort makes it difficult for a person to listen or speak comfortably. • Disability – Hearing deficiencies may lead to poor listening . Similarly, speech disorders of the speaker may make a speech incoherent to the listener. Speaker’s accent may also make it difficult for the listener to comprehend. • Wandering attention – Human mind can process words at the rate of about 500 per minute, whereas a speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 per minute. The difference between the two leaves the listener with sufficient time to let his mind wander.

16. ii. Psychological Barriers : • Being unsure of the speaker’s ability – Based on past experience or inputs from sources, the listener may have a preconceived notion of the speaker’s ability. • Personal anxiety – Sometimes the listener is preoccupied with personal concerns and anxieties. This makes it difficult to perceive what is being said by the speaker . • Attitude – The listener may be highly egocentric with a “know it all attitude” and may not listen as he feels that he already knows what the listener has to say . • Impatience – The listener may not have patience to wait for the other person to finish what he has to say . • Emotional blocks – Our deep seated beliefs in certain ideas may make it difficult for us to listen to ideas which go against our belief. We may hear such an idea wrongly or it may get distorted in our mind to match our perception or we may completely block it off by not listening to it.

17. LISTENING VS HEARING Hearing - sense that allows you to perceive sound; physical act- only requires reception of sound waves Listening - mental process that requires concentrating on sound , deriving meaning from it, and reacting to it LISTENING HEARING Listening is an active process. When listening, we direct attention to the act of hearing. Hearing is a passive process. We will naturally hear sounds within human hearing range unless there is some hearing impairment. Listening is a skill. Hearing may be natural. Listening is a mental process. Hearing is a physiological Process. Listening has a wider perspective as in involves Hearing Hearing has narrow perspective.