Listening skills

Listening skills

1. LISTENING SKILLS
Made By: Priti Gera
MBA Lecturer

2. Agenda
•Listening - Meaning, Features, Purpose
•Listening Process
•Hearing Vs listening
•Types of Listening
•Significance of Good Listening
•Barriers to Effective Listening
•Developing Listening Skills

3. Meaning
•Listening is the accurate perception of what is
being communicated. It is the art of
separating facts from statements.
•It involves- Hearing, understanding, retaining
and recalling.
•It involves making sense of those words and
understanding their meaning.

4. Features of Listening
•Listening is a mental activity.
•It improves by consciousness and concentration.
•It is a skill as it can be improved by experience.
•Non verbal communication also helps in listening
•Listening stimulates speaking.
•Listening involves paying close attention to the
sounds that come in way of communication.

5. PURPOSE FOR LISTENING

6. Listening for enjoyment-
easiest of all (music, TV,
radio); requires little
mental involvement
Listening for
information- requires
more concentration;
expected to retain info.
Critical listening-
listening for information
as well as analyzing and
evaluating it

7. 
Precision listening- Precision listening-
listening with attention to listening with attention to
details that give you clues details that give you clues
to the speaker’s emotion to the speaker’s emotion
or state of mind – very or state of mind – very
attentiveattentive

Empathic listening- Empathic listening-
highest level; requires highest level; requires
concentration, retention, concentration, retention,
and judgment as well as and judgment as well as
empathyempathy

8. Listening ProcessListening Process

9. 1. Sensing (hearing) what was said (pick up
sound waves through ears)
2. Interpreting what was meant
(make decisions…Example: scream
- fun, fear, or anger?)
3. Examining the statement (how message
relates to you)
4. Responding to it appropriately (decide how to
respond- feedback)

10. Components/Process of Listening
1.Hearing. This is the physical aspect of your
body receiving sounds. You may hear these
words as part of a conversation "... so I
recommend selling ..." and yet have no idea
what it is you are meant to sell. Hearing is
only the first part of listening.

11. 2. Understanding. This is where your brain
processes the words that you hear and derives
meaning from them in the context of the entire
conversation.
–Not only do you develop understanding of what you
are hearing, information is communicated to you at
this stage.
–In the above example, you may now be aware that
the person is talking about the future profitability of
an investment choice and that she thinks that it is in
your best interests to sell now.

12. 3. Response. Once you understand what you are
hearing, the last part is responding.
•Responding in a conversation shows that you
have heard what was said and that you
understand the intent of the speaker.
•Responding may involve making a decision to
act on the information you have understood
and perhaps replying with your opinion or
comments.

13. LISTENING VS
HEARING

14. 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

15. Listening Vs Hearing
LISTENING HEARING
Listening, however, 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.

16. 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.

17. Continued……………..
•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.

18. Continued…………………….
•Listening for Mutual creativity – higher form of listening.
–What do you most want?
–How can I help you get that?
–To listen in total support of other people, to be for their goals
and aspirations in you own body, mind and spirit
–Synergistic in nature
–Relieves the person from stress and strain, soothes their heart
and help them bring the ide lying in their subconscious leading
to mutual creativity.
•Empathic listening – higher form of listening, involves
listening not only through ears but also through eyes and
heart. It is listening intently and intensively to understand
the person fully, deeply both emotionally and intellectually.

19. Significance of Good Listening
The ability to listen and clearly understand will
allow you to:
•Develop relationships to a deeper level.
•Understand what is expected of you - at work,
home and with friends.
•Be a better team player.
•Be an effective problem solver.
•Better support people who need your help.

20. Barriers to Barriers to
ListeningListening

21. Perceptual barriers
•Experiences and Expectations
•Selective Perception as per Attitude and
Beliefs
•Relationship with the speaker
•Frame of References Ex. The blech after a
meal that is considered a compliment in Arab
countries , is socially unacceptable in America.
The cultural differences change the frame of
reference in communication.

22. Speaker related Barrier
•Too Fast speed
•Too loud to hear
•Very soft voice
•No use of Pause in the speech
•Too much mannerism
•Absence of Mannerism
•Unfamiliar medium of expression used

23. Listener related barrier
•Uninterested Barrier
•Know all type attitudes – abstains further talk
•Rejecting person
•Mental state of listener
•Ambiguous purpose
•Rejecting a subject
•Criticizing physical appearance or delivery
•Avoiding difficult listening

24. Environmental Distractions
•Poor and uncomfortable seat
•Chatting with the next person
•Extreme hot and cold climatic conditions
•Odd time of presentations
•Disturbing doors, windows and fans
•Noise
•Poor ventilation and light

25. General barriers
•Faking attention
•Listening only for facts
•Yielding easily to distractions

26. Developing Listening Skills
•Concentration
•Mental alertness
•Empathy
•Comprehension
•Appreciation-relaxed, receptive and
imaginative attitude.
•Note taking

27. Tips for Effective Listening
•Maintain eye contact
•Actually listen.
•Show your understanding
•Don't interrupt the speaker.
•Show respect
•Be patient
•Remove distractions
•Avoid arguments and criticism
•

28. •Ask questions
•Don’t over talk
•Restate what the speaker has said