Listening Skills

rezianna

i woukd like to share with my fellow bloger regarding listening skill. Today, the subject of listening skill in my sport comm class become a great discussion because the students learn how to be a good listener.

We were given two ears but only one mouth.
This is because Allah knew that listening was twice as hard as talking.

People need to practice and acquire skills to be good listeners, because a speaker cannot throw you information in the same manner that a dart player tosses a dart at a passive dartboard. Information is an intangible substance that must be sent by the speaker and received by an active listener.

8 tips to help us become a better listener

1. Listen for ideas and central themes

Seek to understand the speaker’s central theme or main points instead of getting lost in, or just reacting to, the supportive details.

2. Judge content, not delivery

Focus on what the speaker is saying and try not to be unduly influenced by his or her way of saying it.

3. Put yourself in their shoes

If you want to understand where a speaker is coming from, you have to see things from their perspective and frame of reference.

4. Don’t jump to conclusions

It’s easy to assume that you know the rest of a sentence or message after hearing the beginning. Avoid prejudging a message, so you can receive and evaluate all of it.

5. Concentrate and resist distraction

External distractions include non-related things you can see or hear, or which may be impacting your other senses. Internal distractions occur when your mind wanders into unrelated memories or shifts its focus to worries, plans, or anticipations.

6. Use the fast pace of thought to your advantage

Most people can think three or four times faster than they speak. Don’t let your quick mind indulge in all sorts of thoughts unrelated to the conversation, or by trying to prepare a reply in your head while you are trying to listen.

7. Check your emotions

It has been said that the intellect is a slave to emotions. Be sensitive to things that trigger your emotions and increase your efforts to focus on a clear reception and understanding of what is being said.

8. Work at listening

Be an active listener. Ask questions and seek clarification. Actively share in the sender’s efforts to improve your level of understanding, whether or not you think you will agree

Good communication requires not only speaking your piece, but the exchange of ideas is an essential component. Do you sometimes find conversations lagging because we are not really listening?