LISTENING AND ACTIVE LISTENING ~ Younger Holidays

LISTENING AND ACTIVE LISTENING

Listening Listening is the interpretative action taken by the listener in order to understand and potentially make meaning out of the sound waves, it is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process.

Active Listening

Active listening is a communication technique used in counseling, training, and conflict resolution. It requires that the listener fully concentrate, understand, respond, and then remember what is being said. It is the act of mindfully hearing and attempting to comprehend the meaning of words spoken by another in a conversation or speech. Activity listening is an important business communication skill, and it can involve making sounds that indicate attentiveness, as well as the listener giving feedback in the form of a paraphrased rendition of what has been said by the other party for their confirmation.

ACTIVE LISTENING SKILLS

Pay Attention Give the speaker your undivided attention and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also "speaks" loudly. Look at the speaker directly. Put aside distracting thoughts. Don't mentally prepare a rebuttal! Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations. "Listen" to the speaker's body language Add to My Personal Learning Plan.

Show That You're Listening Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention. Nod occasionally. Smile and use other facial expressions. Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting. Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and uh-huh.

Provide Feedback Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect on what is being said and ask questions. Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. "What I'm hearing is," and "Sounds like you are saying," are great ways to reflect back. Ask questions to clarify certain points. "What do you mean when you say." "Is this what you mean?" Summarize the speaker's comments periodically. 9

Defer Judgment Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits a full understanding of the message. Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions. Don't interrupt with counter-arguments.

Respond Appropriately Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down. Be candid, open, and honest in your response. Assert your opinions respectfully. Treat the other person in a way that you think he or she would want to be treated. Listening Process The Receiving Stage. The first stage of the listening process is the receiving stage, which involves hearing and attending.

The Understanding Stage. ... The evaluating stage is the listening stage during which the listener critically assesses the information she's received from the speaker. The Responding Stage.

STAGES OF LISTENING PROCESS:

1. Hearing,

2. Attending,

3.Understanding,

4. Remembering,

5. Evaluating,

6. Responding.

These stages occur in sequence, but they generally performed with little awareness an often rapid succession

1. HEARING - it refers to the response caused by sound waves stimulating the sensory receptors of the ear; it is a physical response; hearing is the perception of sound waves; you must hear to listen, but you need not listen to hear (perception necessary for listening depends on attention.

2. ATTENTION- brain screens stimuli and permits only a select few to come into focus- this selective perception is known as attention, an important requirement for effective listening; strong stimuli like bright lights, sudden noise…are attention-getters; attention to more commonplace or less striking stimuli requires special effort; postural adjustments are aided by physical changes in sensory receptor organs; receptor adjustments might include tensing of the ear´s tympanic muscle for better response to weak sounds

3. UNDERSTANDING- to understand symbols we have seen and heard, we must analyze the meaning of the stimuli we have perceived; symbolic stimuli are not only words but also sounds like applause… and sights like blue uniform…that have symbolic meanings as well; the meanings attached to these symbols are a function of our past associations and of the 10 the context in which the symbols occur; for successful interpersonal communication, the listener must understand the intended meaning and the context assumed by the sender.

4. REMEMBERING- it is an 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; but just as our attention is selective, so too is our memory- what is remembered may be quite different from what was originally seen or heard.

5. EVALUATING- it is a stage in which active listeners participate; it is at this point that the active listener weighs evidence, sorts fact from opinion, and determines the presence or absence of bias or prejudice in a message; the effective listener makes sure that he or she doesn’t begin this activity too soon; beginning this stage of the process before a message is completed requires that we no longer hear and attend to the incoming message-as a result, the listening process ceases

6. RESPONDING- this stage requires that the receiver complete the process through verbal and/or nonverbal feedback; because the speaker has no other way to determine if a message has been received Free Articles, this stage becomes the only overt means by which the sender may determine the degree of success in transmitting the message.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING

Selective listening

We all listen selectively at some time or other. It is a necessary skill in order to survive in often very noisy environments; however, our selectivity can sometimes be based on two things. Our preconceptions about the other person Our preconceptions about the importance of what’s being said Identifying any preconceptions before the review meeting will help reduce this barrier.

Talking speed v/s speed of thought

There is a considerable difference between the speed at which people talk and the speed at which they think. The average person speaks at about 125 words per minute, whereas thinking speed is in the region of 500 words per minute. We all think a lot faster than we realize! The result is that when listening to someone we are continually jumping ahead of what is actually being said. Try to avoid jumping to conclusions in the review meeting. Keep an open mind!

Lack of interest

This could be due to a lack of interest in the individual speaking or being distracted by things that are happening to you personally (e.g. poorly child, the deadline for a research project 11 funding/reporting) Remember, the review meeting is the opportunity for the reviewer to talk about themselves, their thoughts and feelings.

Beliefs and attitudes

We all have opinions on a variety of current issues; we feel strongly about certain subjects; we value certain behaviors. How do you react when someone inadvertently challenges your beliefs and attitudes? Try to avoid getting emotional particularly in the review situation, remember, the review is about the reviewer, not you!

Reactions to speaker

Our reactions to the person speaking rather than what they are saying can cause us to listen less effectively. Our preconceptions often mean we don’t even give another person a chance to speak. We can prejudge what they have to say. The implication of this behavior is that it implies we don’t value what they might have to offer.

The words we hear Over-repetition of words and phrases is one distraction,

the use of unfamiliar (e.g. jargon) words are another. Another important point to remember is that words can mean different things to different people. Good – to one person may mean only just acceptable, to another, it might mean ‘perfect’.

Physical distractions

This can come in a number of different guises and ranges from the background noises that are going on (i.e. a telephone ringing or a fire engine racing down the road), whether we are physically comfortable (i.e. too warm, too cold, the seat is uncomfortable – too high/too low, thirsty), the lighting in the room, to distracting pictures on the wall. Some distractions are within our control (i.e telephone calls) and where possible it’s important to try and stop those from becoming distractions (e.g. divert all calls).