Active Listening
Do you ever get frustrated when you realize
that the person you've been talking to was not
really listening at all? Do others ever complain
that you don't listen? Don't be too anxious if
the answer to either or both questions is "yes"
Although we may not be aware of it, many of us
have poor listening skills, and strong listening
skills are important for everyone, not only for
second language learners. Good communication
is essential to forming good relationships with
people of all kinds.
We often focus on saying what we want to say
in an effective way and forget that listening
carefully to others is just as important. The
good news is that we can learn how to improve
our listening skills. One key to improvement is
developing "active listening" skills. Much of the
time, we listen passively, so by making an effort
to listen actively, we can improve our learning
skills better and establish successful
relationships more easily.
Here are a few tips to help you start listening
more actively:
Firstly, never underestimate the importance of
non verbal communication. "Non verbal" simply
means "without words”. One study found that
non verbal factors were responsible for 93
percent of communication effectiveness. While
not all experts agree that the percentage is as
high as this, they do agree that non verbal
communication is extremely powerful.
So, when you listen to another person, pay
close attention to their tone of voice, facial
expression and body language. Sometimes, for
example, a person's words might be positive
but their non verbal communication is not.
QUESTIONS
1. What’s the topic of the text?
2. What’s the main idea of the text?
When a person's words do not agree with their
non verbal signals, you may need to consider
how truthfully they are speaking.
Also, you can use non verbal methods to
encourage another person to communicate
with you. Making eye contact, using friendly
facial expressions and having a relaxed and
open manner are all helpful. You can use non
verbal signals, such as nods of the head or
smiles to let the speaker know you are
interested and truly listening without
interrupting their speech too much.
Another key to active listening is having an open
mind. Do your best to put your own feelings
and opinions aside while you listen, and
encourage the speaker to fully express their
ideas. Try to imagine that you are in the same
situation as the speaker. In this way, you will
better understand their point of view. 
One more tip is to "echo" what the speaker has
said. By repeating or rephrasing their words,
such as by saying, "So, you feel unhappy" or
"This caused problems for you?" You are
performing two important functions of an
active listener. One is showing the other person
that you have been following what they were
saying, and the other is giving the speaker the
chance to correct you if you have
misunderstood. This technique is especially
useful in highly emotional situations or
situations of disagreement.
Avoid the temptation to start talking about your
own ideas or views.  If you do that you have
stopped listening and started talking.
Once you put your mind to listening more
actively, you will find the practice has many
benefit.
3. What are supporting details in the text?

4. What type of this text?

5. What type of arrangement of this text?

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

1. What’s the topic of the text? The topic is active listening.

2. What’s the main idea in this text? The main idea of the text is there are many tips and
technique to improve our listening skills more actively and strong which can make our
communication better.
3. What are supporting details in the text?
 Do you ever get frustrated when you realize that the person you've been talking to
was not really listening at all?
 Do others ever complain that you don't listen? Don't be too anxious if the answer to
either or both questions is "yes"
 Although we may not be aware of it, many of us have poor listening skills, and strong
listening skills are important for everyone, not only for second language learners
 We often focus on saying what we want to say in an effective way and forget that
listening carefully to others is just as important.
 One study found that non verbal factors were responsible for 93 percent of
communication effectiveness.
 While not all experts agree that the percentage is as high as this, they do agree that
non verbal communication is extremely powerful.
 In this way, you will better understand their point of view. 
 This technique is especially useful in highly emotional situations or situations of
disagreement.

4. What type of this text? The type of the text is procedure text.
5. What type of arrangement of this text? The arrangement of this text is deductive type.