Listening & Questioning

Skillfully
Marketing Education, CSC Academy
ISB-SRITNE & CSC e-Governance Services
February 2019
Module Objectives
• Learning importance of listening and questioning
skills
• Developing active listening skills
• Understanding Questioning as a tool to learn
Listening:
• Understanding speakers viewpoint
• Expressing interest, concern and concentration
• Creating a shared and agreed upon understanding
• Prevents misconceptions
• Develops trust between speaker and listener
• Greater productivity
• Better social networks
What is Listening
• The ability to accurately receive and interpret
messages in the communication process
• Hearing is not listening
• Requires focus and concentrated effort
• Paying attention on the use of language, voice, and
body language
• It is an active involvement process
Different Types of Listening
• Informational listening (listening to learn)
• Critical listening (listening to evaluate and analyze)
• Therapeutic or empathetic listening (listening to
understand feeling and emotion)
• Appreciative listening (listening for enjoyment)
• Rapport listening (listening to build rapport)
Barriers to effective listening
Cognitive Barriers Behavioral Barriers
• Divided attention • Lack of Eye-contact
• Preconception towards • Inappropriate posture
the speaker • Distracted actions
• Strong opinion on the • Sudden change in topic
subject
• Advisory Mode
• Disinterest
Active Listening
• Smile
• Eye-contact: Maintain eye-contact and follow their
gaze if they point towards something
• Posture – Leaning slightly forward or a slight slant
of the head suggest interest in the conversation
• Mirroring - Automatic reflection of any facial
expressions used by the speaker, e.g., nodding
when speaker nods
• Distraction - Refrain from fidgeting, looking at time,
doodling, playing with hair or picking fingernails.
Techniques of active listening

• Remembering
• Remembering details of the speaker, e.g., name, their education, or
points from last conversation
• Questioning
• Asking questions, clarifying doubts to understand clearly what the
speaker said
• Reflection
• Repeating or paraphrasing what the speaker has said in order to
show comprehension
• Clarification
• Asking questions to ensure correct message has been received
• Summarization
• Repeating what has been said in your own words
Questioning
• To obtain information
• Express an interest in the other person
• To clarify a point
• To understand the knowledge level of speaker
• To explore feelings/ beliefs, opinions, ideas and
attitudes of the person
• To encourage further thought
• To help maintain control of a conversation
What is a good question?
• Generates curiosity in the listener
• Stimulates reflective conversation
• Is thought-provoking
• Surfaces underlying assumptions
• Invites creativity and new possibilities
• Generates energy and forward movement
• Channels attention and focuses inquiry
• Stays with participants
• Touches a deep meaning
• Evokes more questions.
Questions to ask before
Questioning
• What type of question should be asked?
• Is the question appropriate to the person/group?
• Is this the right time to ask the question?
• How do I expect the respondent will respond?
Mechanics of Good Questioning
• Being Structured
• Reasoning behind/motive of asking questions
• Following a logical sequence/ flow
• Use Silence (3 second pause before the next probe)
• Not beginning to talk as soon as speaker ends. It makes
speaker look for more information and share further
• Encourage but do not force responses
• Avoid leading questions
Bringing it Together
• In your own business
• Know the importance of listening and questioning

• Use questioning as a tool to be a better listener

• Listen to understand not respond

• Question to seek answers, not get responses that you

are looking for