Listening

Skills
Dr Reema Chaudhury
Introduction
Look at the dialog between George, a project manager and his boss,
Steve.

George,
George, II need
need the
the II am
am working
working onon the
the
status update report
status update report feasibility
feasibility report
report of
of
urgently
urgently on
on the
the Honeytech
Honeytech Project.
Project.
Maxwell
Maxwell Project.
Project. What
What
are
are you
you busy
busy with?
with?
Ok,
Ok, and
and what
what about
about
Oh, the
the Honeytech
Honeytech
Oh, yes!
yes! That’s
That’s
important Report?
Report?
important too.
too. Delegate
Delegate
the
the Maxwell
Maxwell project
project
report
report and
and finish
finish it
it by
by Alright,
Alright, II will
will do
do
end of today.
end of today. that.
that.
You
You work
work on
on it
it and
and finish
finish
it
it as
as soon
soon as
as possible.
possible.

Steve
Dr Reema Chaudhury
George
Introduction
The Next Day…
You
You had
had asked
asked me
me
George,
George,You where’s
where’s the
the clearly that to finish
to finish the
the
can see George
Maxwell
Maxwell Status Honeytech Project.
wasn’tReport?
Status Report? Honeytech
really listening
II am
Project.
carefully.
am finishing
finishing that.
that.
George could alsoIthave asked
Yes, but I had also asked It is
is nearly
nearly done.
done.
Yes, but I hadquestions
also askedto confirm his
you
you to
to delegate
delegate the
understanding Oh!
Oh! II am
the of the allocation am so
soofsorry!
sorry! II
Maxwell
Maxwell Report
Report and
and get
get didn’t
didn’t quite
quite catch
catch
tasks.
it finished by yesterday
it finished by yesterday that.
that.
end of day.
end of day.
II am
am really
really sorry.
sorry. II will
will get
get
How can you be
How can you be so so someone
someone onto
onto itit
careless, George?
careless, George? immediately.
Listening skills play an importantimmediately.
No,
No, itit is
is very role, not
very urgent.
urgent. Drop
Droponly in professional life
everything
everything
you
you are are doing
doing andandbut also
finish
finish that
thatinreport.
personal life.
report. Ok.
Ok. Sorry
Sorry again.
again.
II want it on my desk in flat
want it on my desk in flat three three
hours.
hours. II have
have a a meeting
meeting with with the
the
client
client and
and II need
need that
that report
report forfor
reporting
reporting the the progress
progress toto the
the client.
client.
Let us learn about listening skills in
Steve George
Dr Reema Chaudhury detail.
 Fast Facts

• We listen at 125-250 wpm, think at 1000-3000

wpm.
• 75% of the time we are distracted,
preoccupied or forgetful.
• 20% of the time, we remember what we hear.
• More than 35% of businesses think listening is
a top skill for success.
• Less than 2% of people have had formal
education with listening.
Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Percentage of Time We Spend on Each
Type of Communication
Mode of Formal Percentage of
Communication Years Time Used
of Training
Writing 12 years 9%

Reading 6-8 years 16 %

Speaking 1-2 years 30%

Listening 0-few 45%

hours
Dr Reema Chaudhury
Dr Reema Chaudhury
Listening is the most powerful
form of acknowledgment

…a way of saying, “You are

important.”

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 What is Listening?
• Listening (ILA, 1996): the process of receiving,
constructing meaning from, and responding to
spoken and/or nonverbal messages; to hear
something with thoughtful attention.
• Effective communication is 2-way
– depends on speaking and listening

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 What is Listening?
Listening:

Implies using the

message received
Is intermittent

Is active
Is a learned skill

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Listening vs. Hearing

• Hearing- physical process; natural; passive

• Listening- physical & mental process;

active; learned process; a skill

• Listening is hard!
You must choose to participate in the process
of listening.

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Listening
to hear something with thoughtful attention
: give consideration

"We were given two ears but only one mouth,

because listening is twice as hard as talking."

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Hearing Vs Listening

• Hearing is an involuntary, • Listening is a conscious

physical and biological act
• There is no understanding
or appropriate response
act
• Listening involves
hearing, receiving,
comprehending and
responding appropriately

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Differences
Hearing is like breathing, it is automatic. It
is physical

Effective Listening is a skill which can be

achieved only through Practice. It is
intellectual.

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Listening Process
You integrate
the message
You focus on You focus on
into your
stimuli stimuli
frame of
reference

Understa
Receive Select Interpret Evaluate Resolve
nd

You attach You judge the

You get the
meanings to merits of the
stimuli
stimuli information
Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Purpose of Listening
There are various purposes of listening such as follows:

1 Listening for enjoyment

2 Listening for information

3 Critical listening

4 Precision listening

5 Empathic listening

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Advantages of Listening
Good Listening leads to positive attitude,
cordial relations and better participation.
It helps us to understand the customer
better
Helps you to build rapport with the
customer and thus gain his/her confidence
It increases productivity
Provides valuable information for the
purpose of decision-making.

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Basic Types of Listening
Active listening

Passive listening (Inactive

listening)

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Types of Active Listening

There are 5 main types.

Informative Listening
Relationship Listening
Appreciative Listening
Critical Listening
Discriminative Listening
1. Informative Listening

Primary concern is to understand the

message.
Daily life Examples:
Lectures or instructions from teacher
In the workplace, you listen to
understand new practices or
procedures.
Ways to improve Informative
Listening
Vocabulary
Concentration
Memory
1- To recall
experience
2- To predict
future
3- To
understand
2. Relationship Listening

It improves the relationship between

people.
Emphasis is on understanding the other
person.
3 behaviors are key to effective
relationship listening .
1.Attending
2.Supporting
3.Empathizing
3. Appreciative Listening

Appreciative listening includes Listening to

Music
Speakers
Your choices in theater, television, radio,
or film.
Quality of appreciative
listening

Presentation
Perception
Previous experience
4. Critical Listening

Common part of our society

It is essential in democracy
Politicians
Media
Advocates of policies and procedures
5. Discriminative Listening
Sensitive Persons
Changes in the speaker’s rate,
volume, force, pitch, and emphasis,
the discriminative listener can detect
even nuances of difference in meaning
It requires following skills
1.Hearing ability
2.Awareness of sound structure
3.Integration of nonverbal cues
Personal Listening styles

Content- oriented
People- oriented
Action-oriented
Time-oriented

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Levels of Listening
There are 3 levels to listening:
Attending skills
Following skills
Reflecting skills

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Attending Skills

Positive body posture

Establishing eye contact

Moving in response to the speaker

Nodding and making receptive

verbal signals.
Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Following Skills

Demonstrating Interest
Comments such as-”Really, I
see……”
Asking open-ended questions

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Reflecting Skills

Rephrasing what the speaker has said

Reflecting emotions

Reflecting implications

LISTEN!!
FOR THE WORDS
AND THE EMOTIONS
Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Do we always listen?

If No, Why not?

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 Barriers to Listening

External
Distractions
1.Bias or prejudice
2.Language
differences or
accents
3.Noise
Internal
Distractions
1.Worry
2.Fear or anger
3.Lack of attention
Barriers to Listening
 Noise
 Physical Environment
 Accent / Delivery of the Speaker
 Assumptions
 Self Esteem
 Prejudices
 Perception
 Preoccupation
 Lack of feedback
 Questions
 Paraphrasing

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Tips to improve Listening!
 Listen carefully. Helps you to:
Understand
Comprehend
Evaluate
 Careful listening will require a conscious effort
on your part.
 You must be aware of the verbal and nonverbal
messages (reading between the lines).
 Be mentally and physically prepared to listen.

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Tips to improve Listening!
 You can't hear if YOU do all the talking. Don't
talk too much.
 Listen with empathy.
 Be courteous; don't interrupt. Take notes if you
worry about forgetting a particular point.
 Avoid stereotyping individuals by making
assumptions about how you expect them to
act. This will bias your listening.

Dr Reema Chaudhury
Tips to improve Listening!
Listen to how something is said. Be alert for
the emotions behind the words.
Listen without thinking about how you're
going to respond
Make certain you give the customer to an
opportunity to voice their opinions. Don't
dominate the conversation.
Maintain good body posture

Dr Reema Chaudhury
 What is Questioning?
 Getting Response You Need: Types of Question
Open: Question does not invite any particular
answer, but open up discussion.
Closed: Question is specific and must be
answered with a yes or no, or with details as
appropriate.
Fact-Finding: Question is aimed at getting
information on a particular subject.
Follow-Up: Question is intended to get more
information or to elicit an opinion.
Feedback: Question is aimed at finding the
difference that makes the difference.

Dr Reema Chaudhury
How to Listen Well

Face the speaker

Maintain eye contact
Minimize external
distractions
Respond
appropriately
Focus solely on what
the speaker is saying
Minimize internal
distractions
Keep an open mind
 Engage yourself
Six steps of Effective
listening
Key Elements of Active Listening
There are five key elements of active listening that help in actively
listening to the speaker. They are:

Pay attention

Show that you are listening

Provide feedback

Defer judgement

Respond Appropriately

Dr Reema Chaudhury
THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS – KEITH
 Stop Talking.
DAVIS
 Put The Talker At Ease.
 Show Him That You Want To Listen.
 Remove Distractions.
 Empathize With Him.
 Be Patient.
 Hold Your Temper.
 Go Easy On Arguments And Criticism.
 Ask Questions.
 Stop Talking!
Dr Reema Chaudhury