BASIC COMMUNICATION

SKILLS

CODE: RIT 04104

BTCCIT, BTCFB, & BTCBM I
– 2020/2021
 PART TWO

LISTENING SKILLS
 INTRODUCTION
Communication is a two-way process: sending a message
and receiving a message.

 The sending device may be written words (written

communication) or spoken words (oral communication).

In written communication the writer is the sender and

the reader is the receiver.
INTRODUCTION (cont’d…)
The effectiveness of every communication depends first
upon the proper functioning of the sending process and
then upon the proper functioning of the receiving
process.

In this part, we will stress on the importance of the

receiving process in oral communication—listening—
because listening skill is too often taken for granted and
ignored.
WHAT IS LISTENING? (cont’d…)
Listening can be
defined as the process
that involves paying
attention to, receiving,
perceiving, interpreting,
and responding to spoken
and/ or accompanying
non-verbal signals.
WHAT IS LISTENING? (cont’d…)
Listening begins with
the deliberate process of
hearing, although most
people often think that
listening and hearing are
the same thing, but they
are really quite different.
TYPES OF LISTENING
• Appreciative listening
• Superficial listening
• Evaluative listening
• Attentive listening
• Focused listening
• Critical listening
• Empathetic listening
TYPES OF LISTENING (cont’d…)
Appreciative listening
• The main purpose of appreciative listening is to get enjoyment
and pleasure.
• The output may be taking part in the entertainment process.
Superficial listening
• In this type of listening the listener has little awareness of the
content of what is being said.
• The output in this type of listening is zero because the listener
tends to ignore the message, and is able to concentrate on the
theme, main points and supporting details of the message.
TYPES OF LISTENING (cont’d…)
Evaluative listening
• It involves evaluation of the oral message or commentary
and developing a line of thought.
• The listener interprets and analyses what he or she listens in
order to understand both the explicit as well as the implicit
meaning of the oral message.
• Thus, the main purpose of evaluative listening is to evaluate
the content of the oral message and to select the
appropriate information.
TYPES OF LISTENING (cont’d…)
Attentive listening
• It demands the complete attention of the listener. It is
basically active and intelligent listening in situations such as
group discussions, meetings, job interviews and so on.
• The listener pays attention to all parts of the message, that
is, the central idea, the main points, supporting details,
examples and illustrations.
TYPES OF LISTENING (cont’d…)
Focused listening
• It involves listening for specific information. This is the most
common type of listening that we practice in non-formal oral
communicative situations.
Critical listening
• It is to understand and evaluate the meaning of the speaker’s
message on several levels.
• When the purpose is to accept or reject the message or to
evaluate it critically.
TYPES OF LISTENING (cont’d…)
• For example, listening to a sales person before making a
purchase involves critical listening. Similarly, when you read a
book with the objective of writing book review.
Empathetic listening
• When we listen to a distressed friend who wants to share his
feelings, we provide emotional and moral support in the
form of empathetic listening.
• When psychiatrists listen to their patients, their listening is
classified as empathetic listening.
PURPOSES OF LISTENING
oTo obtain information,
oTo understand messages,
oTo solve problems,
oTo learn or share experiences,
oTo improve a relationship,
oTo engage in critical evaluation.
IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING
i. Communication is not complete without
effective listening.
ii. Attentive listener stimulates better
speaking by the speaker.
iii. A good listener learns more than an
indifferent listener.
IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING

vi. Listening skills form the basis of Teamwork

skills.
vii. Listening skills form the basis of
Management skills.
viii. Listening skills form the basis of
Negotiation skills.
HOW LISTENING DIFFERS FROM HEARING?
 Hearing depends upon the
ears, but listening uses the
mind as well—and may even
require the eyes.

 What we see when a person

is speaking is sometimes as
important as what we hear.
HOW LISTENING DIFFERS FROM HEARING? (cont’d…)
HOW LISTENING DIFFERS FROM HEARING? (cont’d…)
 A smile, a quizzical
glance, the appearance
of boredom or
exhilaration—all the
facial expressions and
mannerisms of a
speaker may alter the
meaning of a message.
HOW LISTENING DIFFERS FROM HEARING? (cont’d…)
HEARING LISTENING
• Hearing is the act of • Listening is the act of
perceiving sound and hearing a sound and
receiving sound waves or understanding what you
vibrations through your hear.
ear.
• Hearing is one of the five • Listening requires
senses and it just happens concentration so that
all the time—whether you your brain processes
like it or not—unless you meaning from words and
have a hearing problem. sentences.
HOW LISTENING DIFFERS FROM HEARING? (cont’d…)
HEARING LISTENING
• Hearing simply happens. • Listening leads to learning.
• Hearing is a skill where • Listening uses different
you use your ears only. It senses, like the sense of
uses one of the five hearing, seeing, or sense of
senses. touch.
• Hearing is an involuntary • Listening is a skill that lets
act where you simply the sound you hear go
receive vibrations through through your brain to
your ears. process the meaning of it.
HOW LISTENING DIFFERS FROM HEARING? (cont’d…)
HEARING LISTENING
• Physiological. • Psychological.
• Subconscious level. • Conscious level.
• Concentration is not • Concentration is
required. required.
 BARRIERS TO LISTENING
 Now that you have a better understanding
of the types and styles of listening, let us
discuss the barriers to listening:

 Barriers to listening are the hindrances that

reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of
recognising, understanding, and accurately
interpreting the message(s) that we receive.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
i. Information overload
It is difficult for the brain to digest the
overloaded message.

 It is when you have so much information

coming at you; it is easy to become overwhelmed
and probably find yourself tuning out at some
point. As a result, listening becomes ineffective.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
ii. Personal concerns
 If we find ourselves focusing on our own
upcoming speech rather than listening to the
speaker, we are allowing our personal
concerns to distract us and we will often
find that we become less effective listeners.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
iii. External distractions
Classroom doors slamming, cell phones
ringing, noise from outside the hall/class are
all examples of external distractions.

It is our job to check out the speaking

situations before we present our topic or
subject matter.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
iv. Perceptions:
oOur perceptions are selective and limited, as
a result we indulge in selective listening-
taking the ‘desired’ part and leaving the
‘undesired’ part of the message.
o We do not listen what the other person is
saying but what we want to listen.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
 If you are an audience member, you can move to
another seat, close the door, and do whatever is
necessary to minimize the distractions.

v. Prejudice
 If you have an emotional reaction to a speaker
or you disagree with his/her ideas on a personal
level, you might allow personal prejudices to
distract you.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
Keep an open mind; while you may not agree
with the speaker, his or her message may be
valid. You’ll never know unless you hear them
out.
vi. Ego
Thinking that your own ideas are more
important than those of other persons or ‘I am
always right’ and ‘the other is wrong’ is the
major stumbling block in the way of listening.
 BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
vii. Environmental factors
Environmental factors like room lighting and
temperature can impede listening.

 To optimize a meeting room or other

workspaces, make sure the room is bright and
cool, which can encourage alertness.
 BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
viii. Cognitive limits
Inadequate sleep, feeling hungry,
disorganization and a lack of preparation for
your work can make it more difficult to focus
effectively.

To help keep your focus as strong as possible,

make sure you get plenty of sleep at night and
eat a healthy diet.
 BARRIERS TO LISTENING (cont’d…)
ix. Technology and multitasking
Although technology can improve the
workplace in many ways, it can also be
distracting as a result of multi-tasking.
You might feel like you are successfully multi-
tasking if you are listening to a speaker or on a
conference call while answering e-mails.
However, multi-tasking may also make your
listening less effective.
BECOMING A BETTER LISTENER
i. Think like a customer. Your role is to solve the customer's
problem. Concentrate on the customer's needs by getting
inside their head.
ii. Ask questions. The best way to find out what the
customer is thinking is to get them talking. Use open ended
questions that can't be answered with "yes" or "no". This
will keep the communication going.
iii. Concentrate. 100% of your energy should be focused on
your customer. Minimize distractions and keep your
thoughts on the current situation and not on what you are
going to say next.
BECOMING AN ACTIVE LISTENER (cont’d…)
iv. Listening to ideas - not words. Your goal is to get the big
picture, the overall idea of what your customer is saying.
v. Watch the non-verbals. Most of what people
communicate is in the body language and voice inflection
and not the words they use.
 You can gain a great deal of information by the way a
customer reacts to what you say. Look for unspoken
messages.
BECOMING AN ACTIVE LISTENER (cont’d…)
vi. Listening actively. Listening requires energy and attention.
The use of “a nod”, "I understand", “I see”, shows the
customer that you are still with them and helps you
concentrate.
vii. Listening is not easy, but it is the most effective way of
communicating HOW WE VALUE CUSTOMERS. Practice
listening daily.
viii. Control the environment. Close doors, turn off radios,
TVs, CD players, and ignore your phone.
BECOMING AN ACTIVE LISTENER
(cont’d…)
ix. Try taking notes. Writing things down will help you
remember what your customer wants and forces
concentration. Your notes should be key words that trigger
ideas. Don't try to write everything.
x.Take time to listen/Let the speaker finish before you begin
to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say
everything they would like to say without being interrupted.
When you interrupt, it looks like you are not listening, even
if you really are.