Listening Skills

What is communication?

Communication is the process of transferring information from a sender to a receiver, involving spoken and written words, body language, personal mannerisms, and style, making it a two-way process.

What are the four main types of communication?

Verbal (spoken words), Nonverbal (body language, facial expressions, vocalics), Written (written language, symbols, numbers), and Visual (photography, art, drawings, charts, graphs).

Name the key elements of communication.

Sender, Message, Encoding, Receiver, Channel, Decoding, Feedback, Noise, and Setting.

What is the difference between hearing and listening?

Hearing is passive, the automatic perception of sound; listening is active, requiring focus and effort to understand verbal and nonverbal messages.

What are the five stages of the listening process?

1. Reception/Hearing 2. Attention 3. Perception/Judging 4. Retention 5. Retrieval/Recall.

Why is listening important in communication?

It helps focus on messages, gain accurate understanding, critically assess information, show interest and concern, and observe nonverbal signals.

What are the two general types of listening?

Discriminative Listening and Comprehensive Listening.

What is discriminative listening?

The basic ability to distinguish different sounds and voices, including emotional tone, fundamental to understanding meaning.

What is comprehensive listening?

Listening to understand the message, requiring vocabulary and language skills; also called content or full listening.

Name the four specific types of listening based on goals.

Informational Listening, Critical Listening, Biased Listening, Therapeutic/Empathetic Listening.

What is informational listening?

Listening to learn or receive new information without analyzing or criticizing, often accompanied by note-taking.

What is critical listening?

Listening to evaluate or scrutinize information, involving analysis, judgment, and problem-solving with an open mind.

What is biased listening?

Hearing only what one wants to hear, often misinterpreting messages based on stereotypes or preconceived ideas.

What is therapeutic or empathetic listening?

Listening to understand the speaker’s feelings and emotions, putting oneself in their shoes without judgment, encouraging elaboration.

List some steps of effective listening.

1. Attending (focusing attention) 2. Understanding (listening actively) 3. Remembering (retaining information) 4. Evaluating (listening critically) 5. Responding appropriately.

What techniques help focus attention during listening?

Eliminate distractions, prepare mentally and physically, fully shift from speaker to listener, and adjust listening intensity to the situation.

How can understanding be improved during listening?

Attend to nonverbal cues, ask questions, silently paraphrase, and decode the message accurately.

What are mnemonic devices and how do they aid listening?

Techniques like acronyms or phrases that help remember information, e.g., BODMAS for math operations.

What does evaluating in listening involve?

Separating facts from inferences and critically assessing the truthfulness and relevance of conclusions drawn.

How should one respond appropriately while listening?

Show empathy, ask open questions, reflect key words, remain silent when needed, and avoid interrupting or overwhelming with questions.

What are characteristics of good listeners?

They are fully present, listen to understand rather than respond, and never interrupt the speaker.