listening is an active skill and must be developed

different types of listening

biased - taking in only what the listener agrees to

appreciative - taking in anything that appeals to the listener’s sense of beauty

sympathetic - knowing what the speaker feels

empathic - understanding what the speaker feels

therapeutic - doing something about the speaker’s feelings

dialogic - learning through conversations with a speaker, a two-way process

relationship - getting the trust of the speaker

discriminative - identifying sound differences

comprehension - making sense of what is heard

critical - identifying truths from fallacies

evaluative - choosing a stand after critical listening

informative - listening to learn something new, a one-way process

keys for effective listening

listening is an active listening

• positive habits

  • stop talking

  • control your surroundings

  • keep an open mind

  • listen for the main points

  • provide feedback

  • capitalize on lag time

  • listen between the lines

  • judge ideas and not appearances

  • hold your fire

  • take selective notes

irritating

• interrupting the speaker

• not looking at the speaker

• rushing the speaker

• showing interest in something other than the conversation

• finishing the speaker’s thoughts

• not responding to the speaker’s requests

• saying, “yes, but…”

• topping the speaker’s story

• forgetting what we talked about previously

• asking too many questions about details

four stages of the listening process

• receiving

• perceiving

• interpreting

• responding

  • providing feedback

benefits of listening

• you are better able to help others

• you can understand things on a deeper level

• you can understand more about different cultures

• you have more resources to make more informed, rational decisions

• you have the tools to avoid conflicts and reduce problems

• you can participate in life more because you know more

• you can become a more effective leader