FLASHFACTS

Listening Skills

Improve Your Listening Skills

The average college student spends about 14 hours per week in class listening (or perhaps I should say "hearing"--there is a difference!) to lectures. The developments of listening skills are necessary beyond the classroom and help in leadership positions such as executives, managerial and tem member positions. See if you can improve your listening skills by following some of the strategies below:

Maintain eye contact with the instructor : You will need to look at your notebook as you write but remember to look at the person speaking.

Focus on content, not delivery : This means listen to what the person is saying and not how they are saying it.

Avoid emotional involvement : You are probably not going to agree with everything a person says to you but make an attempt to remain objective.

Avoid distractions : A distraction could be anything that breaks your concentration on the speaker.

Treat listening as a challenging mental task : This means that you should concentrate and input information into notes.

Stay active by asking mental questions : Active listening keeps you on your toes. Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you listen. What key point is the professor making? How does this fit with what I know from previous lectures? How is this lecture organized?

Use the gap between the rate of speech and your rate of thought : You can think faster than the lecturer can talk. Use the above the suggestions when your mind begins to wonder. (Treuer, Paul. www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/acad/strat/ss_listening.html )

Five Step of Active Listening- This is the most important type of listening :

• Listen to content
• Listen to intent
• Assess the speaker's nonverbal communication
• Monitor your nonverbal communication and filters-emotional responses to the speaker.
• Listen to the speaker empathetically and nonjudgmental

Tangible Benefits of Listening in the Work Place

• A Bond of Respect
• Better Productivity
• Cooler Heads when Dealing with a Problem or Crisis
• A Confident Supervisor
• Accuracy of the Work Completed

The Difference between Listening and Hearing

Hearing is passive, and you usually can't choose to hear or not hear something. Listening, however, is a conscious choice. You need to concentrate in order to listen, or else your brain won't understand what your ears are hearing. Not surprisingly, listening is key to learning.

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