1. Jushabeth G. Garcera
BSED-III
LISTENING SKILLS
-listening skills plays an important role in most of the students for they spends
about 14 hours per week in class listening or perhaps I should say “hearing”—there is a
difference between them.
Listening Starts Early
If you have children you know what it's like to feel like you're talking to a wall. Kids have an
uncanny ability to appear to be listening to you while actually paying no attention at all. While
this is something that may pass with age it is important to help children develop good listening
skills early. They will do better in school and you will keep your sanity. As the SCANS report
points out, good listening skills will prepare children to eventually succeed in the workforce.
When you tell your child to do something, ask him to repeat your instructions;
Teach your child to maintain eye contact when talking to or listening to someone;
Read out loud to your child and then engage her in a conversation about what you
have read; and
Engage your child in age-appropriate activities that promote good listening skills.
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS:
 Maintain eye contact with the instructor. Of course you will need to look at
your notebook to write your notes, but eye contact keeps you focused on the job
at hand and keeps you involved in the lecture.
 Focus on content not on the delivery. Have you ever counted the number of
items a teacher clears his/her throat in a fifteen minute period? If so, you
weren’t focusing on content.
 Avoid emotional involvement. When you are too emotionally involved in
listening, you tend to hear what you want to hear—not what is actually being
said. Try to remain objective and open-minded.
 Avoid distractions. Don’t let your mind wander or be distracted by the person
shuffling papers near you. If the classroom is too hot or too cold try to remedy
that situation if you can. The solution may require that you dress more
appropriately to the room temperature. Treat listening as a challenging mental
task. Listening to an academic lecture is not a passive act—at least it shouldn’t
be. You need to concentrate on what is said do that you can process the
information into your 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. That’s one reason your mind may tend to
wander. All the above suggestions will help you keep your mind occupied and
focused on what being said. You can actually begin to anticipate what the

2. professor is going to say as a way to keep your mind from staying. Your mind
does have the capacity to listen, think, write and ponder at the same time, but it
does take practice.
 Engage yourself. Ask questions for clarification, but, once again, wait until the
speaker has finished. That way, you won’t interrupt their train of thought. After
you ask questions, paraphrase their point to make sure you didn’t
misunderstand. Start with: “So you’re saying…”
 Keep an open mind. Wait until the speaker is finished before deciding that you
disagree. Try not to make assumptions about what the speaker is thinking.
Why You Need Good Listening Skills
Good listening skills make workers more productive. The ability to listen carefully will
allow you to:
better understand assignments and what is expected of you;
build rapport with co-workers, bosses, and clients;
show support;
work better in a team-based environment;
resolve problems with customers, co-workers, and bosses;
answer questions; and
find underlying meanings in what others say.
How to Listen Well
The following tips will help you listen well. Doing these things will also demonstrate to
the speaker that you are paying attention. While you may in fact be able to listen while
looking down at the floor, doing so may imply that you are not.
maintain eye contact;
don't interrupt the speaker;
sit still;
nod your head;
lean toward the speaker;
repeat instructions and ask appropriate questions when the speaker has finished.
A good listener knows that being attentive to what the speaker doesn't say is as
important as being attentive to what he does say. Look for non-verbal cues such as facial
expressions and posture to get the full gist of what the speaker is telling you.
Barriers to Listening
Beware of the following things that may get in the way of listening.
bias or prejudice;
language differences or accents;
noise;
worry, fear, or anger; and
lack of attention span.

3. IMPROVING LISTENING SKILLS
What are three types of effective listening?
1. Paraphrasing
To paraphrase, one simply rewords what another individual has said. For example, the
speaker might say, "She was foolish to quit her job." The listener might respond, "I hear
you saying that you believe she shouldn't have quit." What has occurred is paraphrasing
where the listener has clarified what the speaker has said.
2. Open Questions
An open question explores a person's statement without requiring a simple "yes" or
"no" answer. The basic difference between an open question and a closed question is
what they provide the person being asked. When you are asked an open question it
helps you think more about an issue. A closed question will not do that. It may force you
to answer before you are ready, or require a "yes" or "no" answer that doesn't allow
more thinking about the issue. Closed questions close the door on further thought,
while open questions open the door. For example, the speaker might say, "I don't like
my job." The listener might respond, "What about your job don't you like?" or, "Tell me
more about your feelings regarding your job."
3. Feeling Reflection
Feeling reflection is a response in which you express a feeling or emotion you have
experienced in reference to a particular statement. For example, the speaker might say,
"I get sick of working so much overtime!" The listener might respond, "I hear you feeling
angry and resentful at being asked to work so much overtime." Feeling reflections are
perhaps the most difficult active listening responses to make. Not only do you actively
listen to what is being said but also you actively listen for what is being felt. When you
make a feeling reflection, you are reflecting back what you hear of another's feelings. It
is similar to paraphrasing; however, you repeat what you heard them feeling instead of
what you heard them saying. To understand what individuals are feeling, you must
listen to their words, to their tone of voice, and watch their body signals. By observing
all three you can begin to guess their feelings.
* Listen carefully so that you will be able to understand, comprehend and 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. Put other thoughts out of your mind.
Your attention will be diverted from listening if you try to think of answers in advance.
* You can't hear if you do all the talking.
* Think about the topic in advance, if possible. Be prepared to listen.
* Listen with empathy. See the situation from the other's point of view. Try to put
yourself in their shoes.
* 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.
* Listen to how something is said. Be alert for what is left unsaid.
* Make certain everyone involved gets an opportunity to voice their opinions. Don't let
one person dominate the conversation.
* Face those you are talking with, lean slightly forward and make eye contact. Use your

4. body to show your interest and concern.
Roadblocks to Effective Listening
The following types of responses indicate ineffective listening:
* warning * labeling * demanding * advising
* interrogating * moralizing * interpreting * criticizing
* preaching * probing * teaching * directing
* ordering * ridiculing * withdrawing * lecturing
* judging * threatening * giving * name-calling
* diverting * reassuring solutions
* analyzing * distracting * scolding
* blaming * sympathizing * praising
Reasons to Improve Listening Skills
* To avoid saying the wrong thing, being tactless
* To dissipate strong feelings
* To learn to accept feelings (yours and others)
* To generate a feeling of caring
* To help people start listening to you
* To increase the other person's confidence in you
* To make the other person feel important and recognized
* To be sure you both are on the same wavelength
* To be sure you both are focused on the same topic
* To check that you are both are on target with one another
REACTION:
Listening is different from hearing because most of us people have a sense of
hearing. The only difference is that, we hear something but we do not guarantee that
we are paying attention to what we hear. In short, we are not listening attentively.
Sometimes, we do not listen because of so many distractions; we are pre-
occupied, hungry and if there is no comprehension. As a result to these, we do not get
the main point, the information that is trying to convey to us. By that, there are still
solutions to that. And that is the strategies that I’ve given above. We only have to focus
on that. And we should really avoid those distractions in our environment or anything
that can distract our focus.