If there is one communication skill you should aim to master, then listening is it. Effective listening is a skill that underpins all positive human relationships. Spend some time thinking about and developing your listening skills – they are the building blocks of success.

2. What is Listening?
 If you ask a group of people to give a one word
description of listening, some would say hearing.
 BUT listening is following and understanding the
sound---it is hearing with a purpose.
Definition –
Listening is the process of receiving, constructing
meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or
nonverbal messages; to hear something with thoughtful
attention.

3. Listening vs. Hearing
Physical Process
Accidental
Involuntary
Effortless
Hearing
Physical + Mental Process
Focused
Voluntary
Intentional
Listening

4. Talking is sharing, Listening is caring.
“If speaking is silver, then listening is gold.”
- Turkish Proverb

5. Listening Process

6. Listening is an active process
that has three basic steps
Hearing Understanding Judging

9. Stop Talking
Prepare Yourself to Listen
Put the Speaker at Ease
Remove Distractions
Empathise
Be Patient
Avoid Personal Prejudice
Listen to the Tone
Listen for Ideas – Not Just Words
Wait and Watch for Non-Verbal Communication

11. 1. Listening is a matter of intelligence.
Fact:
Careful listening is a learned behavior.
2. Speaking is more important than listening in
the communication process.
Fact:
Speaking and listening are equally important.

12. 3. Listening is easy and requires little energy.
Fact:
Active listeners undergo the same hysiological
changes as a person jogging.
4. Listening and hearing are the same process.
Fact:
Listening is a conscious, selective process.
Hearing is an involuntary act.

13. 5. Speakers are able to command listening.
Fact:
Speakers cannot make a person really listen.
6. Hearing ability determines listening ability.
Fact:
Listening happens mentally—between the
ears.

14. 7. Speakers are totally responsible for the
communication success.
Fact:
Communication is a two-way street.
8. Listening means only understanding a
speaker’s words.
Fact:
Nonverbal signals also help listeners gain
understanding.

15. 9. Daily practice eliminates the need for listening
training.
Fact:
Without effective listening training, most practice
merely reinforces negative behaviors.
10.Competence in listening develops naturally.
Fact:
Untrained people listen at only 25 percent
efficiency.

17. DO’s
Be mentally prepared to listen
Evaluate the speech not the speaker
Fight distractions by closing off sound sources
Be open minded
Ask questions to clarify and not to overshadow
intelligence
Paraphrase from time to time
Send appropriate non-verbal signals time to time
DON’Ts
Not to pay undue emphasis on vocabulary as you
can use the context to understand the meaning
Not to pay too much attention to the accessories
and clothing of the speaker
Not to prepare your responses while the speaker
is speaking
Avoid preconceptions and prejudices
Not to get distracted by outside influences
Not to interrupt too often
Not to show boredom