This document discusses effective listening techniques. It emphasizes the importance of fully engaging with the speaker by stopping other tasks, making eye contact, and focusing on both the content and emotional aspects of what is said. Specific tips are provided, including using the SOLER method of listening squarely, with an open body, leaning in, maintaining eye contact, and relaxing. The document stresses listening without distraction, being other-centered rather than self-centered, and linking main ideas to details through active listening strategies.

1. Listening Effectively
to Others
Two levels:
Content- What they say.
Relational-How they say what they say. It
conveys feelings, emotion, & attitude

2. Listening – Why?
O Information is useless if it is not used.
O Knowledge is information made useful.
O Listening – helps us transform information
to knowledge as we understand and use
the information.

3. An effective way to Listen
O Stop!
O Look!
O Listen!

4. STOP!
O Disengage from things competing for attention
O Physically and mentally – turn off phone, stop
working at the computer, etc.
O Use the SOLER Method
O S: Squarely face the person.
O O: Open the body position. (unfold arms)
O L: Lean toward the person
O E: Eye contact
O R: Relax

5. LOOK!
O “Listen” with your eyes
O We decode and interpret relational
messages with our eyes.
O In the workplace people don’t always
speak their mind, we must “read” them
visually.
O If we are not looking we may miss
important cues given by their body
language.

6. LISTEN!
O Listen to what they are saying
O There are different listening styles.
Knowing what listening style you are can
help you listen more effectively. Some
prefer:
O The whole picture and then details, while
others like:
O The details and then whole picture.

7. Listening
O It is hard to listen if you are thinking of
what you will say next
O Example – when conducting the interview, I
found it difficult to focus on what was being
said and hard not to think about what to
ask next.
O Listening is other centered not self
centered.

8. To listen well
O Listen for main ideas
O If you struggle to get the main points - ask
yourself prequestions. (pg. 80)
O Listen for details
O If you miss the details – ask!
O Link the main ideas with the details
O Use elaboration strategies (pg 80 ) and
listen actively

9. Discussion Questions
O How do you prepare yourself to listen?
O In what ways has looking at a person
while they were speaking increased your
understanding of what they were saying?