The document is a presentation about listening skills. It defines listening as receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken messages with attention. It distinguishes listening from merely hearing by noting that listening requires paying attention, while hearing does not. The document outlines different types of listening like attentive, empathetic, and evaluative listening. It also discusses common problems with listening like prejudice, distractions, and information overload. Finally, it provides tips for improving listening skills, such as listening with patience, asking clarifying questions, maintaining eye contact, and speaking less and listening more.

1. In the name of Allah Almighty
who is most beneficent
and merciful

2. Presentation of communication
and professional development
Prepared by:
Noor-ul-ain Amjad
K1F14MCOM0017

4. Listening skills
Contents:
• What is listening?
• Difference between hearing and listening
• Types of listening
• Problems of listening
• Ways to improve listening skills

5. “The art of conversation lies in listening”
(Malcolm S. Forbes)
What is listening?
The process of receiving, constructing
meaning from and responding to
spoken or non-verbal messages to
hear something with soulful attention.

6. Difference between hearing and listening
When we hear: When we listen:

7. The main difference between listening and hearing
is “to pay attention” and “not to pay attention.”
There's a lot of difference between listening
and hearing.”
(G.K Chesterton)
“

8. Types of listening
pretending listening
selective listening
Attentive listening
Emphatic listening
Evaluative listening
Sympathetic
listening

9. •Pretending Listening:
The listener pretends through his facial
expressions that the message is being listened to.
•Selective listening:
Listener selects the desired part that he wishes
to understand and ignores the undesired part that he does not want to
listen to.
•Attentive listening:
Listener pays attention to each word of
speaker and tries his best to understand what is being told.

10. •Evaluative listening:
In evaluative listening, or critical
listening, we make judgments about what the other person is
saying. We seek to assess the truth of what is being said.
•Emphatic listening:
It means listening intently and
intensively to understand the speaker fully both emotionally
and intellectually.
•Sympathetic listening:
In sympathetic listening we care
about the other person and show this concern in the way we pay
close attention.

11. Problems of listening
“Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more
listening than talking.
(Bernard M. Baurich)
Listening is as important as reading, writing and speaking. Good
listening skills can
be hampered because of:
•Prejudice
•External distraction
•Pre-thinking
•Semantic barrier
•Information rate
•Information overload

12. •Prejudice:
We do not focus on what is being spoken,
instead we concentrate who is speaking.
• External distractions:
External distractions also
become cause of misunderstanding speaker’s real words.
E.g. noise
•Pre-thinking:
Pre-thinking is the major fault of
listening. The listeners should not jump at the conclusion
before the completion of speech.

13. •Semantic barrier:
This happens when the listener willingly
attaches some negative meaning to the words of speaker.
•Information overload:
If the listener is not interested or the
information is not wanted, boredom can occur.
•Information rate:
The average speaking rate is about 125
words per minute while the brain has the capacity to
understand 400 words or more. This means that only 25% of
our brain capacity is being used. The other 75% of our brain
has nothing to do.

14. “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they
listen with the intent to reply.”
(Stephen R.covey)

15. Ways to improve listening skills
“It takes a great man to be a good listener.”
(Calvin Coolidge)
Following steps can be helpful in improving listening skills:
Listen carefully with patience and concentration.
Always show positive attitude.
While listening try to make notes.
Speak less, listen more.
Ask open ended questions.

16. Pay close attention to a speaker’s body language – posture, eye
movement and facial expressions.
Focus on content, not delivery.
Stop doing other things — texting, reading, etc.,
Ask questions or request examples for clarification.
Encourage the speaker with nods and affirmative words.
Avoid thinking about what you’re going to say next.
Maintain eye contact – eye contact keeps you focused.

17. Ending quote
“We have two ears and one mouth, so
we should listen more than we say.”
(Zeno of Citium)