Listening is more than just hearing - it requires focused attention and effort to understand the message being communicated. The process of listening involves receiving the sounds, understanding and interpreting the meaning, remembering the key points, evaluating the message, and providing feedback in response. Effective listening is an active process that improves communication and understanding. It is important to pay close attention without judgment and avoid distractions, so the speaker knows their message was received.

2. What is listening?
• To pay attention to sounds.
• To hear something with thoughtful attention.
• To be alert.
• It is the ability to accurately receive and
interpret messages in the process of
communication.

3. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LISTENING AND
HEARING
• Hearing is the physical ability, while listening is
a skill.
• Hearing refers to the sounds that enter your
ears. It is a physical process that happens
automatically.
• Listening requires focus and concentrated
effort, both mental and sometimes physical as
well.

4. Features of Listening
• Listening is a mental activity.
• It improves by consciousness and concentration.
• It is a skill as it can be improved by experience.
• Non-verbal communication also helps in listening.
• Listening stimulates speaking.
• Listening involves paying close attention to the
sounds that come in way of communication.

5. Process of Listening
1. Receiving- It refers to the respond caused by sound
waves stimulating the sensory receptors of the ear;
it is physical response.
2. Understanding- It is the stage in which you learn
what the speaker means “The thoughts and
emotional tone.”
3. Remembering- it is an important stage in listening
process because it means that as individual added
message to the minds storage bank. It consists of
judging the message in some way.
4. Evaluating- It consists of judging the message in a
certain way.

6. 5. Responding- This stage requires that the
receiver completes the process through verbal
and/or nonverbal feedback; because the
speaker has no other way to determine if a
message has been received. This stage
becomes the only apparent means by which
the sender may determine the degree of
success in transmitting the message.

7. Effective/Active Listening
• It is actively absorbing the information given to
you by the speaker, showing that you are
interested. It can also include providing the
speaker with the feedback, by asking relevant
questions so the speaker knows the message is
received.
• In active listening, it is important to learn, to
summarize and reflect smoothly, without
appearing to mimic or repeat back in a robotic
fashion.

8. Benefits of effective listening
• Enhances productivity
• Improves relations
• Avoids conflict
• Improves understanding
• Improves negation skills
• Helps you stand out
• People will appreciate it

9. Barriers to effective listening
• Judgment of the speaker or the topic. Do you find yourself pulled away
from the conversation in front of you and focused on your own
perspective about the person speaking to you or your feelings about the
topic?
• Getting ready to speak or thinking about your counterargument. Listening
is more than waiting for your turn to talk, yet many of us can get
distracted by planning what we will say next.
• Distraction or daydreaming. Is your attention pulled toward people
walking by, thinking about what meeting you have next or email alerts
popping up on your screen?
• Connecting to what the other person is saying and making it about you.
Perhaps you hear the challenge the other person is bringing to you and it
reminds you so much of a situation you have faced that you put all of your
attention on what you did to resolve the challenge.
• Making assumptions or reading the mind of the speaker. Are you guilty of
hearing a few words of the other person’s question and assuming you
understand what they are asking without letting them finish?

10. 6. Giving advice or counsel and believing you know the answer. Do
you find yourself solving everything others bring to you rather than
hearing if they even wanted to you what you would do in their
position?
7. Agreeing just to stop or avoid the conversation. Have you found
yourself weary of the conversation you are in and agreeing with the
other person only to be able to end the conversation?
8. Looking through your ‘lens’ or filter (attitude, belief or
experience) and only hearing the parts you want to. Some of us fall
prey to making whatever the other person brings up about us
without recognizing that we can’t possibly know what the other
person’s experience of this situation is unless we ask them.
9. Getting into a debate or sparring match. Do you love to debate
any issue? You might fall pretty to debating or sparring for the sake
of entertaining yourself versus hearing what the other person is
saying.
10. Comparison and evaluation of what the other person is saying
relative to you. It has been said comparison is the thief of joy. If you
fall victim to this barrier you may be failing to fully listen and getting
distracted with what you did or did not do in similar situations.

11. Techniques of active listening:
• Focus on key-points.
• Being aware of both verbal and non-verbal
messages.
• Listen with an open mind.
• Avoid false attention and pretending to listen.
• Wait for the speaker to pause to ask clarifying
question.
• Be attentive, but relaxed.