Listening is an important skill that is often neglected. While people spend 50-80% of their waking hours communicating, only about 7% of communication is through spoken words - the rest is conveyed through tone of voice and nonverbal cues. However, listening skills are the least taught communication skills. Barriers to effective listening include focusing on formulating a response instead of understanding the speaker, getting distracted, and having preconceived biases. To be an active listener, one must focus attentively on the speaker, interpret and evaluate what is said without judgment, remember key information, and provide appropriate feedback through eye contact and verbal or nonverbal responses.

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Listening Skills
What is listening ?
Listening a neglected art ? –facts
How important is listening ? – quotes
What stops us fromlistening ?- active listening
Why listening is important ? –Listening Vs. life.
Listening : The process of receiving , constructing meaning from, and responding
to spoken and ? or nonverbalmessage; to hear something with thoughtful
attention .
Effective communication is 2- way –depends on speaking and listening.
Listening: A neglected Art.
1. We spend between 50 and 80 percent of our waking life communicating.
2. On average , half of that communication time is spent in listening.
3. Despite all this listening is the “ poor relation “ in communication training .
4. Let us see some facts
Facts
1. Listening is our primary communication activity .
2. Our listening habits are not the resultof training but rather the result of the
lack of it .
3. Most individuals are inefficient listeners.
4. Inefficientand ineffective listening is extraordinarily costly.
5. Good listening can be taught
6. Listening: Learned first, used most ( 45 % ), taught least.
7. Speaking : Learned second , used next (30 % ), taught next least .
8. Reading : Learned third , used next least ( 16% ), taught next most .

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9. Writing :Learned fourth , used least ( 9 % ), taught most.
Learned used taught
Listening 1st Most (45%) Least
Speaking 2nd Next most(35%) Next Least
Reading 3rd Next Least(16%) Next most
Writing 4th Least ( 9%) Most
Listening andMeaning
In a spoken message, 55% of the meaning is translated non-verbally , 38% is
indicated by the tone of voice , while only 7 % is conveyed by the words used .
Spoken words only accountfor30-35 % of the meaning. The rest is transmitted
through non – verbal communication that only can be detected through visual
and auditory listening .
Listening andspeechrates
The average person talks at a rate of about125-175WPM, while wecan listen at a
rate of up to450 WPM.
Listening andmemory .
On average , viewers who justwatched and listened to the evening news could
only recall 17.2% of the content when not cued , and the cued group never
exceeded 25% .
Listening andLeader.
Listening is tied to effective leadership . Leaders listen with an open mind by not
becoming emotional or defensive.
Listening andEducation
Students do not have a clear concept of listening as an active process that they
can control. Students find it easier to criticize the speaker as opposed to the
speakers message.

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Listening and healthcare
Physicians interrupt69 % of patients interviews within 18 seconds of the patient
beginning to speak. As a resultin 77% of the interviews, the patients true reason
for visiting was never elicited .
How important is Listening.
1. Listening is the most powerfulformof acknowledgement- a way of saying ,
“you are important .”
2. Listening builds stronger relation ships – creates a desire to cooperate
among people because they feel accepted and acknowledged.
3. Listening creates acceptance and openness- conveys themessagethat “ I
am not judging you .”
4. Listening leads to learning - openness encourages personalgrowth and
learning .
5. Listening reduces stress and tension – minimizes confusion and
misunderstanding, eliminating related stress and tension.
6. Listening is CRITICAL in conflict resolution –much conflict comes fromneed
to be heard . Successful resolution depends on being a non-anxious
presence.
Quotes
1. “when you have learned how to listen, well that is when you have learned
everything you need to know in your life .” –Glynn David Hash.
2. “The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be
understood.
a. The best way to understand people is to listen to them .”-Ralph
Nichols
3. “Listening looks easy , but it is not simple .Every head is world. “-cuban
Proverb.
4. ‘When you listen to somebody else, whether you like it or not ,what they
say becomes partof you .”-David Bohnn.

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I. If in all our practice of life we could learn to listen…if we could grasp what
the other persons aresaying as they themselves understand what they are
saying , the major hostilities of life would disappear for the simplest reason
that misunderstandings would disappear -Henry Overstreet.
II. Listening means an awareness , an openness to learning something new
about another person. Interrupting , even for clarification, can seem to be
rude but listening with the intent to learn is an approach to a different type
of conversation – Elizabeth Deboid.
III. Listening promotes being heard –Seek firstto understand , then be
understood –Stephen Covey.
IV. ‘I think I will learn more fromlistening. Anything I would say I already know.
V. “Effective listeners remember that words haveno meaning- people have
meaning” .The assignmentof meaning to a term is an internal process:
meaning comes frominside us. And although our experience, knowledge
and attitude differ, we often misinterpret each others messagewhile
under the illusion that a common understanding has been achieved .-Larry
Barker.
What stops us from Listening
Barriers to listening ?
Bad / Poor Listening habits ?
What interferes with listening ?
Barriers To Listening
1. Equate with Hearing.
2. Uninteresting Topics.
3. Speakers Delivery.
4. External Distraction.
5. Mentally Preparing Response.
6. Finishing The Speakers Sentence.
7. Letting Your Ego Get in The Way.

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8. Listening for Facts.
9. Personalconcerns.
10.PersonalBias.
11.Language/ Cultural Difference.
12.Faking Attention.
13.Getting Tuned Out.
Bad Listening Habits.
1. Criticizing the subjector the speaker.
2. Getting over- stimulated.
3. Listening only for Facts.
4. Not taking notes OR outlining every thing .
5. Tolerating or creating distraction.
6. Letting emotional words block message.
7. Wasting time difference between speed of speech and speed of thought.
8. Pretending to pay attention when you are not .
9. Trying to do other things while listening.
10.Deciding the subject is uninteresting.
11.Getting distracted by the speaker’s way of speech, or other mannerisms.
12.Getting over-involved and losing the main thread of arguments or thoughts.
13.Letting emotion-filled words arousepersonal anger and antagonism.
14.Concentrating on any distraction instead of what is being said.
15.Avoiding anything that is complex or difficult.
So Far
1. We covered the facts of listening
2. Importanceof listening from differentperspective through quotes of great
people. And proverbs.
3. You also know the barriers and bad habits.
4. Having known importance, barriers and bad habits of listening what are
the solution for all these issues ? Be a good listener ? How ?

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By being active listener/ developing effective listening skills.
Active Listening
1. Listening is not passiveactivity.
2. Itis not the ‘unexciting’ or’ un flamboyant’ partof the conversation.
3. Listening well is the vital ingredient in a successful, productiveand
interesting conversation.
Receiving Skills.
Listening is composed of six distinct components.
1. Hearing: The physiologicalprocess of receiving sound and / or other
stimuli.
2. Attending : The conscious and unconscious process of focusing attention
on external stimulus.
3. Interpreting : The process of decoding the symbols or behavior attended
to .
4. Evaluating: The process of deciding the value of the information to the
receiver.
5. Remembering: Theprocess of placing the appropriateinformation into
shortterm or long term storage.
6. Responding : The process of giving feed back to the sourceand / or other
receiver
Relational Receiving Skills.
1. Non-Listening: A stylethat is appropriate when the receiver has no need
for the content and has minimal relationship with the sender.
2. Pseudolistening: a way of’ Faking it “wherethe receiver feels obliged to
listen even though they are pre occupied unable or unwilling to at that
particular time .

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3. Defensive Listening : A style of listening used in situation wherethe
receiver feels that he might be taken advantage of if he does not protect
himself by listening for information directly relevant to him .
4. Appreciative Listening ; A stylethat is appropriatein a recreation setting
wherethe listener is participating as a way of passing time or being
entertained.
5. Listening withempathy:A style that teaches an individual to enter fully in
to the world of the other and truly comprehend their thoughts and
feelings.
6. Theraputic cathartic Listening; A listening style used by psychological
counselors to help people who are having problem dealing with life
situation. [ Theraputic Diagnostic listening; A listening style that is used to
assess theneeds of the sender ]
Content Receiving Skills :
1. Insensitive listening or offensive listening : A style wherethe listeners
main intent is to select information that can later be used against the
listener.
2. Insulatedlistening ; A style wherethe listener avoids responsibility by
failing to acknowledge that they have heard the information presented by
the speaker.
3. Selective listening : A style wherethe listener only responds to the parts of
the messagethat directly interests to him .
4. BottomLine Listening : A style of listening wherethe receiver is only
concerned about the facts .
5. Court Reporter Syndrome : A style of taking in a spoken message and
recording it verbatim.
6. Informational Listening: A style that is used when the listener is seeking
out specific information.
7. Evaluative Listening : A style used to listen to informatics upon which a
decision has to be made .

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8. Critical Incidence Listening : A style used when the consequenceof the
listening may have dramatic effects .
9. Intimate Listening : The style that is appropriate when the speaker is
communicating significant relational information being completely and
wholly honest .
The Best , Easiest and Most Effective Way Of
Showing Interests :
1. To Listen To What They Are saying.
2. Really listen.
3. Focus on whatthey are saying.
4. As opposed to planning our own reports and anecdotes.
Why Be A Good Listener ?
To be Recognized And Remembered .
a. To Feel Valued .
b. To Feel Appreciated
c. To Feel Respected.
d. To Feel Understood.
e. To Feel ComfortableAbout A Want or Need.
Ten Keys To Effective Listening
1. Find Areas Of Interest.
2. Judge Content Not Delivery.
3. Hold Your Fire .
4. Listen For Ideas.
5. Be A Flexible Note Taker.
6. Work At Listening.
7. Resist Distraction.
8. Exercise Your Mind.

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9. Keep Your Mind Open.
10.Thought Is Faster Than Speech ; Use It.
CONCLUDING
Hearing: Sound Waves Enter Ear.
Hearing Is Automatic.
Listening :The Art Of Hearing With Intention.
Takes Conscious Effort.
Is important.
Shows People You Care.
People Love To Talk ….So Listen .
ItGets People Excited.
Listening is Not Easy .How Long Can People Listen Before Their Minds Begins To
Wander. ? ( 17 Seconds )
That is The AmountOf Time We Can Listen Uninterrupted, Before Our Brain
Wants To Take a Break in Listening And Start Processing WhatItIs Heard.
Make a Conscious effortto Work At Listening….STOP—LOOK—LISTEN.
THANKS FOR LISTENING

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THANKS
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