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12 views

Active Listening

Uploaded by

gamer ghostar
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ACTIVE LISTENING

| SELF-AWARENESS | STEPPING STONE ON THE PATH TO SUCCESS |

HIGHLIGHTED OBJECTIVES:
✓ JOB EFFECTIVENESS.
✓ TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY.
✓ TO AVOID CONFLICTS.

• HEAR WHAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY SAYING:

“LISTENING IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS YOU CAN HAVE.


HOW WELL YOU LISTEN HAS A MAJOR IMPACT ON YOUR JOB
EFFECTIVENESS, AND ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH
OTHERS. WE LISTEN TO OBTAIN INFORMATION OR TO UNDERSTAND,
LEARN OR ENJOYMENT.

DEPENDING ON THE STUDY BEING QUOTED, WE REMEMBER 25% AND


50% OF WHAT WE HEAR. THAT MEANS THAT WHEN YOU TALK TO YOUR
BOSS, COLLEAGUES, CUSTOMERS FOR 10 MINUTES, THEY PAY
ATTENTION TO LESS THAN HALF OF THE CONVERSATION.

CLEARLY, LISTENING IS A SKILL THAT WE CAN BENEFIT FROM


IMPROVING. BY BECOMING A BETTER LISTENER, YOU WILL IMPROVE
YOUR PRODUCTIVITY, AS WELL AS YOUR ABILITY TO INFLUNCE,
PERSUADE AND NEGOTIATE. WHAT’S MORE, YOU WILL AVOID CONFLICT
AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS. ALL OF THESE ARE NECESSARY FOR WORK
PLACE SUCCESS.

GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS REQUIRE A HIGH -LEVEL OF SELF


AWARENESS. BY UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSONAL STYLE OF
COMMUNICATING, YOU WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARDS CREATING
GOOD AND LASTING IMPRESSIONS WITH OTHERS.

THE WAY TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER IS TO PRACTICE “ACTIVE


LISTENING”. THIS IS WHERE YOU MAKE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO HEAR
NOT ONLY THE WORDS THAT ANOTHER PERSON IS SAYING BUT, MORE
IMPORTANTLY, TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLETE MESSAGE BEING
SENT.
IN ORDER TO DO THIS, YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION TO THE OTHER
PERSON VERY CAREFULLY. YOU CANNOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME
DISTRACTED BY WHATEVER ELSE MAY BE GOING ON AROUND YOU.

BECOMING AN ACTIVE LISTENE R;


THERE ARE 5 KEY ELEMENTS OF ACTIVE LISTENING. THEY ALL HELP
YOU ENSURE THAT YOU HEAR THE OTHER PERSON, AND THAT THE
OTHER PERSON KNOWS YOU ARE HARING WHAT THEY SAY.

1) PAY ATTENTION: GIVE THE SPEAKER YOUR UNDIVIDED


ATTENTION AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE MESSAGE.

• LOOK AT THE SPEAKER DIRECTLY.


• PUT ASIDE DISTRACTED THOUGHTS.
• AVOID BEING DISTRACTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS.
• LISTEN TO THE SPEAKER’S BODY LANGUAGE .
• REFRAIN FROM SIDE CONVERSATIONS WHEN
LISTENING IN A GROUP SETTING.

2) SHOW THAT YOU ARE LISTENING: USE YOUR OWN BODY


LANGUAGE AND GESTURES TO CONVEY OUR ATTENTION.

• NOD OCCASIONALLY.
• SMILE AND OTHER FACIAL EXPRESSIONS.
• NOTE YOUR POSTURE AND MAKE SURE IT IS OPEN
AND INVITING.
• ENCOURAGE THE SPEAKER TO CONTINUE WITH
SMALL VERBAL COMMENTS LIKE “YES” AND “UH
HUH”.

3) PROVIDE FEEDBACK: OUR PERSONAL FILTERS,


ASSUMPTIONS, JUDGEMENTS, AND BELIEFS CAN DISTORT
WHAT WE HEAR. AS A LISTENER, YOUR ROLE IS TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING SAID.

• REFLECT WHAT HAS BEEN SAID BY


PARAPHRASING. “WHAT I’AM HEARING IS” AND
“SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE SAYING” ARE GREAT WAYS
TO REFLECT BACK.
• ASK QUESTIONS TO CLARIFY CERTAIN POINTS.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY”, “IS THIS
WHAT YOU MEAN?”.
4) DEFER JUDGEMENT: INTERRUPTING IS A WASTE OF TIME.
IT FRASTURATES THE SPEAKER AND LIMITS FULL
UNDERSTANDING OF THE MESSAGE.

• ALLOW THE SPEAKER TO FINISH.


• DON’T INTERRUPT WITH COUNTER ARGUMENTS.

5) RESPOND APPROPRIATELY: ACTIVE LISTENING IS A


MODEL FOR RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING . YOU ARE
GAINING INFORMATION AND PERSPECTIVE.

• BE CANDID, OPEN AND HONEST IN YOUR


RESPONSE.
• DEFEND YOUR OPPINIONS RESPECTFULLY.
• TREAT THE OTHER PERSON AS HE OR SHE WOULD
WANT TO TREATED.

SUMMARY: IT TAKES A LOT OF CONCENTRATION AND DETERMINATION


TO BE AN ACTIVE LISTENER. OLD HABITS ARE HARD TO BREAK, AND IF
YOUR LISTENING HABITS ARE AS BAD AS MANY PEOPLES ARE, THEN
THERE’S A LOT OF HABIT-BREAKING TO DO.

• BE DELIBERATE WITH YOUR LISTENING AND REMIND YOURSELF


FEQUENTLY THAT YOUR GOAL IS TO TRULY HEAR WHAT THE OTHER
PERSON IS SAYING.
• SET ASIDE ALL OTHER THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIOURS AND
CONCENTRATE ON THE MESSAGE.
• ASK QUESTIONS, REFLECT AND PARAPHRASE TO ENSURE YOU
UNDERSTAND THE MESSAGE. IF YOU DON’T, THEN YOU WILL FIND THAT
WHAT SOMEONE SAYS TO YOU AND WHAT YOU HEAR CAN BE
AMAZINGLY DIFFERENT. ”

B I O M I MI C RY RE S O U RC E H A N DB O O K , 2 0 1 1 .

ART 265 CREATIVITY IN BUSINESS LIFE

INSTRUCTOR: BERK ŞAH İN

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