Listening 2

Active Listening
Listening is an active process. You need to concentrate on what is said so that you can accurately and objectively process the information.

1. Observe the behaviour of the speaker and where possible maintain eye contact
When we are receiving spoken information we are also picking up a vast amount of non-verbal information which will help us to judge the validity or importance of the communication.

The eyes are good indicators as to how comfortable the speaker is with the information. It is well known that if someone is telling you something that is not truthful they will, for example, tend to look away from you.

2. Focus on the content of the message and avoid distractions
It is easy to loose track of the content of the message. We find ourselves concentrating on other attributes of the speaker such as their appearance or their mannerisms, rather than the words they are using.

Equally we need to minimise possible interruptions from other things going on around us. We need to try to set up circumstances where external distractions can be avoided such as a quiet area without a telephone or other potential disruptions.

3. Avoid Emotional Reactions
When we react emotionally to what we are hearing we lose objectivity and our perception causes us to tend to hear what we want to hear not what is actually being said.

It is inevitable that when someone criticises us or tells us something we perhaps do not want to hear that we will reject that information.

A good listener learns to accept the information by remaining objective and open minded.

4. Stay Active by asking Mental Questions
Active listening requires you to stay on your toes. Knowing there are understanding and evaluation phases in the listening process you can stimulate these phases and increase your objectivity by asking yourself a few mental questions.

Simple examples might be
"What is the point that the speaker is trying to make?" or
"How does this fit in with what I already know about this issue?"

5. Summarise and Feedback to Check Your Understanding
Although we may feel that we have fully understood and evaluated what has been said, we need to remember that our perception can cause distortion.

At an appropriate point in the process (at the end or at any other point where you want to clarify your understanding) you should ask the speaker to confirm or deny your understanding.

Simple summaries are helpful using such statements as
"From what you have said it would appear to me that these are the real issues surrounding the problem ... Is that correct?"