Note Making: Listening Skills

Research has shown that the human mind can process words at the rate of about 500 per minute, whereas a speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 words a minute. The difference between the two at 350 is quite large.

So, a speaker must make every effort to retain the attention of the audience and the listener should ‘ also be careful not to let his mind wander. Good communication calls for good listening skills. A good speaker must necessarily be a good listener. Listening starts with hearing but goes beyond. , Hearing, in other words is necessary, but is not a sufficient condition for listening. Listening ‘ involves hearing with attention. Listening is , a process that calls for concentration. While listening, one should also be observant.

In other words, listening has to do with the ears, as well as with the eyes and the mind. Listening is to be understood as the total process that involves • hearing with attention, being observant and making interpretations. Good communication is essentially an interactive process. It calls for participation and involvement. It is quite often a dialogue rather than a monologue. It is necessary to be interested and also show or make it abundantly clear that one is interested in knowing what the other person has to say. Good listening is an art that can be cultivated. It relates to skills that can be developed.

A good listener knows the art of getting much more than what the speaker is trying to convey. He knows how to prompt, persuade but not to cut off or interrupt what the other person has to say. At times the speaker may or may not be coherent, articulate and well-organized in I his thoughts and expressions. He may have it 1 in his mind and yet he may fail to marshal the s right words while communicating his thought.

Nevertheless a good listener puts him at ease, helps him articulate and facilitates him to get across the message that he wants to convey. For listening to be effective, it is also necessary that barriers to listening are removed. Such barriers can be both physical and psychological. Physical barriers generally relate to hindrances to proper hearing whereas psychological barriers are more fundamental and relate to the interpretation and evaluation of the speaker and the message.

Q. On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes in points only, using abbreviations wherever necessary. Supply a suitable title.

Title: Qualities of a Good Listener

  1. Diff. between mind and spkr.
    1. mind press fstr than spkr
    2. good communication rqrs good lisng, skills
    3. good spkr should be a good lisnr,
  2. Diff. between lisng. and hearing.
    1. hearing not sufficient
    2. lisng involves attntn and concentration
    3. lisng. requires participation and involve¬ment
  3. good lisng is an art
    1. good lisnr knows better than spkr
    2. when spkr. fails, lisnr. helps
    3. barriers for lisng. should be removed

Abbreviations Used

  • Diff – difference
  • Spkr – speaker
  • Press – process
  • Fstr – faster
  • Rqrs – requires
  • Lisng – listening
  • Lisnr – listener
  • Attntn – attention

Q. Write a summary of the above passage in about 80 words.

The processing of words can be done by human mind at a faster rate than the speed with which the speaker speaks. Therefore, the speaker must be attentive and listener should also be careful. Good speaker must be a good listener too. Listening is hearing with concentration. Good listening is an art and a good listener grasps faster what the speaker is trying to tell. When speaker fails, listener helps. But for listening, certain physical and psychological barriers should be removed.

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