“We have two-ears and only
one tongue in order that we may hear more and
speak less.”
Diogenes Laertius
The first and the foremost communication skill that we learn in our lives is nothing but LISTENING:
Listening comes first
LISTENING
SPEAKING
READING
WRITING
Listening is a receptive skill that involves:• Receiving• Interpreting • Responding
LISTENING
Process of Listening
Receiving (Stimuli)
Understanding (assign meaning)
Evaluating (+ve or –ve)
Responding (back
channeling or Feedback
• Speaking rate - 120 to 150 words per minute
• Brain capability of processing- 500 to 700 words a minute
**Most of the brain is idle, thus attention deviates and listening gets affected.
Facts about Listening
Passive vs. active Automatic vs. conscious activity Only hearing vs. hear-analyze-judge and
conclude One-way process vs. two-way interactive
process
Hearing Vs. Listening
• Appreciative Listening
• Emphatic Listening
• Comprehensive/ active Listening
• Critical/ Analytical Listening
Types of Listening
Listening for pleasure and enjoyment,as when we listen to music, comedy routine or to an entertaining speech.
Appreciative Listening
Listening to provide emotional supportfor the speaker, as when a psychiatrist listens to a patient or when we lend a sympathetic ear to a friend.
Emphatic Listening
Listening to understand the Message of a speaker, as when we attend a classroom.
Comprehensive or Active Listening
Listening to evaluate the messagefor the purposes of accepting or rejecting it as when we listen to the campaign speech of A political candidate.
Critical/ Analytical Listening
Listening; 53
Reading; 17
Speaking; 16
Writing; 14
Proportion of time spent by students on communication skills
Barriers to listening
Physical Barriers
Psychological Barriers
Linguistic Barriers
Cultural Barriers
Noise Emotional Disturbance
Improper message decoding
Cultural differences
Physical discomfort
Anxiety Ambiguous language
Different values
Physical distractions
Over arousal of emotions
Jargon Different social norms
Distance
L – Look interested- get interested
I – involve yourself by responding
S – stay on target
T – test your understanding
E – evaluate the message
N – Neutralize your feelings
How to overcome