Listening is one of the most important skills that is needed to be honed for being a successful learner and socializing individuals. It is a pro-learning and pro-social skill for better engagement in the process of learning.
It has been held that the better one listens, the better he or she becomes in learning, work effectiveness and relationships with others.
Some of the preliminary listening skills for practice are as follows.
-listening to train ears for attentiveness by deferring judgement
-listening with focus and interest
-listening to gather information
-listening to understand or comprehend
-listening for feelings
-listening with visualize
Listening is the most basic skill when honed leads to better learning outcomes. By becoming a listener with understanding, one can improve learning outcomes in educational institutions and enhance productivity at workplace.
Active listeners or polite listener-learners, with practice acquire the abilities to influence, persuade, relate, resolve issues, advocate and negotiate.
Pre-listening skills are attentiveness, self-awareness and social awareness skills followed by practice in active listening under the guidance of an educational therapist or a coach.
One of the practical ways could be in the form of repeating the listened words mentally as they are being spoken to become focused.
In conversations and narratives, punctuate listening of sentences with nodes and "uh huh" or 'yes' are the self-acknowledgement that you are listening with interest.
Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also "speaks" loudly.
A a listener, look directly at speaker, focus on gestures and facial expressions. Sit with a smile on the face and relaxed posture to show you are interested and open
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