week 8
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Listening for Improved Understanding (Barriers to Listening)
Discussion – 5 ways to listen better | Julian Treasure
Self Reflections/Takeaways:
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Active listening is a skill that can be acquired and developed with practice. However, active listening can be difficult to master and will, therefore, take time and patience to develop.
'Active listening' means, as its name suggests, actively listening. That is fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively ‘hearing’ the message of the speaker.
Active listening involves listening with all senses. As well as giving full attention to the speaker, it is important that the ‘active listener’ is also ‘seen’ to be listening - otherwise the speaker may conclude that what they are talking about is uninteresting to the listener.
Self Reflections/Takeaways:
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In the video, I found how the woman applies her active listening skills while talking to his colleague , who seemed tensed about a product. The way she actively listened not only made the man talk more about his problem but also sort of gave him solution to that problem with which he was confused. I realised, that the woman actively listened by not only talking less, but also reacting non-verbally in form of nodding head to make the man feel that he is really being listened to. Thus , the video puts light on the power of active listening.
Post session Activity - Self-reflection Exercise: Identify and make a list of the most common Barriers to Listening, you usually come across.
(Individual Presentations/ Audio Assignments)
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Here is my Audio presentation:
Pre session Activity: Podcast: How to Succeed at Active Listening
Link Of Podcast
Self-Reflections/Takeaways-
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By following these tips you can surely succeed at active listening:
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Think of the person as someone who can teach you.
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Suppress the urge to think about what you’re going to say next or to multitask.
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Open and guide the conversation with broad, open-ended questions such as “what other strategic alternatives did you consider” or "how do you envision..." Avoid close-ended questions that can be answered with just a “yes” or “no.”
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Drill down to the details by asking directive, specific questions that focus the conversation, such as "Tell me more about..." "How did you come to this conclusion?" or "How would this work?"
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Understand that in addition to what is being said, the real message may be non-verbal or emotional. Checking body language is one way to seek true understanding.
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Remember that the way you respond to a question also is part of the dialogue. Keep an open mind and show respect for the other person’s point of view even if you disagree with it.
Post session Activity: Identify and make a list of the tools and tips to practice Active Listening.
(Individual Presentations/ Audio Assignments)
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Here is my Individual presentation:
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The following tips will help you to become a better active listener:
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Make eye contact while the other person speaks. In general, you should aim for eye contact about 60% to 70% of the time while you are listening. Lean toward the other person, and nod your head occasionally. Avoid folding your arms as this signals that you are not listening.
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Paraphrase what has been said, rather than offering unsolicited advice or opinions. You might start this off by saying "In other words, what you are saying is...".
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Don't interrupt while the other person is speaking. Do not prepare your reply while the other person speaks; the last thing that he or she says may change the meaning of what has already been said.
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Watch nonverbal behavior to pick up on hidden meaning, in addition to listening to what is said. Facial expressions, tone of voice, and other behaviors can sometimes tell you more than words alone.
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Shut down your internal dialogue while listening. Avoid daydreaming. It is impossible to attentively listen to someone else and your own internal voice at the same time.
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Show interest by asking questions to clarify what is said. Ask open-ended questions to encourage the speaker. Avoid closed yes-or-no questions that tend to shut down the conversation.
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Avoid abruptly changing the subject; it will appear that you were not listening to the other person.
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Be open, neutral, and withhold judgment while listening.
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Be patient while you listen. We are capable of listening much faster than others can speak.
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Learn to recognize active listening. Watch television interviews and observe whether the interviewer is practicing active listening. Learn from the mistakes of others.
Self Reflections on Synchronous Sessions Of Week 8
In this week , we came to know about the various barriers to active listening around us which includes mental state , illness,cultural differences,gender differences, inabilty to understand the language etc.I also came across some verbal and non-verbal techniques which can improve our active listening skills and this helped me alot, as I have started to follow those tips. I try to ask open ended questions,show some empathy, also share some of my previous experiences with people and also try to maintain eye contact with people while communicating . And can already see the difference in the quality of my conversations.Thus, this week was really helpful for me.