EFFECTIVE LISTENING 1.4

EFFECTIVE LISTENING 1.4

"Listening is a skill while hearing is natural process."

Skills relating to Active Listening

•       Note-taking,

•       Effective Questioning & Paraphrasing

•       Non-verbal Communication

•       Semantic Markers

Note-taking

•       Note making vs. note taking.

•       Keeping a record for yourself

•       A selection and organization of  words including the most important/ interesting parts of the lecture

•       Summarization and reflection on what they say.

•       Usage of a whole range of symbols, abbreviations, our own form of shorthand

•       Identifying for oneself a list of key points while revisiting the notes

Effective Questioning & Paraphrasing

•       One of the important skills within Active Listening

•       To focus or concentrate more on what the speaker is saying

•       Making a summary of what you heard

•       Closed questions vs. open-ended questions

•       Paraphrase to (i) Test your understanding of what has been said, (ii) Demonstrate your understanding.

Non-verbal Communication (NVC)

•       Speech contains paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style

•       Written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons

•       Posture & Gesture

•       Eye Contact is important.

 Semantic Markers

•       Noticing even the smallest aspects of communication such as semantic markers.

•       The main ideas are cued with a facial expression and /or gesture and/ or phrases 

note: Posture can be used to determine a participant’s degree of attention or involvement, the difference in status between communicators, and the level of fondness a person has for the other communicator. Posture is understood through such indicators as direction of lean, body orientation, arm position, and body openness. A gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to express meaning. Gestures may be articulated with the hands, arms or body, and include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling ones’ eyes.

In short, good posture, paying attention to speakers’ gestures and semantic markers and looking into the speaker’s eyes, facilitate and promote learning. Paying attention to what your lecturer and/or speaker is saying and doing is key to success in your studies and life.

to be continued...