Active Listening - 1 free essay sample

Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others, focusing attention on the speaker. Suspending ones own frame of reference, suspending judgment and avoiding other internal mental activities are important to fully  attend  to the speaker. Primary Elements There are three primary elements that comprise active listening: comprehending, retaining, and responding. [edit]Comprehending Comprehension is shared meaning between parties in a communication transaction. [1][2]  This is the first step in the listening process. The first challenge for the listener is accurately identifying speech sounds and understanding and synthesizing these sounds as words. We are constantly bombarded with auditory stimuli, so the listener has to select which of those stimuli are speech sounds and choose to pay attention to the appropriate sounds (attending). The second challenge is being able to discern breaks between discernable words, or speech segmentation. [3]  This becomes significantly more difficult with an unfamiliar language because the speech sounds blend together into a continuous cluster. Determining the context and meanings of each word is essential to comprehending a sentence. [edit]Retaining This is the second step in the listening process. Memory is essential to the listening process because the information we retain when involved in the listening process is how we create meaning from words. We depend on our memory to fill in the blanks when were listening. Because everyone has different memories, the speaker and the listener may attach different meanings to the same statement. However, our memories are fallible and we cant remember everything that weve ever listened to. There are many reasons why we forget some information that weve received. The first is cramming. When you cram there is a lot of information entered into your short term memory. Shortly after cramming, when you dont need the information anymore, it is purged from your brain before it can be transferred into your long term memory. [4]  The second reason is that you arent paying attention when you receive the information. Alternatively, when you receive the information you may not attach importance to it, so it loses its meaning. A fourth reason is at the time the information was received you lacked motivation to listen carefully to better remember it. [5]  Using information immediately after receiving it enhances information retention and lessens the forgetting curve (the rate at which we no longer retain information in our memory). [6]  Retention is lessened when we engage in mindless listening, where little effort is made to listen to a speakers message. Mindful listening is active listening. [edit]Responding Listening is an interaction between speaker and listener. It adds action to a normally passive process. The speaker looks for verbal and nonverbal responses from the listener to determine if the message is being listened to. Usually the response is nonverbal because if the response is verbal the speaker/listener roles are reversed so the listener becomes the speaker and is no longer listening. Based on the response the speaker should either adjust or continue with his/her communication style. Listening is considered to be the one of the most important part of the oral communication. The term is used in order to make oral communication effective. Poor listening skills of an individual may affect the individual very badly specially in an organization where the maximum number of time a person spent in communication therefore it is very much important if will talk from organizational prospective because a effective and active listening by an individual plays a very important role in contributing towards the success of the business. Further more a poor listening also leads to the creation of an in attentive barrier in which a listener makes himself busy in doing other thins and in this the person will listen to only that part of the message which they think is important. Furthermore as we know about the human tendency that whatever human retain only 1/4 of that part an individual able to keep in his mind after 2 days. Therefore it is very much important that an effort should be made by an individual in order to be an active listener because listening is all about increasing the knowledge as an active listening helps the individual to increase their memory bank which an individual later on implements his or her life in order to achieve their objectives   An active listening from the individual side also plays an important role in making the speaker comfortable and in the listening process especially in order to utilize the active listening it is very important that a listener should make a king of environment where an speaker makes himself feel comfortable so that the time which a speaker take should not become waste therefore at last it is important that an individual should make efforts to be an active listener for future success and growth. Discriminative listening Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby the difference between difference sounds is identified. If y ou cannot hear differences, then you cannot make sense of the meaning that is expressed by such differences. We learn to discriminate between sounds within our own language early, and later are unable to discriminate between the phonemes of other languages. This is one reason why a person from one country finds it difficult to speak another language perfectly, as they are unable distinguish the subtle sounds that are required in that language. Likewise, a person who cannot hear the subtleties of emotional variation in another persons voice will be less likely to be able to discern the emotions the other person is experiencing. Listening is a visual as well as auditory act, as we communicate much through  body language. We thus also need to be able to discriminate between muscle and skeletal movements that signify different meanings. Comprehension listening The next step beyond discriminating between different sound and sights is to make sense of them. To comprehend the meaning requires first having a lexicon of words at our fingertips and also all rules of grammar and syntax by which we can understand what others are saying. The same is true, of course, for the visual components of communication, and an understanding of body language helps us understand what the other person is really meaning. In communication, some words are more important and some less so, and comprehension often benefits from extraction of key facts and items from a long spiel. Comprehension listening is also known   as  content listening,  informative listening  and  full listening. Critical listening Critical listening is listening in order to evaluate and judge, forming opinion about what is being said. Judgment includes assessing strengths and weaknesses, agreement and approval. This form of listening requires significant real-time cognitive effort as the listener analyzes what is being said, relating it to existing knowledge and rules, whilst simultaneously listening to the ongoing words from the speaker. Biased listening Biased listening happens when the person hears only what they want to hear, typically misinterpreting what the other person says based on thestereotypes  and other biases that they have. Such biased listening is often very evaluative in nature. Evaluative listening In evaluative listening, or  critical listening, we make judgments about what the other person is saying. We seek to assess the truth of what is being said. We also judge what they say against our  values, assessing them as good or bad, worthy or unworthy. Evaluative listening is particularly pertinent when the other person is trying to persuade us, perhaps to change our behavior and maybe even to change our  beliefs. Within this, we also discriminate between subtleties of language and comprehend the inner meaning of what is said. Typically also we weigh up the pros and cons of an argument, determining whether it makes sense logically as well as whether it is helpful to us. Evaluative listening is also called critical, judgmental or interpretive listening. Appreciative listening In appreciative listening, we seek certain information which will appreciate, for example that which helps meet our  needs  and  goals. We use appreciative listening when we are listening to good music, poetry or maybe even the stirring words of a great leader. Sympathetic listening In sympathetic listening we care about the other person and show this concern in the way we pay close attention and express our sorrow for their ills and happiness at their joys. Empathetic listening When we listen  empathetically, we go beyond sympathy to seek a truer understand how others are feeling. This requires excellent discrimination and close attention to the nuances of emotional signals. When we are being truly empathetic, we actually feel what they are feeling. In order to get others to expose these deep parts of themselves to us, we also need to demonstrate our empathy in our demeanor towards them, asking sensitively and in a way that encourages self-disclosure. Therapeutic listening In therapeutic listening, the listener has a purpose of not only empathizing with the speaker but also to use this deep connection in order to help the speaker understand, change or develop in some way. This not only happens when you go to see a therapist but also in many social situations, where friends and family seek to both diagnose problems from listening and also to help the speaker cure themselves, perhaps by some cathartic process. This also happens in work situations, where managers, HR people, trainers and coaches seek to help employees learn and develop. Dialogic listening The word dialogue stems from the Greek words dia, meaning through and logos meaning words. Thus dialogic listening mean learning through conversation and an engaged interchange of ideas and information in which we actively seek to learn more about the person and how they think. Dialogic listening is sometimes known as relational listening. Relationship listening Sometimes the most important factor in listening is in order to develop or sustain a relationship. This is why lovers talk for hours and attend closely to what each other has to say when the same words from someone else would seem to be rather boring. Relationship listening is also important in areas such as negotiation and sales, where it is helpful if the other person likes you and trusts you. Listening Tips | Usually it is important to paraphrase and use your own words in verbalizing your understanding of the message. Parroting back the words verbatim is annoying and does not ensure accurate understanding of the message. | | Depending on the purpose of the interaction and your understanding of what is relevant, you could reflect back the other persons: 1. Account of the facts. 2. Thoughts and beliefs. 3. Feelings and emotions. 4. Wants, needs or motivation. 5. Hopes and expectations. | | Don’t respond to just the meaning of the words, look for the feelings or intent beyond the words. The dictionary or surface meaning of the words or code used by the sender is not the message. | | Inhibit your impulse to immediately answer questions. The code may be in the form of a question. Sometimes people ask questions when they really want to express themselves and are not open to hearing an answer. | | Know when to quit using active listening. Once you accurately understand the sender’s message, it may be appropriate to respond with your own message. Don’t use active listening to hide and avoid revealing your own position. | | If you are confused and know you do not understand, either tell the person you don’t understand and ask him/her to say it another way, or use your best guess. If you are incorrect, the person will realize it and will likely attempt to correct your misunderstanding. | Active listening is a very effective first response when the other person is angry, hurt or expressing difficult feelings toward you, especially in relationships that are important to you. | | Use eye contact and  listening  body language. Avoid looking at your watch or at other people or activities around the roo m. Face and lean toward the speaker and nod your head, as it is appropriate. Be careful about crossing your arms and appearing closed or critical. | | Be empathic and nonjudgmental. You can be accepting and respectful of the person and their feelings and beliefs without invalidating or giving up your own position, or without agreeing with the accuracy and validity of their view. | Become a more effective listener. Practice the active listening technique and make it one of your communication skills. |