What is
listening comprehension?
"Listening
comprehension" would describe a person's ability to listen and understand
what he's hearing
Why we listen?
Listening is one of the most
important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your
job effectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships with others.
- We listen to obtain information.
- We listen to understand.
- We listen for enjoyment.
- We listen to learn.
Given all this listening we do, you
would think we'd be good at it!
In fact most of us are not, and
research suggests that we remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we
hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or
spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the
conversation. This is dismal!
Turn it around and it reveals that
when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you
aren't hearing the whole message either. You hope the important parts are
captured in your 25-50 percent, but what if they're not?
Clearly, listening is a skill that
we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you will
improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade and
negotiate. What's more, you'll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of
these are necessary for workplace success!
Tip:
Good communication skills require a
high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of
communicating, you will go a long way towards creating good and lasting
impressions with others.
About
Active Listening
The way to become a better listener
is to practice "active listening." This is where you make a conscious
effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more
importantly, try to understand the complete message being sent.
In order to do this you must pay
attention to the other person very carefully.
You cannot allow yourself to become
distracted by whatever else may be going on around you, or by forming counter
arguments that you'll make when the other person stops speaking. Nor can you
allow yourself to get bored, and lose focus on what the other person is saying.
All of these contribute to a lack of listening and understanding.
Tip:
If you're finding it particularly
difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words
mentally as they say them – this will reinforce their message and help you stay
focused.
To enhance your listening skills,
you need to let the other person know that you are listening to what he or she
is saying. To understand the importance of this, ask yourself if you've ever
been engaged in a conversation when you wondered if the other person was listening
to what you were saying. You wonder if your message is getting across, or if
it's even worthwhile continuing to speak. It feels like talking to a brick wall
and it's something you want to avoid.
Acknowledgement can be something as
simple as a nod of the head or a simple "uh huh." You aren't
necessarily agreeing with the person, you are simply indicating that you are
listening. Using body language and other signs to acknowledge you are listening
also reminds you to pay attention and not let your mind wander.
You should also try to respond to
the speaker in a way that will both encourage him or her to continue speaking,
so that you can get the information if you need. While nodding and "uh
huhing" says you're interested, an occasional question or comment to recap
what has been said communicates that you understand the message as well.
Becoming
an Active Listener
There are five key elements of
active listening. They all help you ensure that you hear the other person, and
that the other person knows you are hearing what they say.
1.
Pay Attention
Give the speaker your undivided
attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication
also "speaks" loudly.
- Look at the speaker directly.
- Put aside distracting thoughts.
- Don't mentally prepare a rebuttal!
- Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations.
- "Listen" to the speaker's body language.
2.
Show That You're Listening
Use your own body language and
gestures to convey your attention.
- Nod occasionally.
- Smile and use other facial expressions.
- Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting.
- Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and uh huh.
3.
Provide Feedback
Our personal filters, assumptions,
judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to
understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect what is being
said and ask questions.
- Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. "What I'm hearing is," and "Sounds like you are saying," are great ways to reflect back.
- Ask questions to clarify certain points. "What do you mean when you say." "Is this what you mean?"
- Summarize the speaker's comments periodically.
Tip:
If you find yourself responding
emotionally to what someone said, say so, and ask for more information: "I
may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said
personally. What I thought you just said is XXX; is that what you meant?"
4.
Defer Judgment
Interrupting is a waste of time. It
frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message.
- Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions.
- Don't interrupt with counter arguments.
5.
Respond Appropriately
Active listening is a model for
respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add
nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down.
- Be candid, open, and honest in your response.
- Assert your opinions respectfully.
- Treat the other person in a way that you think he or she would want to be treated.
My
#1 tip for improving your listening
The best way to improve your English
listening is to listen. A lot. There's no way around it; you have
to spend hours and hours listening to people speaking English. Listen to things
that interest you. If you don't enjoy something, it's going to be hard for you
to continue. You'll get bored and stop.
Other
listening tips
- Interacting is better than passive listening. In other words, it's better to talk with someone than just to listen to a TV show, radio program, or podcast. Being in a conversation forces you to listen more carefully
- The next thing to watch out for is to make sure that you listen to a variety of different kinds of speech. I know some people who listen to radio news shows every day but don't feel like they're improving. That's because news English is one specialized form of speaking. Only news broadcasters speak that way. So you can't expect to understand everyday conversation if you only listen to the news.
- Captions can help if they're in English. If you watch a movie, video, or TV show with English subtitles, it can help you match the written words to their spoken pronunciation. But subtitles in your native language are dangerous. They do help you to understand what's going on, but they also keep your brain locked into "native language mode". Try to use native-language subtitles as little as possible.
The
10 best ways to improve your English listening skill
So here's my list of the 10 best
ways to improve your English listening skill. These are listed in order.
The very best advice is #1, the second-best advice is #2, and so on. Take a
look:
1.
Live and work in a completely
English-speaking environment.
2.
Do some kind of sports, hobbies, or
other activities with a group of English speakers.
4.
Do a language exchange with an
English speaker, in person or over Skype.
6.
Watch movies, TV, and videos with no
subtitles.
7.
Watch movies, TV, and videos with
subtitles in your own language.
8.
Listen to English podcasts on a
topic that's interesting to you (but not on the topic of learning
English).
9.
Listen to English radio shows.
10.
Listen to audio English lessons.
Key
Points
It takes a lot of concentration and
determination to be an active listener. Old habits are hard to break, and if
your listening habits are as bad as many people's are, then there's a lot of
habit-breaking to do!
Be deliberate with your listening
and remind yourself frequently that your goal is to truly hear what the other
person is saying. Set aside all other thoughts and behaviors and concentrate on
the message. Ask questions, reflect, and paraphrase to ensure you understand
the message. If you don't, then you'll find that what someone says to you and
what you hear can be amazingly different!
Start using active listening today
to become a better communicator, improve your workplace productivity, and
develop better relationships.
Why
spoken English is difficult to understand
A lot of you first learned English
in a classroom, from a textbook, or maybe from a CD series. If that's how you
learned, then you're going to have trouble with spoken English because they're not
the same thing! Here's what's different:
- People use different words and phrases in spoken English than they do in writing. They use slang. They say "um", "hmm", "ah", "uh", etc. They skip the word "that" when using relative clauses. Most classes and books teach "proper" English, which is used in writing and in formal speech. Here at PhraseMix, I try to teach casual English as well.
- Words are pronounced differently when you say them individually than when you say them together. This is called "connected speech". If you only learn English in a classroom, you probably only hear very careful pronunciation. You won't be prepared when someone asks you:
W'joominehand'nmethabagovethare?
("Would you mind handing me that bag over there?")
- People talk about a lot of different topics. Some topics are very specialized and uncommon. Sometimes they talk about people you don't know, or make a joke about a movie that you haven't seen. An English class, textbook, or even a website like PhraseMix can't prepare you for all of the possible topics in this world. So it's important to realize that you don't have to understand everything.
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