Unit 3-Listening Abilities (Question bank solution)

Q-1

Differentiate between listening and hearing. Describe the traits of a good listener.

A

Hearing and listening are not the same. People often use these two words interchangeably. In fact, hearing is a physical act, where the vibration of sound waves on the eardrums is followed by the firing of electro-chemical impulses in the brain. This means that hearing is not a conscious activity. On the other hand, listening requires voluntary attention and then making sense of what is heard. It requires a conscious effort to interpret the sounds, grasp the meanings of the words, and react to the message. Thus it is a more involving activity as compared to hearing. The traits of a good listener are as follows: Being non-evaluative: As an active listener you should not judge the listener. It is important to concentrate on the speech and not the speaker. Your verbal and non-verbal responses should indicate that you are listening properly to the speaker. Paraphrasing: If you need to clarify a point, you can simply paraphrase what the speaker has said and enquire from the speaker whether you have heard it accurately. Following phrases can be used to paraphrase: “As I gather, you want to tell…..” “So you mean to say that…” “Do you mean that….” Paraphrasing is very useful in organizations as there we have to receive complicated communication and if paraphrased, you are clear about the message and will not make any mistake in your work. Reflecting Implications: To reflect implications you have to go a bit beyond the topic indicating your appreciations of his/her ideas and where they are leading. It includes reflecting upon the practical implications of an idea. Following phrases can be used to reflect implications: “I am sure if you did that, you would be in a position to…..” “So this might lead to….” Reflecting Hidden feelings: Sometimes we go beyond the feelings conveyed through words to understand the hidden feelings, intentions, beliefs or values that a person might be sharing. This can be done by using the following phrases: “That must have been a satisfying experience.” “If I were in your place, I would not have handled the situation so well.” Inviting further Contributions: In a situation where you haven’t heard or understood enough yet to respond or you want to know more about an idea from a speaker, you may directly ask the speaker to share more. You may use the following phrases: “Can you throw more light on …” “It would be great if you can expand more on this.” “After that what happened?” Responding Non-verbally: You can show that you are an active listener by adopting certain postures and sending non-verbal signals which communicate your interest in what speaker is saying. These include regular eye contact, head nods, body leaning slightly towards the speaker or sitting straight. Q-2 “Listening is a process of receiving, interpreting and reacting to a message received from the speaker”- Justify the statement. A Hearing and listening are not the same. People often use these two words interchangeably. In fact, hearing is a physical act, where the vibration of sound waves on the eardrums is followed by the firing of electro-chemical impulses in the brain. This means that hearing is not a conscious activity. On the other hand, listening requires voluntary attention and then making sense of what is heard. It requires a conscious effort to interpret the sounds, grasp the meanings of the words, and react to the message. Thus it is a more involving activity as compared to hearing. Thus listening is a process of receiving, interpreting and reacting to a message received from the speaker. Q-3 Write Short Notes on:  Active and Passive Listening. A A good listener pays complete attention to a speaker by expressions, alertness and asking questions. When the listener pays 100 percent attention to the speaker then we can say that he/she is doing active listener and when the listener’s attention is divided then we can say that it is passive listening. When a listener does passive listening, there is no response, only some part of communication is received.  For example, while at the dining table, we glance at the TV while busy eating or talking to someone else and some sounds enter our ears, this is called passive listening. But if we switch off the TV and pay attention to the person talking, then we are doing active listening. To improve active listening skills, one should listen to commentaries on TV or radio, concentrating on the theme and supporting ideas and write down the summary of what you heard. Q-4 Write Short Notes on: Types of Listening A Types of Listening: Appreciative Listening: This is a listening to derive pleasure, as we do when we listen to a comedian, musician or entertainer. Empathetic Listening: Being empathetic means putting yourself in other person’s place and understanding his/her situation. When we listen to a friend who is sharing his feelings, we provide emotional and moral support. This type of listening is called empathetic listening. E.g. Psychiatrists listening to their patients. Comprehensive Listening: this listening is required when you have to understand the message, analyze it and respond to it. This is required in classroom by students or when an employee is listening to the instructions of his/her superior. Critical listening: When the purpose of listening is to make a decision, it is called critical listening. We do critical listening while listening to a salesman and deciding what to buy. The judges in the court also do critical listening to give judgement.