7.Avoid Personal Prejudice
4.Remove Distractions
- Try to be impartial.
- Everybody has a different way of speaking - some people are for example more nervous or shy than others, some have regional accents or make excessive arm movements, some people like to pace whilst talking - others like to sit still.
10.Wait and Watch for Non-Verbal Communication
- Avoid unnecessary interruptions. These behaviours disrupt the listening process and send messages to the speaker that you are bored or distracted.
1.Stop Talking
- Gestures, facial expressions, and eye-movements can all be important.
- We don’t just listen with our ears but also with our eyes
- Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are.
- Stop, just listen!
6.Be Patient
- Be patient and let the speaker continue in their own time, sometimes it takes time to formulate what to say and how to say it.
- Never interrupt or finish a sentence for someone.
3.Put the Speaker at Ease
The 10 Principles of Listening
9.Listen for Ideas – Not Just Words
- Help the speaker to feel free to speak.
- Nod or use other gestures or words to encourage them to continue.
- When you are looking someone in the eye, you have no choice but to pay attention. And there will be no question about whether you are.
- You need to get the whole picture, not just isolated bits and pieces.
- Link together pieces of information to reveal the ideas of others
The 10 Principles of Listening
5.Empathise
- Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated
2.Prepare Yourself to Listen
8.Listen to the Tone
- Is try to understand the other person’s point of view.
- If the speaker says something that you disagree with then, construct an argument to counter what is said but keep an open mind to the views and opinions of others
- Focus on the speaker. Put other things out of mind. The human mind is easily distracted by other thoughts
- Volume and tone both add to what someone is saying.
- A good speaker will use both volume and tone to understand the emphasis of what is being said.
By Blanca Estela Vargas Solis
Group 4