LEARNING JOURNAL ACTIVITY #3: BECOMING A BETTER LISTENER

Listening is a daily thing that most people go through as they engage in conversations be it with friends, family members and even co-workers. Most of the people are poor listeners due to the distractions of certain things in the environment, cell phones, the internet, and television. Most of this happens by assuming that we are listening but in most cases, full attention is not given (Goulston, 2010).

Active listening is a skill that involves building understanding, rapport, and trust. There are skills such as restating, summarizing and reflecting that facilitate better listening. Giving a feedback helps in sharing of thoughts, probing gives a deeper and more meaningful information and validation that acknowledges the issue also facilitate active listening (Goulston, 2010). Effective pause facilitates on key point emphasis while silence is helpful as it diffuses unproductive interaction. In order to become successful in listening to one has to understand that listening is a win-win situation for both parties. Understanding that it will be beneficial to pass on the information learned to another person increases the listening capacity of an individual. Eye contact is important as it helps in avoiding destruction (Goulston, 2010).

In order to focus on the speaker, one has to prepare and be relaxed during this time. This assists in putting thoughts together and concentrating on the message being communicated. Empathizing with the speaker helps in understanding their point view as well as their perspective this means that there is no objection during this time and any argument should be constructed but approached with an open mind (Goulston, 2010). Being patient and avoiding personal prejudice helps in being impartial. Watching of non-verbal skills such as gestures, eye movement, and facial expression helps in picking additional information that is being conveyed in that form.

Reference

Goulston, M. (2010). Just listen: Discover the secret to getting through to absolutely anyone. New York: American Management Association.