Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Are You a Good Listener ?


Most of us don't listen just speak. Do we ? Read the other part of the story.


Listening is at the heart of interpersonal communication. As you improve your listening skills, you are bound to improve your relationships and your effectiveness in both your personal and professional life. Take this quiz to see how much insight you have into what it means to be a “good listener.” How many of the following statements do you agree with?
  1. Listening requires a true commitment and the desire to listen to others.
  2. Awareness of body language contributes to your listening ability.
  3. Eliminating distractions is key to good listening.
  4. In order to be a good listener, you must be able to try to empathize with the speaker.
  5. To hear the other side of a story, we often have to put our own perceptions, defensives and beliefs on hold.
  6. In order to hear other people, you have to adjust your listening style to their style of communication.
  7. It is possible to motivate people to give you the information you need to hear.

How do you think you did?

Think all are true? They are true. But even if you scored 100%, listening is not an easy skill to master.

What is good listening ?

Some experts suggest that there are four basics to listening:

First, you must receive the information through your ears and eyes. Second, you must give meaning to the information. Third, you must decide what you think or feel about the information. Fourth, you process and respond to what you hear.


Start practicing your listening skills today—listening is a lifelong asset.Check out this too.

http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/counseling/SelfHelp026.html

Anyway, Listenening doesn't mean that you don't speak. N'joy Listenening