Listening is an Art – Learn it Effectively

LISTEN is a word that has come out of the word “SILENT”. Many times we do not listen someone carefully, and later repent when need that piece of information. So it is a good practice to listen carefully, and note down any doubt and crucial points in a piece of paper so that you can ask later on.

What is an Art?

Art is anything that looks good, appeals to your mind, sounds good to ears and most importantly brings peace to inner soul and happiness to heart.

Why is listening an Art?

Researchers prove that we learn around 85% of what we know through listening, but we absorb normally only 25% of what we hear. It is recommended to share more and also hear more of what people share.

How to Listen Effectively?

• Let Speakers Finish First Before Reacting
  It is commonly seen that people do not have patience to listen what the speaker is saying, and often interrupt in between the conversation. According to Melissa Beall, a communications professor, interrupting is the most common listening offence. Finishing someone’s thoughts or asking too many questions without listening can bug up the speaker.
• Avoid Multi-tasking
  People boast about multi-tasking they do, but this is not always advisable. For example, one can loose important information if does chatting or writing at the same time. So, it is better to talk later if busy,  and set a time to do so. If you are listening something then just do that only and leave alone all other tasks at side.
• Follow up
  If you are in a conference and listening to someone, it is good to note down the key notes or anything that you have not understood. If you do not let people know about the outcome of their ideas, they may feel they were not heard. So listen carefully, raise your concerns and you will get more good ideas.