“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” - George Bernard Shaw

1. Prepared by:
Ruchi Joshi
Assistant Professor
Career Development Cell
Parul Institute of Engineering and Technology
Listening Skill
"If you make listening and observation your occupation,
you will gain much more than you can by talk."
- Robert Baden-Powell

2. We will learn….
• What is Listening Skill?
• Importance of Listening Skill
• How to develop / improve Listening Skill?
• The difference between "Hearing and Listening”
• We listen to reply, not to understand!
• Barriers to Listening
• Role of listening in Communication Process
• Characteristics of Good and Effective Listene

3. What is Listening Skill?
• “Listening is considered to be a part of oracy, a
capacity to formulate Thought verbally and to
communicate with others, Listening, so it is the skill
that underlines all verbal communication”
• “Listening is not merely not talking…it means
taking a vigorous human interest in what is being
told us. You can listen like blank mall or like a
splendid auditorium where every sounds comes
back fuller and richer” ( Miller, Goodith, 2001, 48 ).

4. Importance of Listening Skill
Of all the skills of leadership, listening
is the most valuable — and one of the
least understood. Most captains of
industry listen only sometimes, and they
remain ordinary leaders. But a few, the
great ones, never stop listening. That's
how they get word before anyone else of
unseen problems and opportunities.”
— Peter Nulty, Fortune Magazine
• understand assignments in better way
and find and what is expected from
him.
• build rapport with co-workers, bosses,
and clients;
• show support;
•work better in a team-based
environment;
• resolve problems with customers, co-
workers, and bosses;
• answer questions
•find underlying meanings in what
others say.

5. How to develop / improve
Listening Skill?
Face the speaker
Maintain eye
contact
Minimize external
distraction
Minimize internal
distraction
Focus solely on
what the speaker is
saying
Respond
appropriately
Keep an open mind
Avoid letting the
speaker know how
you handled similar
situation.
Even if the speaker is
launching a complaint
against you, wait until they
finish to defend yourself.
Engage Yourself

6. The difference between
Hearing and Listening
HEARING LISTENING
Hearing is the act of perceiving sound and receiving
sound waves or vibrations through your ear.
Listening is the act of hearing a sound and
understanding what you hear.
Hearing is one of the five senses and it just happens all the
time – whether you like it or not – unless you have a hearing
problem
Listening Requires concentration so that your brain
processes meaning from words and sentences.
Hearing simply happens. Listening leads to learning.
Hearing is a skill where you use your ears only. It one of the
five senses.
Listening uses different senses, like the sense of hearing,
seeing, or sense of touch.
Hearing is an involuntary act where you simply receive
vibrations through your ears.
Listening is a skill that lets the sound you hear go
through your brain to process the meaning of it.
Physiological Psychological
Subconscious level Conscious level
Concentration is not required Concentration is required

7. We listen to reply, not to understand!
“The single biggest problem in
communication is the illusion that it has
taken place.”
- George Bernard Shaw
Picture this in your mind
someone is speaking to you, expressing their thoughts carefully
for you to understand. You wait for the breaks in the
conversation, when you think they’ve finished talking, and then
you interrupt with your own piece of information or repeat what
was just said. “Oh, I know just how you feel,” you say, or “I had
the same thing happen to me. Let me tell you about it!”
You fail to listen. You create your own ideas. You miss the
message and the opportunity to understand. It’s about your
agenda, not theirs. Have you ever experienced this?
Often, you think you’ve understood what was said, but the reality
is that you spent the whole time formulating a reply and forgot to
actually listen. Arguably, listening is the most difficult skill in
communication, and we’re getting worse at it

8. Barriers to Listening
1.Physiological Barriers
2. Physical Barriers
3. Attitudinal Barriers
4. Wrong Assumptions
5. Cultural Barriers
6. Lack of Training
7. Bad Listening Habits

9. Role of listening in
Communication Process

10. Characteristics of Good and Effective
Listener
Is attentive
Do not assume
Listen for
feelings and facts
Concentrate on the other
speakers kindly and
generously-
Grab opportunity

11. Characteristics of Good and
Effective Listener
1. Is attentive- Good listener must pay attention to the key points. He should be alert. He should avoid any kind of distraction.
2. Do not assume- Good listener does not ignore the information he considers is unnecessary. He should always summarize the speaker’s
ideas so that there is no misunderstanding of thoughts of speakers. He avoids premature judgements about the speakers message.
3. Listen for feelings and facts- Good listener deliberately listens for the feelings of the speaker. He concentrates totally on the facts. He
evaluates the facts objectively. His listening is sympathetic, active and alert. He keenly observes the gestures, facial expression and
body language of the speaker. In short, a good listener should be projective (i.e. one who tries to understand the views of the speaker)
and empathic (i.e. one who concentrates not only on the surface meaning of the message but tries to probe the feelings and emotions of
the speaker).
4. Concentrate on the other speakers kindly and generously- A good listener makes deliberate efforts to give a chance to other
speakers also to express their thoughts and views. He tries to learn from every speaker. He evaluates the speaker’s ideas in spare time.
He focuses on the content of the speaker’s message and not on the speaker’s personality and looks.
5. Opportunizes- A good listener tries to take benefit from the opportunities arising.

12. References
• http://www.differencebetween.net/science/nature/difference-between-listening-and-hearing/
• http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-listening-and-hearing
• Rost M. (1990). Listening in language learning. London: Longman.
• Underwood M. (1989). Teaching listening. London: Longman.
• Omaggio Hadley, A. (1993). Teaching language in context (2nd ed.). Boston: Heinle & Heinle
• Brooks, N. (1960). Language and language learning: Theory and practice. New York: Harcourt,
Brace and World.

13. Thank you