| Improving Listening
Skills
Becoming a More Effective Listener
"Effective listening begins with recognizing how poor we really are at listening,
and with developing a determination to work hard to improve our listening
skills. We need to develop an attitude that says, "I'm going to get something
out of this lecture that I can use no matter what it takes." Here are a few
suggestions that will help you improve your listening skills. First, work
hard to keep your focus on the message and make a determined effort to return
to focus when your mind begins to wonder. To help in maintaining focus, make
mental summaries of the speaker's main ideas. Second, try to predict the
speaker's next main idea. These two hints will help to keep you actively
involved in what the speaker is saying. Listening is a very difficult and
an active process. Listening is just plain hard work." |
