Listening effectively to somebody can be a challenge, as in order to really listen you have to concentrate--which is work--and nobody likes work right?
Distractions--such as noise, discomfort, and exhaustion--can cause you to work even harder to pay attention to what someone is saying. Since many people are lazy, they often do not even bother listening, and turn on their "selective hearing mode."
Why should you improve your listening skills? For one, if you are in school like me, you will want to listen to your professors' lectures. For another, if you know how to listen effectively, you will be able to gather information easier--such as driving directions, appointments, etc.
It takes determination, and just like all other areas of personal development, hard work to learn how to listen well. So, without further ado, the 10 ways to improve your listening skills.
Tip # 1
Figure out beforehand the reason why you are listening (such as to gather information on a subject or driving directions). Then keep an open mind about the topic you are talking about and the person you are talking to. Be ready to locate your goals and discover them when they come your way.
Tip #2
Listen to both what the speaker is saying and what the speaker is implying. The speaker's hand gestures, facial expressions, tone, and volume can all help you know what's important and what you should remember.
Tip #3
Listen to find out the five W's plus H (who, what, where, when, why, and how). This will help you to learn how to extract important facts out of what you're hearing and arrange them so they are easier for your to remember.
Self-Improvement Books
Books on self-improvement and personal development
You Can Heal Your Life (Gift Edition)
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 07/26/2008)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Amazon Price: $9.57 (as of 07/26/2008)
A New Earth (Oprah's Book Club)
Amazon Price: $7.70 (as of 07/26/2008)
Tip #4
Pay attention and know how to weed out the facts from the opinion of the speaker. This can often be difficult, however, so be on guard at all times. Get your 'weeding gloves' out, so to speak.
Tip #5
The speaker will frequently tell you what's important about what he or she is saying. They may not shout it out, but it is fairly easy to recognize the signals. For example, the speaker will use phrases such as "don't forget to" and "remember that..."
Tip #6
Books and lectures often follow "patterns of organization." If you know how someone has organized information and where he or she is going with their speech, you can spot the pattern. If you know their pattern, your learning capacity will be increased and you will be able to follow along better.
Personal Development Audiobooks
Self-Improvement audiobooks for sale
Meditations for Manifesting : Morning and Evening Meditations to Literally Create Your Heart's Desire
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 07/26/2008)
Change Your Thoughts Meditation CD: Do the Tao Now!
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 07/26/2008)
Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 07/26/2008)
Tip #7
Pay close attention to what a person is saying. If you let details slip away unnoticed, you will not remember what is being said. This is especially important in school--you most likely don't want to forget the details of your professor's lecture.
Tip #8
Have you ever forgotten the assignments your teacher assigned you? How about the directions to a friends house? You must pay careful attention to directions. Having to contact someone, especially a teacher, because you forgot their instructions is not only embarassing, it usually will not set too well with them.
Tip #9
Think about what is being said and see if you can relate it to any aspect of your own life. This will help you remember better and recall the information in the future.
Tip #10
When taking notes for class, or taking mental notes when talking to someone, put them in your own words. This will be much easier than memorizing the speaker's way of talking, as putting it in your own words will cause you to remember much easier.
Personal Development Links
Links to personal development sites
- Personal Development for Smart People - Steve Pavlina
- Free personal development and conscious living resources, with a focus on discovering your life purpose and summoning the courage to begin acting on it.
- Personal Development
- Personal-Development.Com, the reliable source of personal development information since 1999.
- Self-help - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) published the first self-consciously personal-development "self-help" book - entitled Self-Help - in 1859. ...
- Scott H Young » Achieving Impossible Goals
- Entry added on Mon, February 5, 2007 . « Does Health Information Need to Be Complicated? || Skill Generalizing ». Have you ever had an ambition or desire ...
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