Seven Laws of Better Listening The art of listening Seven Laws of Better Listening

Hearing vs. listening

Hearing vs. listening Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. Listening is something you consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences. Listening leads to learning. Most people tend to be "hard of listening" rather than "hard of hearing."

1. Spend more time listening Do not interrupt or cut the speaker off To listen better, listen more

2. Find interest in the other person A basic barrier to listening is labeling something as boring or uninteresting A good listener finds a reason to listen, not an excuse

3. Stay out of the way Keep the communication path open Give feedback by asking open ended questions Don’t fear silence

4. Listen to what people mean between the lines A message has both words and feelings. The meaning of words is found in a dictionary, but the meaning of people is found in listening.

5. Take Notes We think faster than we talk. This invites daydreams and distractions. It also provides time to evaluate the message.

6. Assume the proper stance Body language can influence feelings Make eye contact Show interest with your posture

7. Be aware of your filters People have different filters based on their culture, upbringing and gender. Become more aware of your filters

Now let’s practice some listening activities I will select 5 people to go out into Mrs. Gatens room The rest of the class will listen to me tell them a story I will call you in one at a time and you will be told the story from another student Then, the next person will be called in and each of the five people will tell the next person the story The 5th person will tell it back to the class once it was told to them **How much do you think the story will change from when I tell it to when the 5th person from the hall tells us back?

The art of nonverbal communication

We are going to play some games to practice Emotional Acting Get into pairs, one is student A one is student B Select an emotion from the list (be sure you both don’t pick the same one) Read the script to each other in the selected emotion The more gestures the better! How interesting was your conversation? Stack the Deck You will all be given a card, keep it a secret. Arrange yourselves based on suit (hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades) using nonverbal communication. NO TALKING! Then line up in order of rank (Ace-King) using nonverbal communication. NO TALKING! First team to get it right wins! How hard was this?

Closure activity What role do you think nonverbal communication (gestures, impressions etc.) have in your daily life?