1. Kairos Prison Ministry International
The Art of Listening
Mary Ketter
Being Present

2. Being Present

3. The first duty of love is to listen.
-Paul Tillich
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4. Listen, Listen, Love, Love.
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5. Kairos Volunteer Job Description
Skills required: Humble, kind, loving, trustworthy, prayerful, good listener…
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6. WE LISTEN TO: Obtain information Understand For enjoyment To Learn
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7. What Are You Going to Learn?
What is the art of listening
Understanding the 5 steps to active listening
Exercises to encourage active listening
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8. What is Active Listening
Active Listening is a way of responding to someone by trying to understand not merely what the person is saying but what he/she is feeling.
The proper use of active listening results in getting people to open up, avoiding misunderstandings, resolving conflict,
and building trust.

9. The Art of Listening Being Present
We spend between 50 & 80% of our waking life communicating, and ½ of that communication time is spent in listening.
How much information we usually recall IMMEDIATELY  after we listen to someone talk – 50%
How much we remember of what we hear – 20%
Less than 2% of people have had any formal education on how to listen
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10. Who Benefits From You Being a Good Listener?
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11. 5 Steps to Be an Active Listener

12. ACTIVE LISTENING STEPS
#1: Pay attention
#2: Show that you are listening
#3: Make sure you understand
#4: Defer judgement
#5: Summarize

13. STEP #1: Pay attention Look at the speaker directly
Put aside distracting thoughts
Don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal
Avoid being distracted by environmental factors
Listen to the speakers body language, i.e. posture, eye contact, gestures with hands and arms, speech, tone of voice.
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14. STEP #2: Show That You’re Listening
Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention
Nod occasionally
Smile and use other
facial expressions
Note your posture and
make sure it is open and inviting
Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like “yes” and “uh huh”
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15. TIP
Automatic reflection/mirroring of any facial expressions used by the speaker can be a sign of attentive listening. These reflective expressions can help to show
sympathy and empathy
in more emotional
situations.
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16. STEP #3: Make Sure You Understand
Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect what is being said and ask questions.
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17. TIP
If you find yourself responding emotionally to what someone said, say so, and ask for more information: “Do you mean...” or “Tell me more about…” or “I may not be understanding you correctly, what I thought you just said is _____; is that what you meant?“
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18. Jesus Was a Good Listener

19. TIP
Casual and frequent use of words and phrases, such as: ‘very good’, ‘yes’ or ‘indeed’ can become irritating to the speaker.   It is usually better to elaborate and explain why you are agreeing with a certain point.
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20. STEP #4: Defer Judgment
To effectively master the art of listening it's extremely important to withhold any negative evaluations or judgements.  Make it your goal to be open minded 100% of the time.
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21. TIP
Judging the matter before you hear the entire story can cause you to respond appropriately. No jumping in. Be patient and try not to figure out what you think the speaker is trying to say by finishing their sentences or blurting out your thoughts.
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22. Jesus Was a Good Listener

23. STEP #5: Summarize
Bring together the facts and pieces of the problem to check understanding - for example, “So it sounds to me as if . . .”

24. ACTIVE LISTENING STEPS
#1: Pay attention
#2: Show that you are listening
#3: Make sure you understand
#4: Defer judgement
#5: Summarize

25. Everybody Loves Raymond – Active Listening!

30. Listen, Listen Linda!

32. The art of listening
Five steps to active
listening
Exercises to practice
active listening

33. We are in the business of listening! It’s what God wants us to do!
As Kairos Volunteers:
We are in the business of listening!
It’s what God wants us to do!
So go out there
and be a better
listener!
Remember…
Being Present