Hey Guys.
Happy Sunday!!
Ze blog finally reached 10,000 views (at 11:45pm last night) and I'm really happy about that, Yayyy, Progress!!!
Last month, there were two guest posts, one by Ihinosen who blogs here as "The Intelligent Man". His post got over 300 views but no comment, biko, why na?
The second one was by Sam and it got constructive feedback. Thanks for the comment Detomiwa, it helps mold our craft. Here's another one by Sam, do let us know what you think!
Listen! That’s why you have TWO ears…
become a better Listener
Have you ever wondered why you have
TWO ears and just ONE mouth? Well, that’s because God wants us to listen more
than we speak. Most people are better at SPEAKING than at LISTENING and this is
one of the major problems of communication.
Good listeners are rare these days.
Studies have shown that most listeners retain less than 50% of what they hear.
Imagine what that means when it comes to a conversation that you might have
with your boss, a friend, colleague, or a customer. If you speak for ten
minutes, chances are that you heard about half (50%) of that conversation, and
so have they, this makes miscommunication unavoidable.
Thus LISTENING is one of the most
vital skills needed to communicate effectively, and we need to listen for
reasons such as; building relationships, understanding others, to be
entertained, to learn, to show empathy and also to get information.
Listening can do so much for us; it
can help us become more productive at work, more connected in our
relationships, improve our ability to persuade and negotiate with others, and makes
us more efficient in everything we do.
Now let me share some tips to help
you become a better listener.
An integral part of becoming a better
listener is Self-Awareness, being aware of your own behaviour,
feelings and habits. Take time to become aware of your own listening
behaviour in different scenarios: at work, home, with friends, strangers or in
a group.
To be aware of this, you need to
notice your body language, eye contact, how well you can repeat what was said
verbatim, and your level of concentration on a message, not your response to
what was said. Being self-aware will help you get better at listening to
others.
Another way of becoming a better
listener is being an Active listener; active listening involves being
attentive and involved in a conversation in which you are listening. You should
be able to speak without distortion or miscommunication and this majorly
requires concentration and practice.
There are five key things we need to
practice to become a better active listener, and they are;
1. Paying close attention:
this involves giving undivided attention to the speaker by giving eye contact,
avoiding mental preparation of response, avoiding distractions in the
environment, and also avoiding side conversations.
2. Having an open and relaxed body
language: this can be done by nodding from time to time, using facial
expression, and using small comments that affirm your acceptance/disapproval of
what’s being said.
3. Always check for understanding:
as much as you are trying to listen, don’t mistranslate or misinterpret. We all
have different personal experiences, perceptions and feelings which can
influence how we hear. Paraphrase, summarize and ask questions when not clear
about the information you are provided with.
4. Don’t interrupt the speaker:
this is one of the most difficult things to learn and practice in active
listening, but you will only be limiting your chance of understanding the
message when you interrupt the speaker.
5. Respond to the message
appropriately: after you have gotten information from the speaker, the next
thing is to form your response. When expressing your thought, be honest, open
and respectful.
Modelling these active listening
steps will help improve your listening skills, make your communication more
effective and productive.
You may need to employ some
additional methods in order to improve your listening skills, please feel free
to share your opinion and tips in the comment box.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Samuel Akinlotan
Twitter:
@HeraclesAyo
Nice post. I feel like this is a topic people in relationships should also know about- knowing how to be good listeners to your partner when sorting out issues.
ReplyDeletewww.folasoasis.com
Very very true, communication is so key and it helps avoid misunderstandings.
Deletei enjoyed reading this post....i copied it so i cant study it at home.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
The Beautiful Eagle
You're welcome...glad you enjoyed it!!
DeleteOMG... this is like a spin-off off from my most recent blog post. http://tonipeters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/are-we-talking-or-having-conversation.html
ReplyDeleteLoved reading it!! What a coincidence! Great minds think alike, ayy?!
Delete