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Are you listening?

Okay, are you listening? Of course you are, but how can I tell for sure?

Have you ever been in a situation, just like Cinders, where you have a really great story to tell but you are unsure if everyone is actually giving you their full attention?

Well, luckily, Bill and Joe are here to demonstrate some perfect (and not so perfect) listening skills.

When you watch the clip, you will notice that Joe is not exactly on his best behaviour. As Cinders tells her story, he is yawning, making jokes, distracting people around him and even falling asleep!

However, Bill is listening very attentively. He is giving Cinders his full attention; concentrating on what she is saying; asking questions to get extra detail and making contributions of his own.

Listening is a skill

We all have those moments where we ‘switch off’, often without even realising it.

However, the ability to listen well is a key life skill which is a really vital tool in allowing us to learn effectively. It is actually one of the most important talents to master.

Nearly everything we do in school involves listening. We might be following a teacher’s instructions for a writing task, reading a novel in a group or even just having a conversation with a friend at lunch time.

Listening effectively is essential in most of our daily tasks.

Strategies

Like Joe when he hears about the treasure, listening and paying attention can feel easier when we are interested in what is being discussed.

The good news is, there are strategies that can be used to improve our listening skills.

Keeping active, limiting your screen time and making healthy lifestyle choices (including sleeping and eating well) will all really help.

Simply interacting with friends and family as often as possible to discuss your day, or play games like Simon Says and Whispers, can have big benefits.

Steps to being an active listener

To show people that we are actively listening, and to help us remain focused, we can follow the example set by Bill and try the following steps:

• use positive reinforcement – encourage the speaker by smiling or nodding
• ask appropriate questions to clarify and get more information
• be respectful of the speaker and try not to interrupt
• stay focused and consider your body language
• respond to what the person has said – summarise what has been said or give an opinion of your own

It may take a little more work, but by being an active and effective listener we can become better problem solvers, communicators, learners and friends.