Communication Skills: Listening & Speaking the Importance of Listening Effectively

Listening is the ability to correctly receive and understand messages during the process of communication. Listening is critical for effective communication. Without effective listening skills, messages can easily be misunderstood. This results in a communication breakdown and can lead to the sender and the receiver of the message becoming frustrated or irritated. It's very important to note that listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing just refers to sounds that only hear. Listening is a whole lot more than that. To listen, one requires focus. It means not only paying attention to the story, but also focusing on how the story is related, the way language and voice is used, and even how the speaker uses their body language. The ability to listen depends on how effectively one can perceive and understand both, verbal and non-varbal cues. 

How to Listen Effectively? 

To listen effectively you should:

• Stop talking 
• Pay attention to the tone that is being used
• Stop interrupting 
• Pay attention to the speaker's gestures, facial expressions and eye movements
• Focus completely on what is being said 
• Not try and rush the person
• Nod and use encouraging words and gestures 
• Not let the speaker's mannerisms or habits irritate or distract you 
• Be open-minded 
• Think about the speaker's perspective 
• Be very, very patient 

The Importance of Speaking Effectively 

How successfully a message gets conveyed depends entirely on how effectively you are able to get through. An effective speaker is one who enunciated properly, pronounces words correctly, chooses the right words and speaks at a pace that is easily understandable. Besides this, the words spoken out loud need to match the gestures, tone and body language used. What you say, and the tone in which you say it, results in numerous low self-esteem or lacking in knowledge of the discussed topic. Those with a quiet voice may very well be labelled as shy. And those who speak in commanding tones with high levels of clarity, are usually considered to be extremely confident. This makes speaking a very critical communication skill. 

How to Speak Effectively?

To speak effectively you should:

• Incorporate body language in your speech like eye contact, smiling, nodding, gesturing etc. 
• Build a draft of your speech before actually making speech. 
• Ensure that all your emotions and feeling are under control. 
• Pronounce your words distinctly with the correct pitch and intensity. Your speech should be crystal clear at all times. Use a pleasant and natural tone when speaking. Your audience should not feel like you are putting on an accent or being unnatural in any way. 
• Use precise and specific words to drive your message home.  Ambiguity should be avoided at all costs. 
• Ensure that your speech has logical flow. 
• Be brief.  Don't add any unnecessary information. 
• Make a conscious effort to avoid irritating mannerisms like fidgeting, twitching etc. 
• Choose your word carefully and use simple words that the majority of the audience will have no difficilulty understanding.
• Use visual aids like slides or a whiteboard. 
• Speak slowly so that your audience can easily understand what you're saying. However, be careful not to speak too slowly because this can come across as stiff, unprepared or even condescending. 

Remember to pause at the right moments.