I end to be sometime distracted by my cell phone when having a conversation. I will in the future put it on silent to give the studet and or co-worker my undivided attention.
To improve my listening skills, I can not talk too much. Also I can be more empathic with others.
I too get asked multiple times the same questions & it is hard not to see some of the prospects as individuals. Nice to know someone else feels the same about a situation I make sure to tell myself from time to time so I don't cut them off & give them the time and attention that each one deserves.
I have a few things to work on to improve my listening skills. I need to focus more and shut out both internal and external noise. I tend to think about what I will say next, when I need to be listening and focusing on what the student is saying. I also need to avoid interrupting and finishng people's sentences. It is not courteous when I do this, so I definitely need to improve on this.
Improvement can be made when communication is happening in areas where I am emotionally involved, like conversations with loved one, or other converstations with people where I want to be liked or appreciated. Conversations about topics or situations where I will personally effected are also situations where true active listening can be compromised. Situations where I might be falsely accused or negatively portrayed can be potentially problematic. If I can understand communication as neutral, rather than negative or positive, but just the thouthts and emotions of those in the comversation, that is most helpful.
My biggest problem with listening skills is that I think or process faster than other people do. That combined with an over busy schedule makes for bad conversation. I want to get to what I KNOW they are trying to say before they have the chance to even say it. Truth of the matter is I am only right (on the point they are trying to get to) about 75% of the time, leaving me way off track the other 25% of the time. If I could just stop my brain from jumping to conclusions I would do much better. I am going to make a valiant effort to listen more subjectivly.
The action I need to improve my listening skills is to clean out my filter regularly. Often times I am distracted with internalizing thoughts in my head. I have also referred back to a model very similar at our school called the LEARN model - 1)Listen 2)Explore 3)pay Attention 4)Refer to key items 5) Next steps.
I do a lot of “internal listening" while someone is speaking to me. It is common to think about what a person is saying or wondering what they think of me while in a conversation. Because I am distracted by my own thoughts and feelings, I am not using “active listening†skills. My goal in the next few weeks is to practice active listening and also use the repeat, rephrase, and reflect model to help me improve in this area.
I think practicing and implementing a substantial amount of patience is imperative when it comes to empathetic listening. This is what I practice with people on a regular basis when talking to them on the phone.
Focus on level two and three, listening intently and to be aware of the change in the conversation and adjust accordingly. This is taking the focus off of myself and placing it on the student. I was taught in my previous volunteering with youth to talk more about Jesus and the student and less about me and my ministry! This can apply here to talking more about the student's needs and the student and less about me and our school.
I need to be careful about not building a bias based on where a student is from. Often when I talk to students from a certain geographical location, it is hard for me to listen because I associate that person with the majority of students I talk to from that region.
I would say that I aneed to improve on listen more at a level 2. so that I can make sure the students needs are being met. instead of listen for certian words I need to listen to all the words that are being said. This will allow for trust to be built between me and the student.
I can see where having a good plan for a conversation with some key points to cover can move you to the next level. Most internal listen I find is where I am planning my next move or question.
I need to do a better job in the relfecting part. I know that a great summary of the converstaion that is focused on the students needs, including the emotional needs, can build a lot of trust. Then the student will feel helped and not sold.
Find one thing that you can relate to the student with. That way the tendancy is to be more engaged in the conversation. I tend to want to get through my calls because there is another call or task waiting to be done. It isn't always easy to find some way to connect because some students have one bit of information they are looking for and so they are focused on waiting to hear that answer. Asking question throughout the conversation can help to know how it can go best for both parties.
I would like to make more of an effort to be fully engaged and would like to try to repeat, rephrase, and reflect more. I like the idea of deciding that I want to listen.
In order to improve my listening skills, I need to write down my top three goals to start as we learned in module two. I need to be aware of my weekenesses and recognize them when I encounter them. Effective listening skills is about focused listening and global listening. If I am at all practicing internal listening when not answering a question about myself, I need to take action at that moment and focus more on the speaker. Undivided attention is so powerful and helps greatly toward steps for improving listening skills.
Kelly, this is great awareness. So now that you have this insight, what will you do to be more focused on what others are saying?
Dr. Jean Norris
I find myself thinking more internally than anything, and really need to work on being more focused on what others are saying, and paying attention to their body language as well. I think this will make me a better admissions rep.
Lilian, great point. Your approach to active listening will certainly help you connect with your students. Great job.
Dr. Jean Norris
