10 Tips for Listening in English
Listening helps us understand spoken language and improves our interactions with others. Most people learn a new language to speak with other people, whether for business or for travelling around the world, but we must understand what others are saying to engage in meaningful conversations.
In our blog post on Mastering the four language skills, we spoke of some benefits of the listening skill. In this blog, we’ll look deeper into how to listen better, and give you tips to help you understand and remember what you hear.
Here are 10 Tips for Mastering the Listening Skill:
Maintain Eye Contact
Understand Non-Verbal Cues
Avoid Interruptions
Listen without Judging
Focus on Listening, Not Responding
Use Non-Verbal Affirmations
Use Subtitles
Stay Attentive
Ask Relevant Questions
Summarise and Paraphrase
Maintain Eye Contact:
Maintain eye contact with the speaker. This shows that you are paying attention and that you’re interested in the conversation. If you show someone genuine interest, they will probably speak more, and that will help you get a better understanding of what they’re saying (it will paint a better picture).
Understand Non-Verbal Cues:
There is more to communication than just words. Pay attention to the speaker's facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice. These are non-verbal cues that give context and emotion, which helps you to understand what the speaker is trying to say. This will also give you an idea of how to respond, and what words and body language to use in return.
Avoid Interruptions:
Interrupting someone while they are speaking can be considered rude, disrupt the flow of conversation, and hinder comprehension. Let the speaker express themselves fully to show respect but also to help you understand the full story. It will be especially good not to interrupt someone when you’re asking for help, or listening to directions!
Listen without Judging:
It's easy to jump to conclusions or form opinions while listening, before the speaker has even finished their story.
Active listening involves setting aside assumptions and biases, and creating an open space for understanding without preformed ideas or expectations.
This allows you to practise being open-minded, and lets you listen without planning a response. When we jump to conclusions, it’s easy to miss the point of the story.
Focus on Listening, Not Responding:
Listen to understand, not to respond. Avoid the habit of listening to reply, as this can stop you from hearing the message the speaker is trying to send. By focusing on understanding them, you'll also be more aware of non-verbal cues that increase your understanding of their story.
When we listen to respond, we tend to focus on our own thoughts and opinions, waiting for an opportunity to jump in with our story. This can lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities for meaningful connection. Listening to understand allows us to fully engage with the speaker's perspective by actively absorbing their words and emotions.
Use Non-Verbal Affirmations:
Small gestures like nodding, smiling, and using affirmative sounds let the speaker know that you are listening and following their story. These cues from you provide positive reinforcement and encourage the speaker to share more.
Examples of affirmations: (say these while the speaker is speaking)
Yes
Uh-huh
Hmmm
Oh!
Wow!
Really?
Don’t use these too often, as it will distract you from listening fully, but use them when it feels natural. Try it and let us know if it works for you!
Use Subtitles:
When you watch videos, podcasts or movies, add subtitles so that you can read what you hear while the speaker is talking. This will help you recognise words, and remember them better. It also allows you to think more intuitively when you listen to a speaker without subtitles, as your brain is working twice as hard when you are listening and reading.
Stay Attentive:
Concentrate on the words the speaker is saying. Repeat them to yourself to remember them. If you focus on the words, it could also stop you from getting distracted by your own thoughts.
If you struggle with this step, for example if the speaker is talking too fast, it’s a good idea to practise by listening to English podcasts, Audiobooks, or YouTube videos. Listen to them at normal speed, as this will give you an idea of how people speak in real life. If you need to relisten to them at a slower speed, that’s fine! But try to listen at normal speed at least once before you slow it down.
Ask Relevant Questions:
Ask thoughtful questions to show that you are engaged in the conversation. This also helps you to get clarity on complex points. Questions can also encourage the speaker to talk more about their ideas or story.
Don’t ask too many questions, as this might scare the speaker off! Only ask questions that you know will help you understand.
Summarise and Paraphrase:
Summarise what you've heard and paraphrase the speaker's words to show that you understood the conversation. This confirms your understanding but also provides the opportunity for the speaker to correct any potential misunderstandings.
Why is it important to master listening?
Learning to listen improves our speaking skills by exposing us to various accents, intonations, and vocabulary. When you listen to people speak English, your brain picks up on how to pronounce certain words and it sees examples of natural speech patterns that you can use in your own speaking.
Practising listening helps us have conversations, understand lectures, and follow instructions accurately.
Effective listening is an important trait of a good leader, as it helps with negotiation, teamwork, and showing empathy in the workplace. Actively listening requires us to analyse, evaluate, and understand information in real time, promoting critical thinking skills.
Let us know if these tips worked for you, or if you have any that we didn’t mention, and we’ll add it to the blog!
Happy Listening!
