Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow
Effective speaking depends on effective listening. It takes energy to concentrate on hearing and concentrate on understanding what has been heard. Incompetent listeners fail in a number of ways. First , they may drift and finally they react. They let their personal feelings about the speaker or the subject, override the significance of the message which is being sent. What can a listener do to be more effective? The first key to effective listening is the art of concentration. If a listener positively wishes to concentrate on receiving a message, his chances of success are high. It may need determination. Some speakers are difficult to follow, either because of voice problems or because of the form in which they send a message. There is then a particular need for the determination of a listener to concentrate what is being said. Concentration is helped by alertness. Mental alertness is helped by physical alertness. It is not simply physical fitness but also positioning of the body, the limbs and the head. Some people also find it helpful to their concentration if they hold the head slightly to one side. One useful way for achieving this is intensive note-taking, by trying to capture the critical headings and subheadings the speaker is referring to. Note- taking has been recommended as an aid to the listener. It also helps the speaker. It gives him confidence when he sees that listeners are sufficiently interested to take notes ; the patterns of eye contact when the note-taker looks up can be very positive ; and the speaker’s timing is aided—he can see when a note taker is writing hard and can then make effective use of pauses. Posture too is important. Consider the impact made by a less competent listener who pushes his chair backwards and slouches. An upright posture helps a listener’s concentration. At the same time it is seen by the speaker to be a positive feature amongst his listeners. Effective listening skills have an impact on both the listener and speaker.
1.1 Complete the following sentences:
a) Effective listening skills form ________________ .
b) Energy is needed to concentrate on ______________.
c) An ineffective listener fails to receive the correct message _____________ .
d) Sometimes the speaker’s voice and faulty delivery poses ____________ .
e) Measures like good posture and note-taking should be adopted to be _______________
f) Effective listening skills help _______________ .
Answers
Answer:
Effective speaking depends on effective listening. It takes energy to concentrate on hearing and concentrate on understanding what has been heard. Incompetent listeners fail in a number of ways. First , they may drift and finally they react. They let their personal feelings about the speaker or the subject, override the significance of the message which is being sent. What can a listener do to be more effective? The first key to effective listening is the art of concentration. If a listener positively wishes to concentrate on receiving a message, his chances of success are high. It may need determination. Some speakers are difficult to follow, either because of voice problems or because of the form in which they send a message. There is then a particular need for the determination of a listener to concentrate what is being said. Concentration is helped by alertness. Mental alertness is helped by physical alertness. It is not simply physical fitness but also positioning of the body, the limbs and the head. Some people also find it helpful to their concentration if they hold the head slightly to one side. One useful way for achieving this is intensive note-taking, by trying to capture the critical headings and subheadings the speaker is referring to. Note- taking has been recommended as an aid to the listener. It also helps the speaker. It gives him confidence when he sees that listeners are sufficiently interested to take notes ; the patterns of eye contact when the note-taker looks up can be very positive ; and the speaker’s timing is aided—he can see when a note taker is writing hard and can then make effective use of pauses. Posture too is important. Consider the impact made by a less competent listener who pushes his chair backwards and slouches. An upright posture helps a listener’s concentration. At the same time it is seen by the speaker to be a positive feature amongst his listeners. Effective listening skills have an impact on both the listener and speaker.