Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (Delhi, All India 2009) Effective speaking depends on effective listening. It takes energy to concentrate on hearing and to concentrate on understanding what has been heard. Incompetent listeners fail in a number of ways. First, they may drift. Their attention drifts from what the speaker is saying. Second, they may counter. They find counter-arguments to whatever a speaker may be saying. Third, they compete. Then, they filter. They exclude from their understanding those parts of the message which do not readily fit with their own frame of reference. Finally, they react. They let personal feelings about a speaker or 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 on 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 sub-headings 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 the speaker. (a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognisable abbreviations wherever necessary. 5
Answers
Answer:
Title: The Art of Effective Listening Notes
1. Eff. speaking depends on
1.1 eff. listening
1.2 concen. on listening
1.3 concen. on understanding what you hear
2. Reasons why incompetent listeners fail:
2.1 their attention drifts
2.2 they find counter arguments
2.3 they compete & then filter 2.4. they react
3. Ways for a listener to be more eff.:
3.1 concen. on the msg. reed.
3.1.1 mental alertness
3.1.2 phys. alertness-positioning body
3.1.3 note-taking-aid to listener helps speaker-gives him confidence encourages the eye contact
4. Impce. of posture
4.1 helps listeners in concen.
4.2 seen by spkr. as a +ve feature among his listeners
♦ List of Abbreviations
Eff. – effective
concen. – concentrating
msg. – message
reed. – received
phys. – physical
+ve – positive
impce. – importance
spkr. – speaker
HOPE IT HELPS,
PLEASE THANK AND MARK AS BRAINLIEST.
Answer:
Effective speaking depends on effective listening. It takes energy to concentrate on hearing and to
concentrate on understanding what has been heard. Incompetent listeners fail in a number of ways. First,
they may drift. Their attention drifts from what the speaker is saying. Second, they may counter. They
find counter-arguments to whatever a speaker may be saying. Third, they compete. Then, they filter. They
exclude from their understanding those parts of the message which do not readily fit with their own frame
of reference. Finally, they react. They let personal feelings about the speaker or subject overside 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 on 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 notetaking, 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.