The art of active listening

In this episode I examine the art of active listening. It is a
slightly different episode and one of a number to come where I
give a series of lectures. In this episode I wanted to do two
things:


1. Build awareness of the factors that affect our listening
ability.


2. Build and create the conditions that can produce good
listening habits.


One of the main problems is caused by the fact that we think much
faster than we talk. The average rate of speech for most of us is
around 125 words per minute. In contrast we process and think at
about 800 words a minute. This is a fundamental mis-match which
can cause a deficit in receiving information. The human brain is
made up of more than 13 billion cells and operates in such a
complicated but efficient manner that it makes any comparison to
computers seem insignificant. It might seem logical to slow down
our thinking when we listen so as to coincide with the
125-word-per-minute speech rate, but slowing down thought
processes seems to be a very difficult thing to do. When we
listen, therefore, we continue thinking at high speed while the
spoken words arrive at low speed. In the act of listening, the
differential between thinking and speaking rates means that our
brain works with hundreds of words in addition to those that we
hear, assembling thoughts other than those spoken to us. The
latency of this mis-match is often taken up by internal dialogue
rather than integration of the spoken, but more importantly
inferred meaning behind words. In this episode I examine: 


The definition of active listening. 

The 'classic' example - one which we all fall prey to. 

The anatomy of the received message.

The why and what of ‘Active Listening’.

Triple A listening (what triple A listening actually
is). 

Kinesthetics of listening – what it feels like to be heard
amongst other aspects. 

Models of active listening: Four ears of communication, the
communication triangle. 

The power of silence

The quality of listening - The hierarchy of active
listening 

Chunking information as an adjunct to active listening 

Closed loop communication 

The power of agreement



Please let me know what you think of the content at
eoinwalker@hotmail.com and also feel free to recommend future
topics. Please also feel free to rate and review the podcast
and I always welcome feedback.