Workplace Listening and Non-Verbal Communication

Hearing vs Listening Hearing is a passive physical act that requires no effort

Listening is the act of hearing while also retaining and comprehending the information

You can hear but it doesn’t mean you’re listening!

When there is construction happening around you, do you hear the noise or listen to the noise?

Do you listen to music or do you hear the music?

What about when you’re studying?

Why Do You Need Good Listening Skills?The ability to listen carefully will allow you to:

better understand assignments and what is expected of you

work better in a team-based environment; resolve problems with customers, co-workers, and bosses

answer questions find underlying meanings in what others say.

1) Break yourselves up into 4 groups (5 members each)

2) Assign numbers to each group member 3) Sit in a row following your

assigned number4) The first person will read the

passage to the second person5) The second person will then pass

the same message forward based on what he has heard.

Birthdays began when ancient people took notice of the changing seasons and began to mark time changes. After the first calendars were created, the ability to celebrate birthdays and other significant anniversaries was discovered.  Birthday cakes were started by early Greeks who used to take round or moon-shaped cakes to the temple of the Goddess of Moon. They would light candles on the cake to make it glow like a moon.

Barriers in Listening

Physical Barriers• Distractions in the environment

• Example?Attitudinal Barriers • Distracted with work problems can make it difficult to focus on what a speaker is saying

• Believing that you are more knowledgeable than the speaker and that you have nothing new to learn from his ideas

Gender Barriers • Studies have revealed that men and women listen very differently and for different purposes.

• Women are more likely to listen for the emotions behind a speaker’s words, while men listen more for the facts and the content.

Cultural Barriers • Accents can be a barrier when they interfere with the ability to understand the meaning of words that are pronounced differently. Different accents also happen within a culture.

• The importance attached to listening and speaking differs in western and oriental cultures.

• Orientals focus on listening and silence as a virtue, while Westerners focus more on speaking

How Do You Become A Better Listener?

Face the speaker Don’t interrupt Ask questions but wait for pauses Be attentive Give feedback Pay attention to what is not said.

A good listener knows that being attentive to what the speaker doesn't say is as important as being attentive to what he does say.

Look for non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and posture.

For example:

Non-Verbal Communication

Otherwise known as Body Language

Body Language Known as kinesics (pronounced 'kineesicks') - is an important aspect of modern communications and relationships.

Body language goes both ways:• Your own body language reveals your feelings and meanings to others.

• Other people's body language reveals their feelings and meanings to you.

The sending and receiving of body language signals happens on conscious and unconscious levels.

Body language is crucial when we meet someone for the first time and in forming impressions when first meeting someone.

The effect happens both ways - to and from• Their body language, on conscious and unconscious levels, largely determines our initial impression of them.

• In turn when someone meets us for the first time, they form their initial impression of us largely from our body language and non-verbal signals.

Body language involves… how we position our bodies

our closeness to and the space between us and other people (proxemics), and how this changes

our facial expressions our eyes especially and how our eyes move and focus

how our bodies connect with other non-bodily things, for instance, pens, cigarettes, spectacles and clothing

our breathing, and other less noticeable physical effects, for example our heartbeat and perspiration

This is helpful especially when…

to determine if a person is paying attention

to see if a person is confident or insecure

to spot if someone is lying

We read body language through… Eyes  Mouth Head Arms Hands Handshakes Legs and feet Personal space

Eyes Looking to their right or up

• Using their imagination – watch out for exaggeration of the truth or for complete lies.

Looking down and to their right, or to their left, or up• Using their memory – they are being honest and truthful.

Looking down and to their left• Deep in thought.

Standing When you stand, keep your back straight, shoulders back, and head up. This posture suggests comfort with yourself and ease in the situation.

Slouching, sticking your belly out, stuffing your hands in your pockets, and folding your arms defensively all suggest aggressive unease.

Sitting Sit with a straight back and with your legs together in front of you or crossed, either at the knee or at the ankle.

Normally, women don't cross their legs, but men are allowed.

Avoid jiggling your knee, which is a sign of nervousness (and can be pretty annoying to people sitting near you).

Hands Some people talk with their hands; others stand with their hands glued to their sides.

Using your hands can be effective sometimes, aggressive sometimes, and irrelevant most of the time.

Controlling your hands takes effort and willpower. Monitor your hand movements.

Avoid making sweeping, cappuccino-clearing gestures during meetings. If you have to, sit on your hands.