Unlocking the Power of Communication: How Listening and Speaking Skills Can Transform Your Life?

As I am sitting in the plastic chair, it felt as though I am perched on a pedestal, elevated above the mundane world below. The white cloth I wore seemed to glimmer like freshly-fallen snow, while the black wristwatch on my arm ticked away like a metronome, marking the rhythm of my existence.

Behind me, the cupboard loomed like a relic from another time, its wooden surface etched with the stories of lives long gone. The room around me felt like a blank canvas, waiting for me to create my own masterpiece with words.

As I turned on my mobile camera, it was as though I had conjured a magic portal, opening up a window to the world beyond. The ring light illuminated me like a halo, casting a warm glow that enveloped me in a cocoon of light.

Speaking in English felt like a form of alchemy, transforming the raw materials of language into something greater than the sum of its parts. Each word I spoke was like a brushstroke on the canvas, creating a tapestry of ideas that wove together into a dazzling mosaic of meaning.

In that moment, I felt as though I was both the artist and the masterpiece, a living work of art that was constantly in motion, constantly evolving, constantly striving to capture the essence of life itself.

LISTENING:

Listening is the process of receiving, interpreting, and comprehending auditory information. It is a critical aspect of communication, as it enables us to understand and respond appropriately to the messages we receive. There are several types of listening, including active listening, critical listening, and empathetic listening.

Active listening involves paying attention to the speaker and giving feedback to ensure mutual understanding. Critical listening involves analyzing and evaluating the message being conveyed, while empathetic listening involves understanding and empathizing with the speaker's emotions and feelings.

When it comes to approaches, listening can be either bottom-up or top-down. Bottom-up listening involves focusing on individual sounds and words, while top-down listening involves using context and prior knowledge to comprehend the message.

The importance of listening cannot be overstated. It is essential in both personal and professional contexts, as it helps to build relationships, gain knowledge, and solve problems.

Some effective listening strategies include maintaining eye contact, asking questions, summarizing, and taking notes. Additionally, it is important to eliminate distractions and focus solely on the message being conveyed.

If you're interested in learning more about listening, we recommend checking out the following articles:

"The Art of Listening" by Forbes

"The Importance of Effective Listening Skills in the Workplace" by Inc.

SPEAKING:

Speaking is the process of conveying information through oral communication. It is a crucial aspect of communication, as it enables us to express our thoughts and ideas effectively. There are several types of speaking, including informative speaking, persuasive speaking, and entertaining speaking.

When it comes to approaches, speaking can be either formal or informal. Formal speaking involves following strict rules and conventions, while informal speaking involves a more casual and relaxed approach.

Effective speaking skills are essential in both personal and professional contexts. They enable us to communicate clearly and confidently, build relationships, and advance our careers.

Some effective speaking strategies include using clear and concise language, maintaining eye contact, and adapting to the audience's needs. Additionally, it is important to practice regularly and seek feedback from others to improve your speaking skills.

Pronunciation is also an essential aspect of speaking. It involves the proper articulation of sounds and words to ensure clear communication. Some effective strategies for improving pronunciation include listening to native speakers, practicing tongue twisters, and using pronunciation apps.

If you're interested in improving your speaking skills, we recommend checking out the following articles:

"The Art of Public Speaking" by Harvard Business Review

"How to Improve Your English Speaking Skills" by FluentU

TIPS AND TRICKS:

Finally, here are some tips and tricks for improving your listening and speaking skills:

Practice regularly - the more you practice, the more comfortable and confident you will become.

Seek feedback from others - constructive feedback can help you identify areas for improvement and make necessary changes.

Use technology - there are several apps and online resources available that can help you improve your listening and speaking skills.

Read widely - reading can help improve your vocabulary and comprehension skills, which are essential for effective communication.

Join conversation groups - joining conversation groups can provide opportunities to practice your speaking skills and meet new people.

INTERESTING FACTS:

Did you know that listening is the most frequently used communication skill? According to research, we spend 45percent of our time listening, compared to 30 percent speaking, 16 percent reading, and 9 percent writing.

Furthermore, studies have shown that active listening can have numerous benefits, including improving relationships, reducing conflict, and increasing productivity. Additionally, speaking multiple languages can enhance cognitive function and improve job prospects.

Finally, did you know that speaking and listening skills can be developed and improved throughout your life? It's never too late to start practicing and honing these essential communication skills.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, listening and speaking are essential communication skills that are crucial in both personal and professional contexts. There are various types and approaches to both skills, and effective strategies can help improve these skills. It's important to practice regularly, seek feedback, and use available resources to enhance your communication abilities continually. With practice and dedication, anyone can become a better listener and speaker, and it's never too late to start. Thank you for joining us today, and we hope you found this livestream informative and helpful.

VIEWPOINT: LISTEN, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ:

Books provide a great source of learning and releasing anxiety, used by most people throughout their lives; some read books for pleasure, some for the sake of in depth analysis of things and there are people who read books merely for the love of books.

However, there is another set of people — students —who find reading course books a tedious activity and skip the reading part and reach for the conclusion or skimp through the pages to just note the main points.

Reading involves your sight and today we will talk about another gizmo of fun learning, ‘audiobooks’, especially for those who are just not into reading.

The trend of audiobooks in our part of the world is yet to become popular, but, believe me, if we use audiobooks as a source of learning, it will provide us enormous pleasure and tremendous benefits.

You may ask how? Well, some of you would agree with me that reading sometimes seems to be a boring and a monotonous activity, but, at the same time, if you listen to audiobooks, it will reduce the amount of time you spend reading a whole book. And secondly, listening to course books or course topics from history, geography, etc., would become easier and won’t let you feel burdened. And those who are able to learn better through listening will be able to retain more from the audiobook than from reading that book.

Children who find reading books boring should give audiobooks a try and they will definitely feel the change in their outlook towards reading and understanding any topic.

The trend of audiobooks can also be implemented by teachers in the classroom scenarios to make effective process of learning. One interesting fact is that 11.5 percent hearing and 83 percent sight make a perfect learning combination, so listening to audiobooks, besides visual aids, would be beneficial in learning.

Apart from that, you can learn languages as bilingual audiobooks are also available. One of the good things about listening to the audiobooks is that it helps improve your pronunciation, which is impossible through reading only.

Audiobooks are not only confined to learning, but the voice of the narrator will keep your mind and body relaxed, and help you to release your frustration as it is reported that most people who listen to audiobooks get the euphoric sensations or feel relaxed, especially if they listen to it before bed time.

So kids, don’t abandon book reading but use audiobooks as an effective means of learning and relaxation when your eyes are exhausted by reading.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING THE HABIT OF THINKING INDEPENDENTLY CAN’T BE OVEREMPHASISED:

There are two somewhat overlapping but distinct issues that we need to deal with. One has to do with learning a language: in this case English or Urdu. A certain level of familiarity with a language is a prerequisite for reading and writing in and comprehending that language.

The other issue has to do with understanding. If your English is weak, you need to improve it. Taking formal courses is probably the best way of doing this. But make sure these courses are of decent quality. Online course are also available for this.

However, if taking a course is not possible, here are some tips for self-learning. Start reading the editorial pages of a good newspaper. Spend 30 to 45 minutes doing this each day. Make sure you understand every word (keep a dictionary with you) and sentence you read. If this means being very slow in the beginning that is fine. After you read something, do try to summaries the content in your own words, or make an attempt at clearly articulating what you think was the argument in the piece you read.

 Start listening to conversations in the English language. Watching English movies is one way of doing this but even watching news channels will help. But, again, this has to be done in a way where you understand every word and sentence that is uttered. If you have an audio or video file on the computer, replaying sentences can help.

Start speaking the language you want to learn. Practice helps with usage and it develops one’s level of comfort and confidence. You will make mistakes in the beginning. But that is how we learn i.e. by making mistakes. You just have to be comfortable with the idea of making mistakes. But make sure you learn from the latter.

Start writing in English. Start with sentences and smaller pieces. And slowly move towards longer pieces.

For all of this, mechanisms must be created with a view to getting feedback, especially from people who are better than you are in this area. This is crucial to ensuring progress. Just as poets get feedback from teachers on their poems, you need to get feedback on your reading, speaking and writing skills. It is sometimes hard to organize this. For those who cannot organize feedback, learning takes a bit longer; however, if feedback is possible, progress can be more rapid, organized and documented.

Though comprehension is separate from language acquisition, the great thing is that as you acquire more facility and a greater degree of familiarization with a language, the same methods that you are applying to achieve this will help in comprehension as well.

When you read an article or watch a movie, summaries the main arguments. This summary should be in your own words only. If you want to go beyond a summary and write on any topic that you have read about, make sure you spend a day or two thinking about what you have read before you write anything. This is extremely important. You need to internalize what various authors have said. This is done when you are reflecting on what you have read. But you need to acquire a certain distance from each author as well. This is to ensure that your voice as a writer can emerge.

Spend a day or two thinking about a topic and what you have read on it before you start writing. This helps in a) synthesizing your reading and thinking, b) facilitating the development of your arguments, and c) ensuring that your voice can emerge as a distinct one, separate from the authors that you might have read.

One cannot overemphasize the importance of developing this habit of thinking independently and as a distinct person. If your argument is just the argument that you read, it is not your argument. If your argument does not take into account what others have said on a topic, it is not well informed. So, read, understand and internalize what others say, but write or speak what you think. This is how your identity will take shape.

Developing reading, speaking, writing and thinking skills takes time and effort. But it can be achieved at any stage in your career. It is easier if it is done when a person is at a school-going age; it gets harder as we become more set in our ways of thinking. But the human brain is very capable of learning at any stage as long as one is willing to put in the effort. One hopes that this column, not exhaustive by any stretch, provides a good starting point for people who want to learn about learning.

English-speaking tongue:

A healthy literary life will peel away these layers of dead language — or, to use yet another metaphor, make us spit out the official marbles in our mouths so we can speak and think a little clearer and reach for flexibility rather than certainty.

WILL Pakistan excel in the digital and AI revolution? The answer potentially lies in how our academic institutions shape our younger lot. Software programmers are at the centre of this revolution. Great programming skills are part of a package of excellent technical and communication skills.

There is an opinion that it is possible to excel as a programmer with just a perfunctory knowledge of the English language. We may believe that skilled computer programmers with a cursory knowledge of English are in abundant supply here, but then many of our programmers would have been behind major software projects. On Github, the popular website that hosts open-source software projects, you don’t find many top projects from Pakistan. It’s not that we don’t have great engineers, it’s just that communication is a big part of the job.

Yes, one doesn’t have to be a native English speaker. Some of the best programmers of this generation are not. Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, is a Finn. The creator of the extensively used Ruby on Rails, a web programming framework, is Danish. The creator of Python, a programming language, is Dutch. Torvalds, particularly, has excellent command over English and has been able to lead an extensively used open-source software for a long time. They all possess excellent technical as well as communication skills. There are many reasons why English plays a pivotal role in a software industry like ours that depends mostly on outsourced work and less on a local support model and localized work.

English plays a pivotal role in the software industry;

As any meaningful writing has a structure comprising various units (eg paragraphs, sentences and words), a meaningful programmed is composed of various structural units, such as variables (used to store information), methods and classes (both used to store computation), documentation, file names, comments (helpful text that explains the behavior of code), and error and warning messages shown to end users. Variables, methods and classes are expected to be meaningful, whereas comments and documentation should be well written so that the programed is useful for others.

These units define how the programed works: They are used not only by the computer (executing them) and the programmer (writing them), but also by end consumers and future programmers who will maintain the software. None of these units can be defined properly with only a perfunctory knowledge of English. Programmers usually spend more time reading code than writing it, so it becomes even more important to write understandable code. There are significant cognitive and monetary costs attached to programmes that are harder to decipher and maintain. Inadequate English skills are one reason that many of our young engineers are allergic to writing effective names, comments and documentation.

The importance of the English language is also apparent in the software development process (particularly in an outsourced environment where customers are usually English speakers), before programmes are even written. Software is built based on a customer’s requirements. Useful programmes are written after programmers have actually understood these requirements. The process of understanding requirements entails writing and reading emails and technical documents, audio/video calls and even face-to-face meetings with English-speaking customers. You cannot fully understand the requirements if you are unable to comprehend and interpret what those customers are saying.

Moreover, you have to continuously learn if you want to survive in the software world. New programming languages and frameworks come up faster than seasons change. Most courses, books, documentation and videos are in English. Sometimes demanding material needs to be learned quickly, which requires more than merely decent skills in the language.

People who move up the ladder in this world are not only technically competent but also possess effective English skills. Sometimes senior roles require preparing convincing and well-written reports and presentations, communicating with engineers and people in other departments, and meetings customers.

Inadequate English-language skills are also a barrier to entrepreneurship for many of our otherwise brilliant engineers. Most things that you do as an entrepreneur in a software company require more than decent English skills. You cannot convince people to get work done on time, and build your company’s brand with ordinary English skills.

With ordinary English skills you can still earn a decent pay cheque here, but it’s hard to grow beyond a certain point. Programmers with only basic knowledge of English don’t reach their full potential. Additionally, they prevent people in senior roles from performing at optimum levels, as sometimes senior people spend much of their time proofreading the emails, reports and documents of these programmers.

We might miss out on the digital revolution unless we fix our curriculum to address both technical and communication skills.

Classroom skills: Are you listening?

Sometimes when you sit down to prepare for a test, you find that the topic seems unfamiliar to you even though the teacher finished teaching it in the class last week. Well, the most likely reason of this can be that during the lesson you did hear the teacher speak, but you were not listening — yes, not listening to the lesson!

Hearing is not the same as listening because hearing means just receiving or being conscious of sounds while listening is a cognitive act in which we pay attention to what is being said, think about it and mentally process what we hear. While listening and hearing are often used alternately, they are very different in their meaning. When we are listening, we are using a number of skills, such as predicting, reflecting, recognizing connectors, understanding intonation, summarizing and identifying the relevant and irrelevant points.

Listening is part of our everyday life, we listen to people talk, to lessons, to music, to news and TV programs, etc. Listening is necessary in order for us to communicate and obtain information. Good listeners are those who are able to listen to any material in whatever form and no matter how fast it is presented, taking in the meaning of and understanding what is being said.

On a regular school day, students have to listen to various types of communication, such as lessons, their friends talking, announcements, etc., and each situation requires different type and level of the listening skill.

Listening in the class:

As most of our academic learning takes place in the class, this it where our listening skill comes most in use. A good student has to be a good listener in the class, there are no two ways about it. Just hearing what your teacher is saying is different from listening. If you have listened to the lessons well, you are sure to retain what was taught and will be able to recall it later with ease.

Here are some tips that will make you a good listener in the class rooms:

Be prepared: Make sure you are ready when the class starts. Keep all the required books and material on the desk and put away all unnecessary things so that you don’t have to take out or put in something when the lesson starts.

It is also wise to have an idea in advance of the topic that will be dealt with that day in the class so that you can give it some thought. If it is the continuation of the last class, it would help if you go through what was taught in order to be able to understand what is going to be taught next.

Be ready to listen: You attitude is the most important thing that can help you listen well in the class. So even if you find algebra very boring, make a conscious effort to think of the topic as useful and interesting.

Be attentive: Pay your undivided attention to what your teacher is saying. Tell your friend that you will play crisscross on the paper slip he is trying to pass under the desk to you, later after the class.

Don’t daydream or stare at that new girl in the class. If you let your mind wander, you are sure to hear the whole lesson without listening to it. It is also a good idea to sit where you can maintain eye contact with your teacher and be in his clear field of vision. These will help in stopping you from fiddling with your pen or drawing the teacher’s caricature on a rough paper. It is very easy to get distracted to make a conscious effort to prevent that from happening.

Ignore the environment: Most classrooms are cramped with too many students so it can get very noisy, hot and stuffy. The chairs are hard and maybe not your size. The child sitting next to you has taken all the desk space as his elbow space and you can hardly keep your book open on the desk.

Don’t let the uncomfortable environment get to you. You must not let any of these inconveniences distract you and disturb you enough that you don’t pay attention to the lesson. Stay focused on the teacher, pretend that you and the teacher are the only ones in the class. It is hard but you need to ignore your environment if it is hampering your ability to concentrate on what the teacher is saying.

Be receptive: You must listen to your teacher with an open mind. You may have another opinion about what the teacher has said or you may have read something different on the topic, but that does not mean that you should dismiss the lesson.

You can always put up questions about what the teacher is saying to get the point clearly and even speak up (with the teacher’s permission, of course,) to make known what is confusing you about the lesson. This way the teacher will be able to clear your confusion and you can settle back to listening attentively to him/her.

Be an attentive listener: We have the ability to think faster than a speaker speaks and this is of advantage to the listener who can take in what is being said, process it mentally and think about it. This way, in the course of the lesson, you can identify those parts that you didn’t understand well and make a mental note to look it up in the book later that day at home or ask the teacher about it before he moves much further.

Asking questions in the class depends upon whether your teacher allows it or not, but most teachers do encourage students to speak up and clarify a point as it shows that they were paying attention and following the lesson.

If you become a good listener, it will not only help you in your academic life but in everyday life too as you will be able to listen, understand and remember a lot that is said or communicated to you. Many good habits that you develop in young age stay with your life long and help you in becoming a happy, satisfied and successful person. Good Luck with listening!

So, what is the difference between hearing and listening?

Hearing is defined as the “process, function, or power of perceiving sound,” and is an automatic brain response to sound, while listening means “to pay attention to sound; to hear something with thoughtful attention; and to give it consideration.” Listening is purposeful and focused attention, and requires motivation and effort.

We hear a lot of things that people say around us, but we don’t always pay attention to them — they are just sounds that enter our ears without leaving any impact, and so we usually forget them. But when we listen or pay attention to what is being said, we retain it and can respond or recall it later on.

You see, when you want to grasp what you are being taught, you have to make a conscious effort to pay attention and think about and mentally process what you hear. It is not a passive activity, as it is often thought to be, where one only has to sit back and let the speaker say what is in their mind.

We find it difficult to listen or pay attention, usually because we are distracted by many thoughts floating through our minds at the same time, or we may be thinking of or doing something else. Sometimes not paying attention or listening carefully can land you in trouble. For instance, the teacher may ask you to prepare a topic for a test and if you are not paying attention, you might not register exactly which topic she specified, and thus not prepare for the test.

When you are in class, it is important to focus on what the teacher is saying and not think about anything else, so that you retain it and recall it later. This is one quality that immensely helps high achievers. You must have friends in class who claim not to devote as many hours to studies as you do, but still get better grades. They are likely to be good at paying attention, not just in the class, but also when studying at home.

Some children try to study while sitting in the TV lounge while others are watching the TV, or they keep checking their phones every now and then. This is very distracting. A universal truth is that you must stay away from all distractions, as they stop you from focusing on what you are doing.

To be able to listen and understand what is being taught in class, you have to set your mind to studies. Of course, it doesn’t come naturally, you have to make a conscious effort to focus. If you have made up your mind that you have to learn, you will succeed in doing so.

For some, choosing to sit in the front rows of the class and making eye contact with a teacher makes a difference and they are better able to concentrate. However, it does not mean that if you are sitting somewhere at the back of the class, you cannot pay attention — you can, only if you don’t talk and don’t look around.

If the subject being taught is difficult to understand or is too dry, don’t give up and stop listening. In such a situation, you have to listen even more carefully and work harder to understand what is being said. If you fail to understand something, don’t hesitate to ask questions or ask your teacher to repeat it.

One more important thing to note here is to remember that everything is not meant to suit you. If the classroom is too hot, too cold, too bright, or too dark for your liking, don’t feel intimidated. Try to ignore your surroundings and stay focused on learning.

And remember, listening is not only needed while at school or for studies, it comes in handy in all walks of life and at every stage.

Have you ever had a friend or a younger sibling comes to you with a problem seeking your advice? What did you do in this situation? Of course, you first listen to the problem, try to understand the situation and then give appropriate advice. If you do not listen carefully, you will not understand the problem and come up with the right advice. To understand the problem, it is important to listen carefully; stop whatever you were doing and pay undivided attention to your friend; if he/she has a serious problem, they may be emotionally distressed. Put your phone or any other devise you were using aside, switch off the TV, and focus on what is being said. Be serious and don’t make a joke of it; show some empathy. They have come to you to find a solution, not listen to jokes.

Similarly, when you grow up and are working, you will need to be attentive to what others say to be able to do your work. If you are distracted by your phone or some random thoughts during an official briefing or meeting, you will not be able to follow the discussion and come up to the expectations of your boss and colleagues.

Here are some benefits of attentive listening.

You become a better friend:

When you pay attention to people expressing thoughts and experiences that are important to them, they are likely to see you as someone who cares about them. While it is important to pay attention, refrain from interrupting, giving your opinion and advice until sought, and passing judgment.

People will see you as intelligent and perceptive

When you listen to others, they take you as someone who is curious and interested in people and what is going on around you. This, combined with your ability to understand what you hear, will make you a more knowledgeable and thoughtful person.

Listening can help your public speaking ability

When you listen to others, you begin to pick up useful things about others, such as how people form arguments and present information. As a result, you develop the ability to analyse what you think has effect or not, which can help you transform your argument in the process. For example, really paying attention to how others cite sources orally during their speeches may give you ideas on how to effectively cite sources in your presentation.

It is said that children who are good listeners are successful in speaking, socializing and communicating with others, which can build trust and respect among peers. So, make an effort and improve your listening ability!

Listening is a natural process that we do without even making an effort, but careful listening is a skill that we need to learn. There are so many sounds and speeches that we hear during the course of a day, but we tend to forget most of it in no time. Things that we do retain are usually ones that relate to topics we have an interest in, have been spoken by someone we pay attention to or are sounds that are particularly loud, pleasant, irritating or unusual.