20 ways to Improve your Listening Skill

 

 

1.  Maintain eye contact - When you listen to someone it is important to maintain eye contact. 

 

2.   Use a notebook - This will help you to be active during the listening process plus you will have the ideas recorded which can be retrieved later. You can also use an audio recorder. It is always good to check with the speaker or the organizers before you do the digital recording. 

 

 

3.   Ask questions to the speaker - This will demonstrate the fact that you were attentive during the session. You can also exercise your critical thinking skills by asking some probing questions. 

 

 

4.     Ask questions to yourself - This will help you to improve your critical thinking skills. You can also assimilate the ideas that you have listened to which will make you more grounded in the topic. 

 

 

5.   Research:   Read or do research beforehand about the event, speaker or the class or the lesson - This is part of the pre-listening activity. 

 

6.     Don’t talk to your friends or use your mobile.  This will help you to focus totally on the listening activity with minimal or zero distraction. 

 

 

7.    Occupy the front seats - This will help you to get a better view of the proceedings.  It will also help you to clear all distractions between you and the speaker. 

 

 

8.   Get proper rest:  You should not attend the lecture or the event in a tired manner. You cannot doze off while listening. 

 

 

9.     Listen without judging or jumping to conclusions - Don’t make any subjective evaluation of the speaker or the topics he is presenting. You focus should be on the lecture not the lecturer. 

 

 

10.  Don't interrupt - Wait for the lecture or the speech to get over. You should never interrupt the speaker in between. Wait for the question & answer session to ask your questions. If there is no Q and A session, then you can approach the speaker after the presentation to ask your questions. 

 

11.  Acknowledge: Using brief responses like “I see,” “I know,” “Sure,” “Thank you,” or “I understand” is a good way to acknowledge that you are actively listening to the speaker. Even a simple nod of your head is a good method to acknowledge the speaker. This acknowledgement is important in face to face communication or interpersonal communication. 

 

12.  Remembering - It is always good to recollect the ideas presented in the event or the speech. This will help you to consolidate your knowledge. The notes that you have jotted down in your notebook will help you in this act of remembering. 

 

 

13.  Respect the speaker. If you don’t like the speaker. You can leave the venue or the class. You should not be the reason for the event to become a failure. If you do not see any purpose or aim in listening to the speaker, then you might as well leave the venue. 

 

14.  Listen to audiobooks - This is an excellent way to improve your listening skill. Audible and Storytel are the two popular audiobook companies in India. Like shadow speaking, you can also experiment with shadow listening. If you can grab a copy of the book and read along as you listen to the audiobook, it will be an interesting activity. 

 

 

15.  Radio news - The good old radio is still a useful tool for improving your listening skill. You can tune in to the English news in All India Radio or the BBC. You can also listen to the news bulletins in your own mother tongue. 

 

 

16.  Podcasts - They are very popular these days and there are thousands of podcasts to choose from. You can always select the ones you need based on the subjects or topics. 

 

17.  Listen to English songs - Always try to listen to songs with some nice and decent lyrics - There are many English songs which have wonderful and inspiring lyrics. It is always good to choose slow numbers. Listening to these songs will help you to get into the rhythm of the language and improve your pronunciation.

 

 

18.  Watching movies - Try watching English movies without subtitles. This will help you to grasp the language faster and at the same time enjoy the content of the movie. 

 

19.  Listen to yourself - Record short audio - You can use your phone or laptop to record your own voice and check for voice clarity and other details regarding your voice. You can also forward the audio clip to an expert and ask for his feedback and advise.  

 

 

20.  Listen to great orators. There are many great speeches delivered by great men and women. Most of them are available on YouTube. You can listen to these speeches to feel inspired and to improve your speaking style.