Active Listening Skills

(by Bhavya, Class VI)

Listen, Learn, and Grow!

“I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So, if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”

The feeling of not being listened to is one of the most annoying feelings imaginable. Toddlers scream about it, teenagers move out, couples split up, and companies break down.

One of the main reasons this breakdown in communication occurs is that listening is a skill that we rarely consider to be something requiring knowledge and practice.

We assume that we are listening if we can hear someone and understand their words. Hearing alone, however, is not enough. Among other things, we need to comprehend what’s being said and why, reflect on intentions, and consider non-verbal communication.

Listening is one of the foundations of society – it is what enables us to form meaningful relationships and connections. And yet most of us haven’t thought about how we listen.

Active listening skills play a vital role in the classroom. In the era of the advancement of technology, where there are so many distractions available for the students just a click away, it is very difficult for the students to have good listening skills. As a result of which, they are unable to grasp the concepts in a clear and concise manner which in turn affects their grades. I realised the importance of listening skills the day my teacher asked me a simple question in class, and I was unable to answer even after being there in the class the whole time. The teacher had discussed the topic moments ago and I failed to answer. Usually, we forget things like this as it happens on an everyday basis. But that day, I couldn’t take my mind off this incident. How could I have my head in the clouds? I introspected and asked myself various questions ranging from why I was unable to answer and where my attention was. Then in the evening, while being at home, it struck me that when an episode is being aired on TV and other family members are watching it, they leave everything and watch it, to comprehend each dialogue spoken by the actors. On the other hand, the one who is not watching the same episode attentively is not able to understand the story properly as their attention is divided on multiple other things.

That day I understood the importance of undivided attention, focusing completely on the speaker when something is being said. The same applies to the classroom when a teacher is delivering a lesson. So, the very next day, I had taken a vow to listen attentively to my teachers. Starting from the first till the last period, I listened actively to all my teachers and whenever any question was asked, I pounced like a hungry predator to answer. And guess what? I was able to leave a mark. My teachers were impressed. My grades started improving. I understood that not only reading, writing, and speaking skills but also active listening skills are required for the holistic development of a child. And I don’t want to be selfish by keeping this knowledge only to myself, hence sharing my experience with all of you in this blog so that all of you can also improve just like I did.

Have a lovely day!