To be effective in spoken communication, you also need good listening skills. There are three levels of listening; you should aim for the third.
- Non-hearing—when we are not taking in what is said. We make noises, for example, um, ah, or perhaps nod encouragingly, but do not really listen.
- Hearing—we hear it all and can even remember little bits of the conversation, but we probably cannot respond adequately. We may say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and nod occasionally.
- Listening and thinking—we hear and think about what is being said without tuning out. We paraphrase and respond appropriately to what is communicated to us. We really take it in.