Active listening strategies can help you to communicate more effectively on the telephone.
When listening, say words like right, uh huh, got you, yeah every few seconds to show that you are paying attention. The other person feels more relaxed because its clear that you are there and actively listening to them.
Check each piece of information that the other person gives you even if you think you have understood everything perfectly, you might have actually misunderstood something the other person said. You can do this by:
Echoing, in other words by repeating what the other person said, to make sure you understood correctly:
A: We can deliver on Tuesday.
B: Tuesday. Right.
Asking for clarification:
A: Our address is 40 George Street.
B: Sorry, did you say 40 or 14?
Reading numbers and other important pieces of information back to the other person:
A: My number is 2389 5354.
B: Let me just read that back to you. So thats 2389 5354.
You can also ask the other person to read a number back if they dont do it themselves:
Can you just read that back to me?
Exercise: Give the Ukrainian equivalents for:
♦ instead
♦ similarly
♦ statement
♦ echo
♦ clarification
♦ misunderstand
Task 5 Read the text and answer the questions:
GET ACTIVE WITH YOUR LISTENING
Imagine you are calling an important business contact. The person sayshe is in a hurry and only has five minutes for the call. While you are talking, you hear him typing on his computerkeyboard, and hecontinually interrupts you while you are trying to talk. How would you feel?
The above description is an example of a bad listener. Everyone learns at school how to read and write, but normally we are never taught how to listen. However, effective listening is one of the most important communication skills.
Here are some things you can do to improve your active listening skills.
1. Remove distractions. Make sure the place where you are telephoning isnt too hot, too cold, too noisy or too uncomfortable.
2. When youre on the phone, dont type, tidy your desk or organize your papers.
3. The noises you make will tell your partner that youre not listening.
4. Forget about your own problems and tasks while talking to your partner. You cant concentrate on what someone else is saying if you are thinking about your to do list.
5. Regularly summarize what your conversation partner has told you, to show that you are listening (So what you mean is..., If I understood you correctly, you want to...). This can also help your partner to move forward in the conversation.
6. Be honest with your partner. If you werent paying attention to what they said, or if their English is too difficult, tell them and ask them to repeat what they said (Sorry, could you say that again?, Im sorry, but Im finding you difficult to understand. Could you maybe try to talk in simpler English, please?).
7. Wait until the other person has stopped talking before you decide what to say next. If you are constantly thinking about your response, you wont be able to concentrate on what they are saying. Use phrases like let me see, I see what you mean, or I just need to think for a moment to give yourself time to think about what to say next.
|
|
|
8. Learn listening skills from other people. Pay attention to how other people (especially native speakers) show you that they are listening.
Questions:
1. Can you give any examples of bad listening on the phone?
2. What is recommended to do before speaking and listening on the phone?
3. What should you avoid doing while listening?
4. Why is it good to summarize what your conversation partner has told you?
5. When is it the right moment for you to start speaking?
6. What phrases can you use to give yourself time to think about what to say next?
Task 6 Read the text and do the exercise:
