Lecture 1.1.2 – Actions Enhance Active Listening

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Lecture Overview

Andy Puddicombe was able to effectively communicate his message not just by using his words, but by illustrating his talk with the use of the coloured balls in his TED Talk. Looking while Listening is a way to stay focused as an active listener.

“Talk” accompanied with “Actions” makes it easier to follow and remember content when the speaker’s actual voice is not particularly strong or when the concept is too abstract.

It takes a lot of concentration and determination to be an active listener. Old habits are hard to break, and if your listening skills are as bad as many people are, then you'll need to do a lot of work to break these bad habits.

There are four key techniques you can use to develop your active listening skills:

  1. Pay attention.
  2. Show that you're listening. (Make Eye Contact with the speaker)
  3. Be ready to provide feedback. (For example, in class be prepared to ask a question or add a comment even if you don’t expect to be asked). This will keep you focused
  4. Defer judgment. Don’t argue (in your mind) with what the speaker says if you disagree. “Defer” means to wait. It’s a word defined in the GLOSSARY at the beginning of this lesson. Don’t ignore reviewing the words in the glossary before the class begins)

Start using active listening techniques today to become a better communicator, learner, and develop better relationships.

Teacher shows the first 2:20 of a 7:30 minute TED Talk by entrepreneur and business executive Patty McCord about how the COVID Pandemic has changed the way we conduct business and how it has changed our lives. 

Teacher points out how McCord uses her words and oral communication skills) to get across her message effectively.

On the whiteboard the teacher has listed some of those strategies and will point to them as well as mimic McCord to help you understand how she manages to hold our attention.

  1. Use of hand movements (up and down, side to side like an orchestra conductor) to visualize her words (note that Phil does this too!)
  2. Repetition – example “We can’t ...”
  3. Voice inflection ... appealing
  4. Embedding questions that involve us “What if...”

You will be required in the next lesson to use some of these strategies, so it is important to learn from McCord’s presentation.

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