Topic 2 | Communicate Like a Remote Working Pro

Developing Your Listening Skills

In a world where people are more connected globally, it is difficult to absorb all information and practice effective listening. Listening means responding to sound and hearing with attention (Lakshmi, 2017). It may look simple, but people are constantly challenged to achieve effective listening.

Effective listening is when you understand the language and the context of the message that engages the recipient to think actively or passively. If the listener falls short on giving attention, the communication is disturbed, which leads to miscommunication or misunderstanding (see Common misinterpretations, misunderstandings, and communication issues).

Ways to Improve Listening Skills

Before you assess your listening skill, check these general tips for effective listening:

  1. Maintaining eye contact
  2. Pay attention and keep an open mind
  3. Avoid interrupting the speaker
  4. Give time for the speaker to pause before asking questions
  5. Engage more questions to ensure understanding

 

Let’s have a quick test of your listening skills before we explore this topic. In the link provided, you will hear a phone conversation between Peter and Jim talking about their shared accommodation. This is a sample test developed by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Below are the guide questions and a sample answer key. Listen carefully and do not rewind or replay the recording. You will be answering the questions as you listen. The purpose of this test is to evaluate your current listening skills.

Before taking the quick test:

  1. Prepare a pen and paper and list down the numbers 1 to 10
  2. Ensure that you have your speaker or earphones on and you are in a good listening space/room
  3. Once you are set up, play the recording without stopping or pausing
  4. Fill the blanks with answers based on the conversation recording

Listen to this and answer the blanks below.

 

That is the end of the listening test. To self-check download the answer key here. How did you do in your initial test? See your current standing based on your scores.

If you got a perfect score, congratulations you are a few steps closer to being an effective listener. There is still an opportunity for those who need improvement in their listening skills. We will guide you on how to improve your listening skills.

 

Hurier Model

Judie Brownell created the HURIER model (Hear, Understand, Remember, Interpret, Evaluate, and Respond) to define the process of effective listening. We will see how this is applied in a remote workspace scenario.

Your Skype messenger rang. The caller is the Human Resource manager informing everyone via a video call that the salary remittance will be delayed due to a world crisis. It will be transferred to your local bank account at the end of the month. Only full-time employees will be affected by the situation especially those who receive their salary fortnightly. They will receive two salary transfers on their second-fortnight salary. After the announcement, the HR manager asked if the employees have further questions.

 

  1. Hearing – it pertains to the physical sound we receive from the speaker or source. In the scenario, the Skype ringing sound is the initiation of the hearing stage. Our immediate response is to answer the call. Hearing itself is not only isolated through spoken words. You noticed that the call is from the HR manager, meaning you already have the mindset that the person will discuss more employee’s administrative needs and NOT marketing campaign nor website bugs. These are non-verbal cues that are part of the stage of hearing.
  2. Understanding – the stage of comprehending the language and symbols shown or spoken. In the scenario, we pick up keywords and associate them to a more familiar context. For example, salary remittance refers to your money, delayed refers to the late payment, end of the month is when you get paid, and only full-time employee shows who are only involved. However, when you hear uncommon words such as fortnightly your ability to listen to the person is reduced. This is the cue for the next stage.
  3. Remembering – it refers to recalling information from your past interactions or experiences. In the scenario, you know that you receive your salary every two weeks and you can associate the word fortnightly as a familiar timeframe. You may not know how salary remittance work, but you remember how your money is wire transferred and converted to your local currency. Remembering is related not only to what you are currently listening from the speaker but also connecting related experiences to understand a context.
  4. Interpreting – the process of analyzing the overall interaction to form an idea or the main meaning of the conversation. In the scenario, we already know that announcement of the HR manager will generally affect how you will not receive your salary on time. That is the core idea. You will then confirm what will be the resolution of the situation.
  5. Evaluating – interpreting and evaluating operate almost on the same stage. This process tells your mind if the idea interpreted was correct or accurate. In the scenario, you will now look at the reason or validity aspect of the announcement, for instance, the ‘world crisis’ is the reason why your salary is delayed. You will also confirm the resolution to what will be the next step for your salary remittance, which is the second-fortnight salary deposit.
  6. Responding – the final stage of the iterative listening process where you share your opinion or clarify some questions. Responding can be in the form of verbal or non-verbal feedback. In the scenario, the HR manager is willing to entertain questions and this is your opportunity to clarify your interpretation of the announcement.

 

Based on the scenario, we were able to identify how the stages of effective listening work. As we get more exposed to our working environment, our listening skill is trained by experience. In a remote work setting, active listening is important because you work mostly with less supervision.