Here are some basic ways you can achieve good listening habits:
-
Shut down outside stimuli by taking down notes even if you do not have to.
Look at the speaker even if you are ready to respond.
Even if you have downloaded 6 free lessons, John Reese’s or Frank Kern’s traffic videos, pen to paper, take notes.
The hands are the intelligence of the mind. (Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind.)
-
Play games with the words the speaker uses. Don’t we play word games with kids too?
-
Practise delivery of content not style. Sometimes we say someone speaks really funny, but when you start focusing on the content, you will start respecting the information contained in his speech. Accent does not make a good speaker.
-
Accept new information and knowledge with an open mind, as this will leverage on listening skills which you have already developed as a child or youth.
