In our louder and louder world, says sound expert Julian Treasure, "We are losing our listening.”
It’s very common to be in the middle of a conversation or lecture and be concentrating and all of a sudden you realise, its over. Your mind dwelled off somewhere else and now you’re basically clueless. Why though? I mean,it doesn't mean you’re dumb or anything, but then why? The practise of conscious listening has grown smaller and smaller over the passage of time. We spend 60% of our conversation time listening but retain only 25% of it. We’ve figured out ways to keep it safe in written or recordings but it only gives us an excuse to not listen and concentrate on things other then that.
The following are tips and exercises from the expert Julian Treasure himself on how to listen better!
Silence
Spend some time-at least 4 or 5 minutes-in peace and quiet, doing nothing but listening. Give yourself the time to savour the moment and enjoy the subtle sound of silence. If not complete silence then at least stay quiet. It helps with concentrating in the long run.
Divide and rule
Try to sit and distinguish different sounds around you. For instance you’re in a classroom where the professor hasn't entered yet. what do you hear? The noise and chatter of a lot of people? Try to distinguish the ones you recognise and the ones you don't. See if you hear anything else,like someone tapping on the furniture or maybe even the sound of a high-five. This will, over time, improve the quality of your hearing.
Your very own garage band
In this exercise, try to enjoy the sounds you hear in your daily like, for instance your alarm or that funny sound your car may make sometimes! -or even the sound of the water boiling for when you make tea or coffee! Think of a song that goes with it and sing along.
Perspective
Change perspective in the middle of a conversations, no I don't mean sit down if you were standing or move around! I mean listen according to priority or the other way around,when talking to someone, focus on the things that interest you the least. That way you automatically enjoy the interesting part and focus on the other. Meaning you were attentive for the entire conversation-wohoo!!
RASA
And lastly an acronym to help you remember. RASA: Receive, appreciate, summarise, ask. Receive the information and understand it. Appreciate it by adding feelings such as, ‘oh, umhum, okay, ahan’ to show that you’re amused. Summarise the information you gathered from the information and then ask questions according to the need of the moment.
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