Listening requires more physical and psychological effort when you want to get a full grasp of information than when you barely want to hear. Apparently because it affords you better chances of receiving and giving considerable interpretation to information. Listening entails giving a concentrated effort and that’s one big difference between hearing and listening. Anyone can hear but not anyone can listen and I think I know why- because they do not all know how to apply listening skills.

Here are listening skills you need to have at your beck and call especially as undergraduates;

Be active not passive
You can’t be passively receiving a message and be listening; you can either be active to listen or be passive to hear. Being active when receiving information demands focus and concentration, nodding, clapping when necessary, giving responses, asking questions and contributing positively to encourage the person generating the information.

Ofcourse I need to remind you also that active listening brings you to the point of sinking yourself in the gestures and non-verbal cues the speaker exerts in the process of giving information.

Open up for perspectives
Try not to concede to a particular perspective; hear and understand the speaker’s opinion from his own perspective too. If you really want to be a good listener, listen to understand, don’t listen to reply.

Give interpretation
When you actually listen, you can hear, understand and simultaneously give interpretation to the message you have received. Interpretation entails giving a quick analysis of the message and the significance to you or some else.

For some people, this process happens really quick in seconds or less but for some others, they just need to take it bit by bit- this a process called assimilation i.e. when you are absorbing the message and allowing it to sink into your mind.

Recall
So it is when you have actually absorbed the message that you can easily recall it when you need it. This simply means that if you didn’t listen, you certainly have nothing to recall because you just heard.

I ‘did like you check out these education project topics for more listening skills

All the above listed listening practices happen consecutively from the moment you hear to the time you are able to recall it. You just need focus concentration to begin.