IDENTIFIY EFFECTIVE LISTENING STRATEGIES

Identify effective listening strategies

Listening Skills

Introduction

It is based on an assumption that listeners often need help in dealing with the speech perception deficits that remain after function has been optimized through an appropriate hearing aid selection process. This point cannot be overemphasized: engaging in training without first being assured that the hearing aids are doing exactly what they should be doing is a waste of time for both the clinician and the consumer. Note that the definition above includes the words “formal listening activities.” People with hearing loss are constantly trying to make sense of speech signals that are distorted in some fashion. Listening to speech is always a bit of a guessing game for them, in which they use their knowledge of the language and the context to fill in the acoustic gaps and distortions of the incoming speech signals.

Discussion

Competent communicators know how to translate their knowledge into skills. Skills reflect one's ability to apply behavior to a situation. Skill building is associated with practicing and receiving feedback that allows one to correct and improve one's skills (e.g., listening). Perfecting skills takes practice and motivation. Motivation is the determination to communicate in a competent manner. An individual needs to be motivated to use knowledge and skills with the intention of becoming a competent communicator with others. The communicator must realize the desired outcome of the conversation. When an outcome is determined, one can conclude whether one achieved success. The individual also needs to understand and be sensitive to the context in which the communication is taking place, including the answers to questions such as where am I. What is nature of this setting? What kind of situation is this? How do I see myself in relationship to the other? How do others see me in relationship ...