10 Keys to Effective
Listening The Good Listener The Bad Listener
1. Find areas of interest Seeks opportunities; asks
"what's in it for me?"
Tunes out dry subjects
2. Judge content, not
delivery
Judges content, skips over
delivery errors
Tunes out if delivery is poor
3. Hold your fire Doesn't judge until
comprehension complete
Tends to enter into argument
4. Listen for ideas Listens for central themes Listens for facts
5. Be flexible Takes fewer notes. Uses 4-5
different systems, depending
on speaker
Takes intensive notes using
only one system
6. Work at listening Works hard, exhibits active
body state
Shows no energy output.
Fakes attention.
7. Resist distractions Fights or avoids distractions,
tolerates bad habits, knows
how to concentrate
Is easily distracted
8. Exercise your mind Uses heavier material as
exercise for the mind
Resists difficult expository
material; seeks light,
recreational material
9. Keep your mind open Interprets color words; does
not get hung upon them
Reacts to emotional words
10. Capitalize on fact thought
is faster than speech
Challenges, anticipates,
mentally summarizes, weighs
the evidence, listens between
the lines to