Learning Styles - Listening Techniques

Regardless of whether an individual is an auditory learner or not, there are certain techniques that an individual can use to improve his or her listening skills and ultimately gain more from a verbal lecture or discussion. In other words, even if an individual does not learn well by simply listening to a lecture or discussion, he or she can still learn effectively by making sure to listen in certain ways. First, the most important thing an individual needs to do when attempting to find important information from a lecture or discussion is to pay attention. This may seem rather obvious, but this is often more difficult than it seems. There is a difference between hearing someone and listening to someone and the individual's goal should be to focus on what the teacher or other individual is actually trying get across and try to understand what his or her words mean rather than just hearing what the teacher or other individual is saying without actually comprehending the information. Some of the most effective ways to make sure that you can remain focused and can pay attention effectively is to keep your eyes on the speaker, take notes, and try to ignore distractions that may be present in the room.

Secondly, it is important to realize that paying attention by itself will usually not help an individual retain all of the information that the individual needs to understand. As a result, it is also important for the individual to be able to identify how important a particular piece of information is and take organized notes on that information. In most cases, an individual will not have enough time to write down the teacher's lecture or other individual's lecture word for word so it is important to be able to identify the most important points and take notes about only those points. The best way to do this is by paying attention to the speaker and by looking for verbal cues in the lecture that can indicate that a particular point might be important or what the teacher or other individual is about to say may be on the exam or is good information to know. This method of listening is sometimes referred to as active listening as you are actively attempting to find the most important information from the discussion.