All Ears?: 10 Techniques to Become an Active Listener

Photo- Two of my former colleagues at Waikato Uni (New Zealand) conversing. Jenine (l) certainly appears to be practicing active listening.

Are you one of those people who talks so much that others can't to get their point across in a conversation? Is your partner talking to you but you cant honestly say that you are really listening? Are you having a dicussion but you are not really digesting what the other person is saying because you just can't wait for your turn to speak again? I am sure you already know that this is poor conversation etiquette and a non-strategy of effective communication. Poor listening skills is at the root of many conflicts and problems within relationships and in society. If you display an unwillingness to listen and prefer only to hear yourself speak, people will eventually stop listening to YOU, quit talking to you, because - face it - it is a pain to talk to people who don't listen!

Developing proper listening skills is not only for the psychologist whose job it is to hear people out but you would be amazed how your job (no matter what that job is) and your relationships will improve once you begin to acknowledge the voices and opinions of others and giving them a chance to say their piece. For those taking seminars and participating in meetings, active listening is also a vital component of success and efefctiveness. Here are ten ways in which you can become more fully engaged in your life and work and be appreciated by everyone with whome you speak. These summary points have come from a plethora of communication texts that I have come across over time, and my own experience as a communications specialist and trainer:

1. STOP TALKING - One cannot listen while talking. The need to talk while someone else is talking is just poor manners, and no one can possibly hear the other if both are talking at once.

2. PUT THE SPEAKER AT EASE - Break the ice, make people comfortable to converse with you. Only actively listening to your point of view without judgement or impatience can accomplish this. Their language skills may not be on par with yourd but do exercise patience and allow them to feel at ease enough to speak in thir own language and manner, whatever that maybe.

3. SHOW A SPEAKER THAT YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO HIS/HER WORDS AND ACTUALLY LISTEN - This is similar to the point above. It means demonstrating to the speaker through eye contact, not doing other things while the person is speaking; not seeming disinterested etc - that you are fully engaged with what they are saying and you really want to know. This is also relevant to parents with children and nurses with the sick. Most times people merely want to be acknowledged.

4. REMOVE DISTRACTION AND FOCUS ON THE SPEAKER - People lead busy lives and with modern technology, they are talking on the go, and multitasking. It is better to postpone a conversation to a time when you can be fully committed to it than merely say 'ehmm ehhm" and you are not in fact listening. It is discourteous and does not illustrate respect for the speaker or their point of view.

5. SHOW EMPATHY FOR THE SPEAKER'S POINT OF VIEW - Listening is not the same as hearing, so unless you are deaf, we know you are hearing. But are you empathetic to the person's perspective? This is the essence of active listening, being able to fully appreciate the person's point of view without judgement even if you disagree. Empathy does not mean you feign agreement. It means you are fully engaged with the sets of values, motivations and emotions that may lead this person to this point of view. If you cannot fully appreciate where they are coming from, they will not appreciate your objection or disagreement if you have one. Active lsitening, in this sense, fosters mutual understanding.

6. BE PATIENT, ALLOW THE SPEAKER TIME WITHOUT INTERRUPTION - This is the hardest part I know. I too am guilty of interrupting. This techniques requires enormous patience and discipline. Sometimes, the person speaking is making a point and we do not want to forget so we butt in. We also get the point they ahve made but they persist to make it again as if repeating the point will have some further impact on is, so we interrupt to make our point. This leads to argumentation and debate rather than discussion. Active listening requires that you demonstrate patience and allow the speaker to complete his or her point before you continue. There are at times natural breaks in people's speech that will allow for interruption without seeing impatient or disrespectful.

7. HOLD ONE'S TEMPER, DONT LET EMOTIONS INTERFERE WITH ACTIVE LISTENING - Ok, there are sometime heated conversations and controversial issues and topics which derails our ability to actively listen. This is the point where active listening is even more crucual. Exercise patience, do not blow a gasket and do not let your emotions register on your face. Calmly listen to the point of view. I had the occasion once of watching a TV interview on TVone in New Zealand where a close friend, Editor of the Waikato Times, was a participant. I could see that the nature of the discussion had one of the panelists enraged. Yet Bryce maintain such composure I was impressed. I later asked him how did he manage to listen through all that without interruption or obvious distress. He remarked that he was seething beneath but used the time to craft his own responses and rebuttals to the points made. That is discipline and requires concerted effort to get there, but I think my point is well-made.

8. BE GENTLE WHEN ARGUING OR CRITICISING - If one is able to listen patiently and empathetically to an individual's point of view, in conversation, discussion or debate, then the need to give an angry response is less. Criticism and argumentation is inescapable in everyday living. But part of effective communication is to be able to offer criticism in a way which maintains the relationship, and to have an argument without sounding the death-knell to a friendship or professional relationship. Some people hate confrontation so they dont argue or criticise at all. This is sheer weakness and is not a resolution for the challenges we face in living and operating together. Many times, life requires us to offer our view and to engage in fierce debates. The challenge is to do so respectfully and with professionalism.

9. ASK QUESTIONS - This is the most obvious way of showing that you are listening. And please, be genuinely interested. Do not feign interest - I repeat. I often tell my journalism students that the best interviews are those when the host is genuinely interested in the story being told to them by the interviewee. Oprah is my all time favourite example. Part of her success is that genuine interest in people and their story and their lives. Same if you are on a date, listen and ask questions about people. Again, people just want to be acknowledged and to feel important. Asking questions sjows that you are not only listening but you are empathetic, engaging fully in the time and space of teh conversation and interested in the person.

10. ALWAY REMEMBER THAT ONE HAS TWO EARS AND ONLY ONE MOUTH - A wise person came up with that. I read it somewhere. This requires little explanation but suffice it to say f you have two ears and one mouth, you are naturally meant to speak less and listen more. So take on the challenge. I guarantee that your effectiveness as a communicator will reach stratospheric levels.

Master the Craft of News Presenting: Useful Tips for Radio and TV Presenters

My last post on how to become an effective broadcaster touched on a nerve for many a broadcaster - the news. Is the news special? Does it require a different style and manner; a different register and voice? Can one learn to become an effective presenter? Does reading well means you are naturally a good 'news' presenter? These are all valid questions which are I will try to address below. These suggestions are based on my own experience as a Specialist News Presenter and as a current trainer of young Broadcast Journalists and Presenters in Australia.

Let me pause to say congratulations to my former student, Jason Schwabb, who has progressed from a drama-infused news presenting style which sounded artificial and off-putting to a polished credible news presenter at the end of 13 weeks. Jason is now a news reporter/presenter on Australian news Channel, WIN News. Proud of you Jason!

As a point of departure, let me inject a caveat: The news is one of the central and sacred institutions of broadcasting. It is important to both government and commercial broadcasters globally that the audience retains confidence in its integrity, and belief in it as a source of information and education. Sustaining public trust in the news does not only hinge on the trustworthiness of news content but also on the credibility of the persons charged with the responsibility of presenting the news. The following guidelines are designed to help presenters become more comfortable behind the camera or the microphone, and become more effective presenters. The basic principles apply equally to radio and television, but I have included some tips specific to television.

1. Try to get your script at least ten minutes before news time, and read the copy aloud to yourself. Check for errors, omissions and flow (does it read well; can you pronounce all the words accurately etc?).There will be times that you get the news just as it is news time. Don't panic, practice sight reading, that is read with an alertness and a consciousness about what you are saying. Use audio clips breaks to flip through the following story. If there is a commercial break, use this time wisely to ensure you catch up on what your other stories are. There is no excuse for excessive mistakes in your news cast.

2. Understand what you are reading. Understand each story. You should be able to tell someone what the story is about without looking at your script. In short, ensure you know exactly what the story is about, and be sympathetic to its content . If you don’t understand the story, then your listener or viewer will not.

3 Do not simply read the words off the page or teleprompter. Effective news presenting is about “telling” your audience about an occurrence. So “tell” the information. Make it a conversation between you and a trusted friend (represented by the microphone or the camera). Read with pace, as this gives your viewer or listener time to absorb, understand and react to what you are saying. Remember that the audience was not at the scene of the event you are telling them about, so they must BELIEVE that what you are saying is in fact so.

4. Speak clearly by opening your mouth and speaking deliberately. Clenching the teeth while talking is not good practice for any speaker, and this is surprisingly common among even highly trained broadcasters. We need to capture the words so open your mouth and say it. A great example of someone who allows the words to come freely from her mouty is Lucy Hockings of BBC World News (my all time favourite female TV newscasters). Do not SHOUT. Allow your voice to emerge from your diaphragm rather than your throat. This will require regular breathing exercises so as not to run out of breath.

5. Watch your intonation. Do not sing (provide unnecessary emphases and inflections). Attempt to end each sentence flatly, rather than giving a high tone. This lends credibility to the story and gives the reader more authority. I was guilty of this during my early days at FAME FM (Jamaica), until a respected broadcaster, the late Neville Willoughby stopped me one day in the corridor and told me what to do to sound more credible and authoritative. It took concerted efforts on my part to become conscious of what I was doing, but over time and with practice, I managed to shift into a new gear at the end of the sentences.

6. Pause at the end of each story . This allows the listener and viewer time to focus on the new story. This need not be a long pause. Broadcasting is not sympathetic to too much 'dead air'. The idea is not to race through the newscast but to allow the material to be digested. The audience acnnot digest the information if its coming at them without pauses.

7. Be alert. Do not slouch. This advice is for both radio and TV news presenters. It is important to maintain good posuture while reading so that your breathing is not obstructed. I will share the advice that I benefitted from: Sit up, and forward with your feet firmly planted on the floor. This is not uncomfortable by any means. Indeed, besides allowing me to free my breath for better voice production, it also helped me to stay alert throughout the newscasts, and not to slip into a pedantic perfunctory style (of merely calling words on a page).

8. Speak with authority and confidence. This is not mean you should shout. It simply means that you are the owner of this piece of information. You know it is true - it really happened, and your job is to share it with your audience. Your audience must believe that you know what you are talking about. It is important that they believe what you tell them.

9. If you make an error, apologise, read it again, and carry on. Mistakes are normal in news broadcasting. Do not panic. This is the sheer adventure of 'live' television or radio. If a clip does not play due to technical error, do not scream 'oh shit' as one of my students did last year during her 'live' news reading examinations. Be calm. Inform your listeners of your error, apologise and carry on. To panic is to lose your credibility and undermine your audience’ confidence in what you are telling them.

Presenting News on Television

Television is a visual medium. Your audience is not only hearing you but seeing you. It is therefore important that you both sound and look professional. Recall that as a TV presenter, you have become a guest in people’s homes and obliged to treat them with courtesy and respect. The following tips are specific to TV news presentation.

1. Dress simply, neatly and elegantly. Garish,shiny customes and irrelevant adornments are distracting. I should know. I used to wear scarves around my neck. Nver wnat to see those tapes every again! Keep your clothing; hairstyle, accessories and make up simple. Overdressing will only distract the viewer from the content of the news, and undermine your authority as a newscaster.

2. Maintain good posture by. Sitting up with your back straight and forward forward helps you to react more easily to changes in camera angles and gives you presence and authority when you speak. Of course, it is important to be relaxed in your body so as not to appear stiff on camera.

3. Guard against frowning. This advice was given to me in a rather brutal training session by trainers, Alma Mockyen and Leonie Forbes years ago. I was slapped on my forehead by one of these women in an effort to get me to quit frowning. The idea is to relax the face and the jaws, It is also VERY IMPORTANT that your eyes dont seem too focused on the teleprompter. Try instead to give your face a pleasant countenance. Cameras are sensitive to changes in facial expressions and personal moods.

4. Be true to your story. If it’s a sad story, e.g. crime or disaster, do not smile or display glimmer in your eyes. Be empathetic to the content, but don’t overdo it. In other words, let your feelings show to some degree. If you are being conversational, and if you understand your story, then your own natural feelings will become evident in your presentation.

5. Always try to read ahead. Absorb as much of the information as you can manage and deliver it to the camera without looking at the script. Try to make sure that the most significant pieces of information are delivered to the camera. If you do not have a teleprompter, rehearse your script and deliver as much of the content (particularly the opening lines) to the camera as you can. Remember that the lens of the camera represents your respected friend. Eye contact with the camera is the same as eye contact with your friend. Maintaining eye contact is crucial to your credibility.

6. Always follow on the script while you read on the teleprompter. Don't assume that the technology will always be working. It can fail in the middle of the newscast. In case the teleprompter fails during a live broadcast, you should be able to quickly pick up from your script.

7. Try to be comfortable and alert. Focus only on the job at hand. TELL your story, Do not READ it. Use your facial and body movements to help you tell the story. Being conversational makes the news come alive, it enhances your words and gives life and meaning to your presentation. Of course, don’t OVERDO it. Remember that the news is sacred, you are telling your audience about actual events that impact on all their lives.

If you take these suggestions and tips into account and practice, practice, practice practice, while making a concerted effort to improve on your weaknesses, you will notice a considerable change in your style and confidence over time.

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Dr. Hume Johnson is the co-founder of the Communication Workshop. She teaches Journalism and communications at James Cook University, QLD, AUSTRALIA

Become a Better Broadcaster: 12 Essentials that Will Set You Apart from Your Peers

Photos - Jamaican broadcasters ABOVE (l-r) Moya Thomas, Danae Ramgolam, Simone Clarke-Cooper & Hume Johnson; BELOW Australian news presenter Sharyn (middle) is all smiles with Gunn Bratland (r) trainee newscaster for 7 News, Townsville.

The following musings are excerpts from a book I am working on based on my experience as a broadcast journalist and as a Journalism lecturer and professional trainer of wanna-be radio and Tv presenters in Australia and Jamaica. Feel feel to share your comments and views.

One of the most profound remarks that I learned as a student of Broadcast Journalism and which really opened by eyes to the learned craft of on-air presenting and what makes one broadcast/broadcaster superior in impact than another was that broadcasting was a misnomer - an incorrect or inappropriate name/expression. This gem of wisdom came from Jamaican broadcast trainer, Dwight Whylie. He was taking a journalism class in which I was a participant. He remarked that the term 'broadcasting' is actually misleading and a "more accurate term would be 'narrow-casting;, he said. I have seen that in many broadcasting texts since then, but I was 21 years old and that was the first time I had heard this expression, and it was like a lightbulb had been turned on it my head. It occurred to me then that I did not even get what “broadcasting” actually meant!

It took me a while to wrap my head around this too. I thought - what the heck is he talking about, does it matter? Oh Yes, it does. What Whylie meant was that the broadcaster’s audience is never as “broad” as the term ‘broad-casting’ suggests. In fact, it is a very “narrow” audience of one. This is because people listen to radio and watch TV individually. Even in a group setting, each person is interacting with the medium, and processing the information individually. The broadcaster is this encouraged to speak as though he or she is speaking to only one person (through the microphone and/or television camera), not to a wide audience. If done well, the presenter sounds more credible, sincere and the audience will be more given to receiving the information.

Besides this, it is important for broadcasters to realise that they have access to people’s lives since they appears on the radio or on a television set in people’s homes – in their bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, dens, dining rooms. In short, aside from the broadcaster’s own family, his /her audience is a total and absolute stranger. The broadcaster is therefore obliged to treat this (invisible) audience with respect. You are a guest in your audience’s life so do not become over familiar. Display courtesy of language and proper decorum.

Here are twelve essentials that will help you to become a better broadcaster, but will set you apart from your peers:

1. Never Patronise, Neither Suck Up to Your Audience
I do not believe any purpose is served by ‘suffering fools gladly’ but too many of today’s broadcasters assume a superior attitude and talk down to people. Speak at one level, that is, never patronise nor act sycophantic (suck up to). Whylie’s advice was to picture a respected friend and speak to/ with that one person. I, however, prefer the term “communicate” instead of “speak”. This is because communication is more suggestive of a conversation between intelligences whereas to speak maybe (or can be) limited to simply verbalizing (without necessarily giving effect to making sense).

2. Your Audience is not Deaf!
There is a tendency by some broadcasters to speak as though their audience is hearing-impaired. There is no need to stay in Kingston and holler to the people in Berlin. They will still hear you even if you speak at normal decibels. Indeed, they will adjust the volume on their TV or radio sets if they wish to hear you at higher volumes. If the broadcaster is using the correct broadcasting technique of speaking to one person (a respected friend), then he/she will see no need to shout or raise his/her voice above normal. It is in this sense that the real difference between “narrow-casting” and “broadcasting” becomes obvious.

3.Develop Personal Credibility
Successful broadcasting hinges on the broadcaster having credibility. This means that when you speak, it is important that people believe what you are telling them. An event has occurred, and it is the broadcaster’s job to tell people what happened, and to do so intelligently, and with due respect given to the parties involved.

A broadcaster’s effectiveness is undermined if he/she cannot speak with authority. Don’t assume and artificial personality or accent. Credibility comes from within. Being true to yourself (and to the story) is therefore the quickest and most sure way of building and sustaining credibility. Otherwise, you may find yourself stuck with a manufactured personality, and working doubly hard to try to maintain a performance.

4.Don’t Fall in Love with your own voice
It is wonderful to hear a great voice, or see a beautiful face on the media. If you possess one, use it, it is an asset, but it is not as relevant as speaking well, articulately and intelligibly. In other words, do not fall in love with your own voice at the expense of communicating effectively. If you have a speech impediment, work at correcting or controlling it. It is important that your speech comes across to the listener clearly, pleasantly and conversationally. It is also important that your mode of dress does not distract the viewer from what you are saying. This is not effective communication. Attire neatly and elegantly as this communicates respect.

5. Speak Clearly and Deliberately
This rule is tied to the one above. One of the first things I was taught during voice training was this phrase -- ‘to speak well is to speak in an intelligible, clear manner”. In order to facilitate clearer understanding, it is essential that the broadcaster speak in logical sequence using simple declarative sentences. Do not confuse the listener with a rush of information at once. This may be confusing and may cause the listener to tune out or worse, switch channels! Instead, allow people to digest one capsule of information before you disseminate the next. Unlike reading the newspapers, the electronic broadcast audience gets one opportunity to hear or see the information. They are unable to rewind for clearer understanding. It is therefore your job to render your narrative coherent and comprehensible.

6.Get to the Point, Don’t be a Bore!
With the increasing mediatisation of societies, information/images are coming at us at a very fast pace, and it is very difficult to keep up. And with the rapidity of globalization, people are also living even busier lives and time is like precious gems. The result is that the listener and viewers’ attention span is becoming even more limited. Just as 2 minutes to heat a meat pie in the microwave is now ‘too long’, the media audience often wants the essence of the story not only clearly, but they want it now! They have no time to listen to a bore who is taking forever to tell a story. Get to the point! Be economical in getting your ideas (or images for TV) across, and please, make what you are saying interesting. They shouldn’t have to wait so long for a dull and mind-numbing tale.

7. Think before you talk
Some people think that good broadcasting is simply the ability to ramble confusedly on and on about a range of topics. Recall the previous tips – speak coherently and intelligibly. This means thinking about what you are going to say before you say it. It means thinking about what questions you want to ask before you ask it. Don’t be caught thinking as you talk, as some interviewers do. This will only result in confusion. Of course, there will be times such as live commentary, on the spot interviews or ad lib moments when you are forced to think and act on your feet (without the benefit of prior preparation). Even in these instances, it may be better to pause and collect your thoughts than run the risk of babbling on confusedly and sounding stupid.

8. Always Read Over your script
Some of the best broadcasters are those who are well-prepared, who take pains to become familiar with their scripts, and to understand the material before attempting to deliver it. If there is a script, ensure that you read it over at least once (ideally several times). In other words, IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOUR MATERIAL, AND UNDERSTAND IT. If you don’t, it is guaranteed that your listener and/or viewer WON’T either. Reading over your script also ensures that you pick up errors, gives you the opportunity to change awkward phrases, check pronunciations, rectify omissions and clarify confusing information.

There are times when you will get what is called a “hot” script, and you are forced to do what is known as “sight reading”. This means you have never seen the contents of the script prior to that moment, and you have to read from “sight” (read what you see just as it is). The trick here is while you read, to also become aware of the other words in the sentence by unconsciously looking ahead. This means that by the time you get to those words, you would have already rehearsed them unconsciously. This kind of skill requires focused concentration on the task at hand, and lots of practice.

9. Be the Eyes and Ears of your Audience
Have you ever seen people at a cricket match or a football game with portable radios or earphones? They are listening to the media commentary while they watch the action on the playing field. In these scenarios, the audience is heavily reliant on the broadcaster to paint an accurate picture of the event, noting significant and perhaps not-so-significant information. The audience depends on full disclosure. You must therefore act as their eyes and ears. Many a broadcast trainer will suggest being honest with your listeners and viewers. This means not embellishing the truth, hinting or implying things that one cannot substantiate. I have seen newscasts on CNN for example, where the broadcaster puts a piece of information that he/she deems important out there, but with the disclaimer that the information is unconfirmed. In television in particular, people are often seeing what you are reporting on, so if your commentary is inaccurate or distorted, then they will not only know but your credibility will be undermined.

10. Use pictures and sounds as PROPS
I am sure you have heard the expression ‘pictures tell a thousand words’. I don’t know what ‘sounds’ do, but there is a huge effect on believability if one hears airplanes landing or taking off rather than being told by the reporter of the airport scene. In the same way that it is more credible to hear the shouts of “goal” at a football stadium than to have a sports reporter in the stadium telling us that a goal has been scored. In other words, it is important to allow pictures and sounds to speak for themselves.

11.Keep your Biases to yourself
Because the broadcaster is received by a diverse audience, it is ESSENTIAL that he or she strives to be objective. This often means passing on information as accurately and completely as possible, or asking questions in as balanced and fair a manner as possible - taking into account the multiple perspectives which may come to bear on the issue. In other words, don’t colour it with your opinions and biases. Instead, present all sides of the issue and let the listeners’ judge for themselves. Jamaican broadcast trainer, Dwight Whylie, suggests that if you have publicly declared views on a subject, remind your audience of your position, then report fairly and accurately leaving your views out of it. In some cases, it may be better to allow someone else to cover the story or event.

12. Unless the story is about you, DO NOT become the story
In much contemporary news media, there is a peculiar celebrification of the journalist. This has resulted, in part, from the increased use of ‘stand–ups’ where the reporter comes on camera during or at the end of a story to “act” out a part of the narrative. The development of the “celebrity journalist” has, in my view, the unfortunate consequence of journalists-on-location attracting so much personal attention that, at times, they seemingly become a part of the story being told.

I use as an illustration the case in Jamaica in November 2007 of CVM TV news reporter Michael Price. Price was on location in Spanish Town, St. Catherine to cover a story, but his celebrity was foregrounded when he was accused of political bias, and became embroiled in a physical fracas with a citizen. Price ultimately became the story. No offence to Mr. Price who I believe is a solid news Journalist. However, a good broadcaster must endeavour to AVOID becoming the story.

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Dr. Hume Johnson is a Journalism and Communications Lecturer at James Cook University, QLD, Australia. She was a specialist news reader on Radio Jamaica and FAME FM. She was also host of the Jamaica Information Service (JISTV) flagship programme, Jamaica Magazine. Hume continues to freelance as a writer and lends her voice to radio promos and commercials