The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention

THE WAYS OF DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS.
Turdimuratov Miratdin
4^th year student of Nukus State Pedagogical Institute, Faculty of Foreign languages.
The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.
Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen
We always pay great attention to our way of speaking. From public speaking courses to workshops and training, we see that effective speaking skills are sought-after by employers and companies. Whether it an official meeting or a casual discussion, we communicate all day long with our colleagues, clients, friends, or professors. Are we even listening while we engage in conversation with other people? Mostly, the listening part is virtually ignored . Listening is as important as speaking in personal as well as professional communication. It is a two-way process that involves both speaking and listening and an active listener pays full attention to what is being said and communicates accordingly. Listening is as important as speaking. Being a good listener helps solve problems, resolve conflicts and improve relationships.
Listening skill is the last step of among all skills, so this skill mostly not taken into consideration. In order to acquire listening skill, you need to learn all skills from reading to speaking skill. Reading is the foundation of all these skills. In other words acquiring listening skill is learning all skills. Listening to meaning is a form of active listening. Active and attentive listeners not only pay attention to the words, but they also pay attention to the purpose of each word - the message intended to convey the word.
To solve the messages, we must first identify the central idea that is being conveyed. Then we need to pay attention to anecdotes, explanations, and other details designed to clarify the meaning. When we work on improving our listening ability, we should always focus on the central focus of what is being transmitted.
Having effective listening skills means being able to display interest to the topic discussed and understand the information provided. In today's society, the ability to communicate effectively is becoming increasingly important. Although the ability to speak effectively is a highly sought-after skill, developing effective listening skill is often not regarded in the same respect.
Attentive listeners are usually good learners. Unfortunately, many students have poor listening skills, which can be very problematic because students spend considerable time in classrooms listening to lectures during college. Many students believe they are good listeners, unfortunately they don't fully appreciate the difference between hearing and listening. Attentive listeners not only hear, they effectively process the information presented to them.
Ineffective listeners often attempt to jot down every detail from a lecture. They are under the impression that a detailed outline equates to good notes. Students who utilize this strategy often get discouraged when they review their notes only to find the breadth, detail and lack of focus in their note-taking is confusing and leaves them unable to identify central themes and important topics. Effective listeners adapt their note-taking to the teaching styles of their teachers and lectures. They focus on central ideas and jot down details that expand on, or clarify, the central concepts of a lecture.
People who struggle with listening often have a difficult time concentrating. Good listeners must work to develop the ability to concentrate and ignore distractions. This requires the ability to tune out personal worries, thoughts about family members and friends, and thoughts about upcoming activities. Those who can hone the ability to concentrate can improve listening skills.
One of the keys of effective listening is the ability to concentrate on central ideas and main focuses. It is a mistake to only be concerned about facts and extemporaneous detail during a lecture. In other words, effective listeners focus on the stories or ideas behind the facts. They then are able to pick up on the supporting fact, details and evidence for the main concepts, ideals and topics being discussed.
Improving your listening skills takes time and a lot of focused listening but if you work at it in the right way you can actually make significant improvements faster than you might think.
In short, listening is one of the most important skills we can develop because listening is the foundation for so many other management and leadership skills. We're glad that tips in this articled helped you to improve your communication skills.
Reference:
1. Field, J. (2008). Listening in the Language Classroom. 1st ed. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
2. Asemota, H. E. (July 2015). Importance and Practice of Listening Skill. British Journal of Education, 3(7), 27-33.
3. Google. https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.