Communication Strategies

Listening is a very important part of human communication as communication is a two-way process. It is reciprocal. It is barely communication if it is only the speaker talking to the audience. The audience would and should give a feedback on what they have listened to.

One may easily think that in public speaking, it is only the speaker who talks to the audience. But even the audience talks to the speaker. To become an effective public speaker, one has to be able to listen to the audience.

The audience may communicate through scratching their eyebrows or yawning or maybe even by leaving the room. Bodily gestures like these can tell if the audience is bored or disagreeing to what you are saying or they may even find your speech irrelevant and useless. As the speaker, you must be able to tell if the audience is receptive and reciprocating your message. 

An authentic speaker, as characterized by Nick Morgan of the Harvard Business Review, is one who is open and connects to audience, passionate about the topic and listens to the audience. These skills will enable the speaker to listen to the audience. A good speaker will be able to assess the situation at hand and resolve it should there be something lacking in his speech.

It is important, as a speaker, to listen to the audience. You have to know that your message was heard and that your speech will deliver results. An effective and authentic public speaker will be able to influence the audience. He will be able to infuse on his audience the values and knowledge in his speech. He will be able to persuade people and move them to action.

On the other hand the audience, too, must listen to the speaker. Good listening skills are important even in day to day living. Listening may be active or inactive. The first type may be characterized with nodding in agreement, saying yes or with other bodily gestures. On the other hand inactive listening may be said as just hearing what the message is but not exactly responding.

Active listening is ideal in communication. There are four kinds of listeners as described in an article titled, Speaking Style Speak to reach all four. There are analytical listeners, the drivers, expressive listeners and amiable listeners. The analytical ones are usually sceptical with what they hear and can tend to question the credibility of the speech and the speaker. The drivers are results-oriented and may tend to be impatient. They want the speaker to be direct and to the point. The expressive listeners are likely to participate in whats going on and are interactive. The amiable listeners are the ones who empathise with the speaker. They are the best group a public speaker may have.

To reach all four audiences and hold their attention when public speaking requires balancing many elements of speaking. They need enough data to please the analytical listener without boring the expressive. The program needs to move along for the goal oriented driver. Openness, comfort and empathy are needed to satisfy the amiable personality. (speechmastery.com)

Listening, indeed, is very vital not only in public speaking. It is vital in learning, in dealing with people and in achieving goals.