Answer to Question 1
Answer: Effective listeners are active listeners. To improve listening skills, the listener can take notes when applicable, and make eye contact with the speaker, when appropriate. Staying focused on the speaker and content will also improve listening skills. The listener should mentally paraphrase key points and give nonverbal cues in response to the topic. The listening style should be adjusted for the situation. Questions or points of disagreement should be saved until an appropriate time. The listener should overlook stylistic difference and focus on the message. Distinctions should be made between main points and supporting details. Finally the listener should look for opportunities to learn during the listening process.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: To listen effectively, you need to successfully complete five steps: Receiving, which is physically hearing the message and recognizing it as incoming information; decoding, or assigning meaning to sounds, according to your own values, beliefs, ideas, expectations, roles, needs, and personal history; remembering, or storing the information for future processing; evaluating, which is analyzing the quality of the information; and responding which includes reacting based on the situation and the nature of the information. If any one of these steps breaks down, the listening process becomes less effective or even fails entirely. As both a sender and a receiver, you can reduce the failure rate by recognizing and overcoming a variety of physical and mental barriers to effective listening.