Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Research has shown that the human mind can process words at the rate of about 500 per minute, whereas a speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 words a minute. The difference between the two at 350 is quite large.So the speaker must make every effort to retain the attention of the audience and the listener should also be careful not to let his mind wander. Good communication calls for good listening skills.
A good speaker must necessarily be a good listener. Listening starts with hearing but goes beyond. Hearing, in other words, is necessary but is not a sufficient condition for listening. Listening involves hearing with attention. Listening is a process that calls for concentration. While listening, one should also be observant. In other words, listening has to do with the ears, as well as with the eyes and the mind. Listening is to be adept at the total process that involves hearing with attention, being observant and making interpretations.
Good communication is essentially an interactive process. It calls for participation and involvement. It is quite often a dialogue rather than a monologue. It is necessary to be interested and also show or make it abundantly clear that one is interested in knowing what the other person has to say. Good listening is an art that can be cultivated. It relates to skills that can be developed. A good listener knows the art of getting much more than what the speaker is trying to convey. He knows how to prompt, persuade, but not to cut off or interrupt what the other person has to say.
At times the speaker may or may not be coherent, articulate and well organised in his thoughts and expressions. He may have it in his mind and yet he may fail to marshal the right words while communicating his thought. Nevertheless, a good listener puts him at ease, helps him articulate and facilitates him to get across the message that he wants to convey.
For listening to be effective, it is also necessary that barriers to listening are removed. Such barriers can be both physical and psychological. Physical barriers generally relate to hindrances to proper hearing whereas psychological barriers are more fundamental and relate to the interpretation and evaluation of the speaker and the message.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using heading and sub-headings.
