language from the other person in addition to being engaged. According to G.K. Chesterton
“there’s a lot of difference between hearing and listening.” This is because hearing isn’t
necessarily listening, nor is it necessarily listening well. This is because you can hear someone
but not present at the same time. Active listening makes you to be present. You may have heard
of the saying, the joy of life is not happy you are, but how happy someone can because of you.
Everyone loves to be listened and loved. In my book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your
Birthright To Success, specifically on page 111, I wrote about the four levels of gratitude
(Appreciation, administration, approval and attention). In order to understand this teachings you
must practice active listening to understand the unspoken words inherent in such deeds.
2. Eye Contact: A great communicator uses eye contact to deliver his/her message. One of the most
valuable ways a public speaker uses to communicate with his/she audience is by using eye
contact. With eye contact, you can tell if your audience is listening or feeling bored. Sometimes
you hear what the person is saying when you look directly in the eyes of the person, sometimes,
maintaining a visible presence by looking over the head audience gives them the desired space
they need. This is because some people don’t feel comfortable when they have direct eye contact.
Eye contact also goes with the body language of the speaker. In communication, sometimes,
somethings are better felt than spoken.
3. Don’t interrupt the speaker: A good way to know a great speaker is by looking how he/she
pitches his/point or message. Interrupting a speaker can ruin the flow of information. That is why
sometimes, it is good to reserve the questions towards the end of any presentation.
4. Listen without judgment: –: In communication, most times, people listen with the intent to
respond as opposed to understanding. This normally plays out most times in marriage. In law, a
good to way to apply justice is by listening to the other side. In applying this knowledge, the
judge normally use Audi alteram partem, a Latin phrase meaning “listen to the other side”, or “let
the other side be heard as well”. It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair
hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them.
5. Meditation: Mediation is a form of listening. According to Thomas Carlyle, “Silence is the
element in which great things fashion themselves together”. Meditation is truly a great form of
listening. According to Wayne Dyer, an inspirational author, meditation is simply the act of being
quiet with yourself and shutting the constant monologue that fills the inner space. Meditation
helps in self discovering. You learn more about yourself when you listen to your inner self as
opposed to what other people think of you. There are many benefits that comes with meditation.
Examples include, it reduces stress, helps you to focus very well, it reduces anxiety, and it gives
you better memory and enhances creativity.
In conclusion, a good listening skill if properly utilized will set you on a good path that will set you
before leaders, kings and Heads of Industries if properly applied.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with New York City Department of Correction as the
legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your
Birthright To Success.