Bliss Center

Today i did a workshop on "effective listening" for the Youth Leadership Program".
The 70% of our life is spent on communication in some form. Out this,45% goes in listening.Therefore it is very important to learn.
The ten step techniques are as follows:1.stop talking start listening(internally as well) 2.Prepare yourself to listen-relax and focus.3.Keep the speaker at ease.4.Avoid distractions-moving your chair,shuffling papers etc 5.Empathize.6.Be patient 7.Avoid prejudice 8.Listen to the tone and volume.They represent the emotion.9.Listen for the ideas not just the words.10.Listen through your eye too-look for non verbal communication.

Last evening i conducted a workshop on Tackle the Table topics,to the YLP participants.30 mins. I did not follow the usual route of PPT and Bullet- points method.
Started telling them a Joke, A sad story but shocking -surprising one(from BBC) ,another story where a boat capsized but one of the crew escaped after 2.5 days as there was a air trap (also from BBC). Showed them the connection in all of them.Insisted on the power of information, and small stories .Encouraged them to read something other than what they are asked to read at school/at home. anything they like.(isn't it true for all of us?)however the following points were told as techniques;1.greet the audience ,taking time.2.Repeat the topic slowly .3 ask a question (what,why,when,where,how type question tags) from the main theme.but never over do it.(asked an example from participants-the example was;character is like a glass bowl) i said, ask ,what is character? define it and then proceed to compare it with a glass bowl.4.Try to connect the subject with a very small story or an incident.5.even if you don't know anything about the given subject, just repeat it and then declare it boldly but proceed to talk about what you know in that area of subject given(for an example, you are asked about the Football world cup , you can talk about cricket.)But how you transit from Foot ball to cricket is the technique you need to practice.6.always close it properly.it is also a speech and must have all the 'grammar' of a good speech. 7.while closing ,properly thank everyone and then handover to the master and leave with a smile.
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