Importance of Active Listening Skills

  As a student, it was not until now that I could fathom the real meaning and importance of listening.   As a child I clearly recall associating listening to obeying wherein I was expected to listen to what elders said and dutifully follow it. But the phrase that strikes a chord to what I am about to express my views about is : “ We have two ears and one mouth, so that we can listen twice as much. ” What this means is that listening is so important that our physicality is designed to listen more and speak less. Listening is the first communication skill we master since birth   much before speaking, reading and writing .   The importance and need for active listening is also reflected in the fact that out of the 70%   that we communicate, an average of 45% is spent listening compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and   9% writing. But what surprises me more is the extent to which these skills are being taught to us. You  will  all agree with me ...