- Wednesday 03 April 2019
In every country around the world, students are required to listen and comprehend spoken words in their everyday lives. The term ‘active listening’ is one that has been used frequently to encourage students to listen carefully to the speaker using appropriate body language, gestures, verbal cues and social conventions. Listening is a crucial part of meaningful and attentative conversation and, as such, is a key contributor to happy, healthy relationships.
The goal of mindful listening is to stop your running thoughts and focus your attention on the speaker so you can hear and comprehend the message that is being shared with you and so the speaker can feel understood. Without being mindful, you may find yourself becoming distracted from the conversation and fail to hear the information correctly. Mindful listening requires you to be silent and patient to allow the speaker time to gather their thoughts and give their message.
To develop your mindful listening skills, try this activity!
Listen to Mindful listening for kids and follow the instructions contained within the video to practise tuning in to the sound of your breathing, tuning in to inside noises and tuning in to outside noises.
To practise mindful listening using our ‘Be like a tree’ theme, take students outside and encourage them to stand like a tree while tuning in to invidual sounds in their environment (e.g. birds chirping, the wind blowing, cars traveling by, laughter/chatter). Ask students to listen for the noises they can hear close by and the noises they can hear in the distance. After taking a few minutes to just listen, encourage students to discuss the sounds they heard while using mindful listening to listen to the speakers thoughts/ideas.
Practise completing mindful listening activities for increasing periods of time, without talking and without thinking about the past or future. If thoughts come into your mind, simply re-focus your attention on ‘mindful listening’.