S9E7: Teaching Active Listening Skills

Communications Coach Shweta Ramkumar shares insights into teaching active listening skills to healthcare professionals. In this episode, Shweta explains what active listening is, why it's important and how we can develop this skill in the ESL classroom.

---

Key talking points

Defining Active Listening

Shweta talks about being present in the moment, holding space, and empathising as just a few characteristics that differentiate active listening from other types. Shweta shares insights into working with healthcare professionals and how active listening is crucial to their work.

Active Listening in the Classroom

Shweta reflects on why active listening is so challenging to apply in teaching and other professions due to the multiple tasks we have to manage. Pulling on her own experience, Shweta shares the negative consequences of not practising active listening in our classrooms and workplaces.

Active Listening Training

Shweta shares how she introduces active listening to her clients by getting them to reflect on what they miss in a conversation. By starting with a short warmer of sharing about herself, Shweta encourages her clients to reflect on what they can recall and what they missed as a first step.

Paraphrasing as a Tool

Shweta suggests paraphrasing in the classroom to help learners feel seen and heard. Paraphrasing can replace parroting and asking each other to repeat.

---

About Shweta

Shweta Ramkumar is a communications coach for healthcare professionals. Her coaching sessions focus on developing her clients' language and skills so they can build stronger relationships, credibility and trust with their patients and the wider community. Shweta shares practical tips and insights on communication skills via her website, YouTube channel and social media channels where you can find her at Healthy Dynamics.

Visit Shweta's website here to learn more.

---

References & Resources

Links will direct you to resources Shweta mentions in this episode and more.

1. Healthy Dynamics (2023). The Do's and Don'ts of Active Listening. YouTube. Available here. Accessed on 04.06.2024

---

Watch the video with closed captions or refer to the transcript below.

Transcript

00:00:00:03 - 00:00:26:20

Laura

TESOL Pop! Season nine, episode seven. Hello and welcome to TESOL Pop, the mini podcast for busy teachers. My name is Laura and joining me today to talk about teaching active listening is communications coach Shweta Ramkumar. What is active listening? What are the benefits and how can we bring this into our classroom? Shweta answers these questions and more, sharing insights from her practice as a communications and language coach for healthcare professionals.

00:00:26:22 - 00:00:31:05

Laura

Let's join the conversation where Shweta explains what exactly active listening is.

00:00:31:06 - 00:00:57:03

Shweta

The deeper elements of this concept is that it involves giving the person who is talking to you, or sharing information with you space to express themselves without letting our preconceived judgements and misconceptions get in the way. Holding space for the other person to be vulnerable and authentic, and demonstrating to them that you understand where they're coming from and providing them reassurance and sharing your own valuable experiences.

00:00:57:03 - 00:01:19:20

Shweta

So even though we have to listen, but we also have to respond in a way that is congruent with what the other person has said. And, yeah, just share your own experience and examples to resonate their thoughts and challenges and make them feel validated. So it's more of an art rather than a very basic skill. It takes time, practice and feedback to get better at.

00:01:19:21 - 00:01:44:04

Shweta

Whether we are active listeners or not. A lot of factors go into determining that. So it could be things like our, our heart space, basically our level of intuition, our values, our belief systems, the sort of environment we were raised in, the sort of work environments we've been in, and, things like that. So it is a much, deeper concept than just the plain listening.

00:01:44:04 - 00:01:56:12

Shweta

So it really enables people to be present and in the present moment and sort of really do it without any distractions or, sort of their mind wandering off in different directions. So really connecting with the other person.

00:01:56:13 - 00:02:22:21

Laura

As you were talking about active listening and the role it plays in terms of building relationships and really helping bring people closer together and nurture that connection. Coming from an ESL background and teaching English to speakers of other languages. When I think about the course materials, the interactions and the setup is very much transactional. And this is something you just kind of highlighted and it just made me think of this, is that..

00:02:23:01 - 00:02:45:07

Laura

The settings and scenarios and a lot of the course books I certainly use were to complete a communicative purpose. So this idea of holding space for people and listening to kind of empathise and understand and connect isn't something I've encountered much. Has that been your experience as well? When you think about the materials you've used in your, coaching and teaching career?

00:02:45:09 - 00:03:07:18

Shweta

Absolutely. I think, when you are teaching, especially in like a group setting in particular, you know, and when I have taught group classes in person and online, you do you do have the pressure of you have to complete this module, this unit, in this amount of time. So and also and obviously you have to allow the student to do most of the talking.

00:03:07:20 - 00:03:29:09

Shweta

But even during that time what you are really doing is, you know, in your head making like, oh, you know, they've made this mistake or how they can do better. So you're sort of multi-tasking at that point or, you know, you are in your mind, you're like, you know, you're keeping track of time. So you're really not focusing or being present on what the other person is saying.

00:03:29:11 - 00:03:46:08

Shweta

And, you know, in a more, I think, traditional setting, it's a lot harder to do anyway because as I said, you have admin, you have curriculum, and you have all those things to worry about. And, this, when I with my brief experience of working in health care in general, this is what actually really stood out to me.

00:03:46:08 - 00:04:07:14

Shweta

So my experience as a patient and what I, the feedback I used to get from my patients was that my healthcare provider just does not listen or just does not care. They are more interested in, you know, typing notes away. They are more interested in paperwork. They are more interested in, you know, making notes and, you know, just getting that admin work done.

00:04:07:14 - 00:04:27:18

Shweta

And I'm not saying that that's not important, but that is where the very first way, one of the most fundamental ways in which the disconnect happens between the healthcare provider and a patient. So they feel like they're just not validated, they're not supported, they just don't feel like their healthcare provider really cares about them because they're just not listening.

00:04:27:18 - 00:04:46:12

Shweta

And, when they do talk it, or when they do sort of give them advice or ask them questions, it's almost like they're reading off a script, you know, it's, it's not like they are really tuning into what the patient is saying and what is it that they're asking for? And also if they haven't understood that getting the clarification.

00:04:46:12 - 00:05:07:00

Shweta

So because they don't they normally don't do that. They just jump on to the next step. and that really is where the rapport, instead of building it actually breaks. So I have, you know, personally, I have I unconsciously I may have done it, but yeah. And sometimes, you know, and I admit, like these people, they work in very high stress, high pressure environments.

00:05:07:02 - 00:05:17:23

Shweta

So, really, they have a deadline to meet. They have to do things in a timely manner, these KPIs and all that. So really, being present is not always the easiest thing to do, but it is fundamentally.

00:05:18:00 - 00:05:42:10

Laura

When you talk about the quality of care that's connected to active listening, it seems very obvious what the values of this skill is. And it seems like if we don't do this from you're talking about your experience, that that could be miscommunications between, health care professionals and their patients, who are the target audience you work with. Would you say that's the kind of key things, really that, make this such an important skill?

00:05:42:10 - 00:05:44:09

Laura

Or is other of the things?

00:05:44:11 - 00:06:05:05

Shweta

Oh, it's, this is one of the main things, because what I always say is that patients are some of the most vulnerable members of society because, you know, when they come to you, they are, of different, you know, there's a big diversity, obviously, but they're also have a health condition. So they're sick, they're injured. So they're already in a heightened level of stress because of the condition that they are in.

00:06:05:07 - 00:06:26:21

Shweta

So what they really need at that point is, you know, feeling supported, feeling like, you know, they're part of a team. And, reassuring to them that the health care provider has their best interests at heart and, not just seeing them as a number or a cog in a system. Because when health care providers do this, they just sort of keep going, okay, next patient, next patient.

00:06:26:23 - 00:06:41:17

Shweta

That's how it feels like, you know, and and I agree that, you know, when you say next to that means the next person can come on. There's nothing wrong in that. But it's more than just that. And, you know, and, you know, in my LinkedIn and on my YouTube, there's plenty of resources that you can find on active listening.

00:06:41:19 - 00:07:03:21

Shweta

And, one of the posts I made last year was stemmed from one of my colleagues who's in the mental health space and, she, you know, on her, in her business page, she mentioned, things like, what is the opposite of really actively listening to someone. And she made some really, really good points on what is the or the antidote, really, to active listening.

00:07:03:21 - 00:07:16:18

Laura

Let's move on there to talk about how you introduce this skill to your students. So you work with, health care professionals. And this is a key skill as you've identified. How do you go about introducing active listening in your classes?

00:07:16:20 - 00:07:34:11

Shweta

So you know, how it sort of works is you put them in a situation where you are trying to talk to them. You know, you just having a normal conversation with them. And the first such scenario is of it is, you know, what is the next step? What should you be doing? I sort of challenge them. I don't tell them what this is, what the session is about, you know?

00:07:34:11 - 00:07:56:16

Shweta

And, can you sort of recall the information that I. That I gave you? Now, this is quite common. This is a quite a common icebreaker game that I've seen in a lot of places, too. So, you know, normally you say, oh, you know, the re really the three facts or the three points that the person said usually does, they'll, they'll easily say the first and the third one, but they forget the second one completely.

00:07:56:18 - 00:08:14:03

Shweta

which is that, that is one of, one of the ways in which I introduce this concept. And, then we sort of draw those parallels. So like I mentioned at the beginning, you know, what basic listening is and what active listening is, and I get them to...a lot of my work is involves a lot of reflection.

00:08:14:03 - 00:08:34:09

Shweta

So I don't really strictly go off a curriculum as such. So I get clients to reflect on, okay, during this session or this little experiment that we did, what should you have done to demonstrate active listening and what shouldn't you should watch what you did was what what was the opposite of that and how you can get better at it.

00:08:34:09 - 00:08:51:04

Shweta

And then we work on different things, you know, it's, so that's one concept, you know, that's obviously paraphrasing to what the other person is saying. The next thing would be what sort of body language that you have. That's the next the next coaching session, depending obviously on how much, how intense the coaching session has to be.

00:08:51:06 - 00:09:15:15

Shweta

The next one might be, what to avoid seeing and doing, you know, and again, that can also be broken down into 2 or 3 sessions and, yeah, sometimes, you know, a lot of it also involves going, getting them to go back to their past or even their present, you know, what kind of a home environment they grew up in, you know, where were you seen and not heard?

00:09:15:15 - 00:09:33:16

Shweta

You know, that's a know, back in our day that’s how when our parents raised us, that's what they shouldn't, should be seen and not heard. And, that may have been imprinted into their mind saying that, okay, so no matter what I say or do, no one's going to hear me. So I'm also not going to bother; they might be conditioned that way.

00:09:33:18 - 00:10:00:00

Shweta

They might be working in an environment where they don't feel the same. They feel the same way that they they feel that they are not heard or acknowledged. And so all these things and really condition and program us, into, you know, our listening skills also and our skills to be empathetic and, really identifying those gaps and sort of working on how we can sort of bridge that gap and also exercises that I give them are, okay, try this at work, try this at home.

00:10:00:06 - 00:10:05:20

Shweta

And sort of right. You tell me what you progressed on and what you could have done better.

00:10:05:22 - 00:10:29:04

Laura

You mentioned that there's a lot of components to active listening, from paraphrasing to the body language to, indicators such as ‘hmm mmm tell me more’, clarifying as well if we are uncertain. As a parting gift today, that listeners can take and try, what would you suggest would be something, one little thing they could try with their students today to try and improve their active listening?

00:10:29:09 - 00:10:53:03

Shweta

Definitely. I think, paraphrasing back to their students. So I know that when you're working with, the ESL group, they can sometimes there can be limitations of vocabulary that can be differences in accents, differences in grammar. So just so that they, they are able to clearly understand or, or have actually grasped what the other person has said, paraphrase it to, I'll just relay it back to them.

00:10:53:03 - 00:11:13:05

Shweta

So just to clarify, this is what you said to me. It's a pretty simple thing. especially when the the information that that's coming at the other end is quite a complex one. So, and also, I think even teaching students exactly how to do it because I think students, what they will do is, ‘could you repeat that, please,’ that that's just just a well, I think they've just been trained to just ask, ‘could you repeat that, please. ’

00:11:13:07 - 00:11:36:18

Shweta

And while there's nothing wrong in repeating that, I think they can also ask their students, you know, especially if there's a lot of information you can ask what which bit did you not understand or where you're not sure about it. So, yeah, that way I think it is a two way street. You know, obviously students also have to listen, but also, teachers, obviously, they also have to be equipped on how they can paraphrase, you know, how they can be actively.

00:11:36:18 - 00:11:47:08

Shweta

And one of the things that you can do is, yeah, you can absolutely. You should paraphrase or give examples or even, simplifying information. That is another way that you can actually get this done.

00:11:47:13 - 00:12:03:07

Laura

I think that's an absolute golden nugget to close this episode on: paraphrasing, not parroting. Yes. And I think that's so valuable to teachers and learners. It's a skill that we can all apply. So thank you so much the for sharing that really practical tip for us to take away today.

00:12:03:08 - 00:12:04:09

Shweta

Thank you so much for having me.

00:12:04:12 - 00:12:20:19

Laura

For more insights into active listening and other skills you can bring to your classroom, check out Shweta’s YouTube channel, website and socials. All of those links are in the show notes so you can easily access them. Now, if you have a question or an idea that you'd like to pitch TESOL Pop, then you can contact us on social media or go to our website TESOL Pop.com

00:12:20:20 - 00:12:34:02

Laura

Finally, if you love the work we do at TESOL Pop you can support us by sharing today's episode with your teaching community to continue the conversation, by leaving a rating review so more teachers can discover us, or by even treating Haven and I to a coffee. - now wouldn't that be nice - by going to ko-fi.com/tesolpop

You might also like

---

Good to know

This blog space and its associated multimedia content contain affiliate links. To learn more about how affiliate links work, please read our disclaimer here.