Listening Well (By Pauline Selasie Brown)

To hear someone talk is one thing, but to listen to the person is another thing. Some people are out there they find it very difficult to listen. Sometimes they don't listen to people when they are talking. According to the Macmillan school dictionary, to listen is to pay attention to what they suggest. People do not listen well because they are in hurry to do other things like playing. i can recollect that most of the time when i am  asked to do something, i do not do exactly what  I’m asked to do. Laziness can also make people to be bad listeners. Listening involves the mind and because people don’t want to work with their mind, they do not listen well. People who do not listen well make so many mistakes. i once read a story about a boy by name Kodwo Botsio who was instructed by his mother to prepare tea for his younger brother. his mother told him to use milk to prepare the tea. Instead of using the powdered milk to prepare the tea, he used chemical for killing rats to prepare the tea. Few minutes after, Botsio’s brother drank the tea, he developed stomach pains. The boy was rushed to the hospital. Three days later, the boy died. Sad isn’t it? That is the effect of not listening well. Children who don't listen well sometimes fail their exams. Because they do not listen well, they do not understand what they are taught. As a result, they are not able to retain what they are taught, hence they either do not do well in their exams or fail entirely, in listening well, one must be focused in whatever he or she does. Now what can we as children do to ensure good listening? Good questions are very important in any conversation. Questions allow us to get more information about specific areas we are not clear about. Questions like why, what, how, helps us to get a better picture about what a person is saying. Secondly, we need to stop thinking about every other thing when we are listening. We must stop playing, watching tele or music so that we can be more focused on what we listen to. We always need to wait for people to finish speaking before we speak. We do not have to interrupt when someone is speaking to us, then we will understand better. In the classroom during lessons, avoid conversing with friends and looking out for funny things. Do not pay attention to peers who do this to steal your attention from the lesson. You must know that if you do not pay attention to the teacher, you will miss a lot of important ideas that will help you understand the lesson. Listening is a skill that you must try hard to acquire.

Pauline Selasie Brown

Redemption Baptist school

BASIC FIVE

CAPE COAST