1. Introducing Your name goes here Your Position goes here
The first page is always your totem. The first time you show it, mention your name, patrol, and course. After that, just show the totem.
Replace totem picture with your own, and put your name, your Wood Badge patrol name, and your participant course number in box at bottom.
Your totem goes here
Your name goes here
Your Position goes here

2. Bringing the Vision to Life
Listening to Learn
Bringing the Vision to Life
NE-II-181: Day 1, 10:30am [50 minutes]. Page 26 in Syllabus

3. Learning Objectives Become aware of how we listen.
Explore good listening as a communications skill.
Practice the skills of active and empathetic listening.
Examine the relationship between listening skills and the receiving and giving of feedback.

4. Speaker / Listener Role Play
Pair off – speaker and listener: each speaker talks for a minute or so about a recent trip or vacation; each listener has a secret instruction
Speakers: What did you experience? How did reaction of listener affect you?
Listeners: How did speaker respond to your behavior?
So, what is listening, and why is it so important?
Materials Needed
Key points of the session, presented as PowerPoint slides, overhead projections, or flip-chart pages.
Note cards or slips of paper prepared ahead of time with role-play assignments.
On each card, write one of the following assignments:
- Interrupt the speaker.
- Give the speaker advice before he or she is done speaking.
- Give the speaker a blank look.
- Be bored.
Recommended Facility Layout
Patrol site
Delivery Method
The session is facilitated in a patrol setting by each patrol's troop guide, The presentation involves participants in role-plays and active discussion.
Presentation Procedure
Speaker/Listener Role-Play
1. Pair off the participants. Appoint a speaker and a listener in each pair.
2. Give each of the listeners one instruction card. The listener will keep the card's message hidden from the speaker.
3. Instruct the speakers to talk for a minute or two to their listeners about a recent trip or vacation.
4. Each listener responds with behavior determined by the assigned message:
- Give the speaker advice before he or she is done.

5. Listening Is An essential part of communication
Not taught in school (writing, speaking)
A skill that can be learned (Wood Badge can help)
By being aware of importance, we can make it a learning and leadership tool.
Discussion of the Role-Play
Ask the speakers what they just experienced. How did the reactions of the listeners affect them?
Ask the listeners how the speakers responded to their particular listening behavior
Ask: "What is listening?"
Ask: "Why is listening such an important part of learning?“
Listening is an essential part of communication, yet we take it for granted. We don't teach it in our schools. There are courses in writing and in public speaking, but seldom does a course focus on the skill of listening.
This Wood Badge session is designed to change that. By making ourselves aware of the importance of listening and the ways in which we do it, all of us can more effectively use listening as a tool for learning and for leadership.

6. Why is listening a key skill of leadership?
Primary means for connecting with others
Share ideas/experiences  trust/understanding
Build awareness of strengths/skills
Youth really want us to listen to them
Helps us make decisions and solve problems – glue for team, doorway for ideas
Why is listening a key skill of leadership?.
Listening is a primary means for connecting with other people.
Sharing ideas and experiences with one another creates a pool of familiarity among us. From that grow’s trust, understanding, and an awareness of
strengths and skills-the building blocks of friendships and teamwork.
Listening can be especially powerful when young people are involved. Many people of Scouting age find it unusual to have adults truly pay attention to them. Having people listen to them with care and understanding can be very meaningful for young people and also for the adults.
Listening provides the means to make decisions and solve problems.
Listening is the glue that holds a team together. It is the doorway through which ideas pass. It is the window in which solutions appear.

7. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” — Stephen Covey

8. Two Parts of Effective Listening
Active listening
comprehension of what the person is saying (objective)
Empathetic listening
sincere attempt by listener to understand what the person is meaning (subjective - body language, tone of voice, emotional state)

9. Active Listening Requires
Rephrasing and checking
Nonjudgmental attitude
Active listening reflects what a person is saying to confirm comprehension.
"What I understand you to be saying is this " By rephrasing the information and bouncing it back to the speaker, the listener confirms that the message has been correctly received. Listeners doing this are not making value judgments. They are simply making sure they are hearing what the speakers have to say, and they are letting the speakers know that their messages are getting through.

10. Empathetic Listening Requires
Putting the listener in the speaker’s place
Seeing things from the speaker’s viewpoint
Understanding how the speaker feels
Empathetic listening is a sincere attempt by a listener to understand in depth what a speaker is saying.
Empathetic listeners pay attention to than just the words they hear. They also take care to notice a speaker's body language, tone of voice, and emotional sense and consider them part of the message package the speaker is sending.
Empathetic listening requires listeners to - Put themselves in the speaker's place. - Imagine things from the speaker's point of view. - Try to understand how the speaker feels.
Effective listening is active and empathetic.

11. Effective Listening Is Active AND Empathetic

12. Exercise in Effective Listening
Form pairs – speaker and listener
Speakers talk about something they enjoy
Listeners try different styles
pay close attention, but say only “I got it”
pay close attention and rephrase information
pay close attention, rephrase and attempt to demonstrate understanding of deeper meaning
Switch roles
Exercise in Effective Listening
1. Invite participants to form pairs. One person is the speaker: the other is the listener.
2. For several minutes, the speakers will talk about something they enjoy such as a hobby, a sport, or a family activity.
3. The listeners will try out different listening styles. - Pay close attention and acknowledge a speaker's message simply by saying, "I got it.'' Offer no further feedback or judgment. - Pay close attention and respond by rephrasing the message. - Rephrase the message, and also share any deeper understanding of the speaker's feelings. The listener should take into consideration the speaker's body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and other spoken and silent signals that will help enhance understanding.
4. Listeners and speakers trade roles and repeat the exercise.

13. Listening in Adversarial Situations
How do we respond when hearing something we don’t want to hear?
When speaker is angry?
When we are uncomfortable?
Be aware of your own state!
Create a productive framework with a positive stance. Is a “time out” needed?
Cast conversation in a positive light.
Monitoring Our Listening Level
How do we respond when we are hearing something we don't want to hear? When a speaker is angry? When we are tired or hungry?
A key to effective listening is being aware of our current situation, energy level, and interest. If we are upset about something, it may affect how we listen. Being drowsy will definitely affect our attention span. Are you chilly, too hot, late for another appointment?
Being aware of our own state of hearing awareness can help us adjust to better grasp the message of a speaker. It may be a matter of focusing more on what is being said. Often, though, it may require calling a time-out so that you can put on a sweater, have a bite to eat, take care of distracting matters, or let your emotions cool. Then you can get back together with the speaker under conditions that are more conducive to good listening.
Of course, we cannot tailor every listening situation to be ideal. We often find ourselves in situations with others that make communications difficult. However, good listening skills are powerful tools for calming adversarial situations and finding solutions to problems.

14. Listening in Adversarial Situations - Role Play
Volunteer plays role of Scout angry about the way he is being treated in his unit
Staff member displays good listening skills
Transition Scout’s focus
Role-Play-Listening in Adversarial Situations
Ask a volunteer to play the role of a Scout who is angry about the way others in his unit are treating him.
The troop guide plays the part of a Scout leader.
1. As the "Scout" expresses his complaints and frustrations, the "Scout leader" uses the skills of good listening to acknowledge that the message is being received.
"I got it," is an appropriate response. So is. "This is what I hear you saying "
Encourage the Scout to keep talking, but offer no judgment or feedback.
It is very likely that the Scout will focus on the negative, complaining about what he or she doesn't like. That's fine, it is often the way people who are upset express themselves.
2. The Scout leader says, "I hear what you don't want. NOW tell me what you do what."
Encourage the Scout to keep talking, but focus now on positive aspects of the situation rather than negative ones.

15. Listening in Adversarial Situations - Discussion
What did you observe? How did it go?
Consider
speakers respond to listeners (acknowledge but do not enable the negative)
flipping a negative to a positive can structure a more productive framework
positive light involves and projects more empathy and support
Discussion Points-Listening in Adversarial Situations
Ask participants to discuss what they observed in the "Listening in Adversarial Situations” role-play. In addition to their comments, include in the discussion the following ideas.
Speakers respond to how others listen to them. Acknowledge but don't immediately judge their complaints (“I got it . . ."). If there is no enabling by a listener, complaints will seem smaller and ultimately more manageable.
By taking a negative and flipping it around to a positive, a listener can also structure a more productive framework for finding solutions. ("I hear what you don’t want. Now tell me what you do want.")
A conversation cast in a positive light naturally involves more empathy and support. Body language of listeners and speakers becomes more open, and chances for resolution are greatly enhanced.

16. Listeners should always strive to create a positive present, as opposed to a negative past.

17. Giving and Receiving Feedback
May be difficult – effective listening can help turn negative into positive – to be helpful, both parties must listen effectively.
How does it feel to receive feedback? How does it feel to give feedback (in a positive manner)?
Basic part of leadership and teamwork.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Receiving feedback can sometimes be difficult. However, by using effective listening skills, a feedback situation may be turned into a positive experience.
Have you ever had someone give you advice about something? How did it feel to be receiving feedback?
Have you ever been in a position to tell people how they can do something better or how they might make a positive change in their behavior? How did it feel to be offering feedback?
From time to time, all of us find ourselves giving and receiving feedback. It is a basic part of team development, of leadership, and of friendships.
For feedback to be helpful, both parties must use the skills of effective listening.

18. Tips on Giving Feedback
Is it helpful (what are your motives)?
Do others want it?
Deal only with behavior that can be changed.
Is it specific (no generalities)?
Does it describe (not evaluate) behavior not intangibles, like “attitude”?
How does the behavior impact you?
Does your feedback contain an “I” statement (accept personal responsibility for you)?
Did the recipient understand what you said?
Tips on Giving Feedback
1. Consider your motives. Feedback should always be helpful: otherwise, there is no reason to offer it.
2. Find out if the other people involved are open to receiving feedback. Listen carefully, then rephrase what they say to be sure you understand them.
3. Deal only with behavior that can be changed.
4. Deal with specifics, not generalities.
5. Describe the behavior: do not evaluate it.
6. Let the other person know the impact the behavior has on you.
7. Use an "I" statement to accept responsibility for your own perceptions and emotions.
8.To make sure the recipients of feedback have understood your message in the way you intended it, ask them to rephrase what they heard you say.

19. You can give caring feedback without a good technique, BUT
You can give caring feedback without a good technique, BUT the slickest technique in the world will not hide a lack of caring.

20. Tips on Receiving Feedback
Seek out feedback (it will nearly always help you improve).
Listen carefully (heightened awareness).
Listen actively (rephrase, get the words in context).
Listen empathetically (get the message).
Monitor your emotions (now is not the time to react).
Tips on Receiving Feedback
1. Seek out feedback. It will nearly always provide you with information that will in some way help you improve your performance.
2. Listen carefully. Receiving feedback requires a heightened awareness of yourself and the person offering the feedback.
3. Listen actively. Restate the feedback in your own words so that the speaker knows that the message you are receiving is the same as the one the speaker intended to send.
4. Listen empathetically. Put feedback in its proper context by observing the speaker's body language, tone of voice, and emotions. Consider the speaker's reasons for offering feedback.
5. Notice how you are feeling when someone offers you feedback. Becoming angry or defensive can cloud your ability to listen effectively.

21. Consider feedback to be a gift. It truly is one.

22. Listening to Learn: Summary
Effective listening is a learned skill.
Listening is important to relationships and problem solving.
Effective listening is both active and empathetic.
Listening can turn a negative situation into a positive one.
Listening is key to giving and receiving feedback.
Summary
Effective listening is a skill that each of us can learn and can constantly improve upon.
Listening plays a vital role in forming relationships, developing teams, and finding solutions.
The best listening is both active and empathetic.
Listening can be a tool for turning a negative situation into a positive one.
Listening well is an important part of both receiving and giving feedback.

23. So, did we . . . Become aware of how we listen? (YOU BET!)
Explore good listening as a communications skill? (YOU BET!)
Practice the skills of active and empathetic listening? (YOU BET!)
Examine the relationship between listening skills and the receiving and giving of feedback? (YOU BET!)

24. Thank You!
Your totem goes here
Replace totem picture with your own.

25. ELECT YOUR DENNER!