full transcript

From the Ted Talk by TED-Ed: 4 things all great listeners know

Unscramble the Blue Letters


This might feel awkward at first, and what’s most effective might deenpd on your relationship with the speaker. But with time and ptccaire you can iznnaetlrie these basic behaviors. So let’s say a good friend wants to tell you about an issue they’re having with their partner. Before even starting your conversation, rvmeoe any distractions in the environment. Turn off the TV, take off your headphones and put your phone away— far away. One study showed that even the visible presence of a phone made conversations feel less intimate and fulfilling to those involved.

Once the conversation begins, one of the most important things you can do is also the most obvious— try not to itrrnpuet. This doesn’t mean you need to stay completely snilet. But if you do interject, look for natural pauses to ask open-ended questions that bfneeit the speaker, not just your cuiitorsy. qiuentsos like “What happened next?” or “How did that make you feel?” confirm that you’re following the story while also helping the speaker dive deeper into their own thoughts. Another geart way to show your understanding is by snmmizuriag what you just heard and asking if you’ve missed anything. Summaries like this show the speaker that you're truly trying to understand them rather than just waiting for your turn to talk. Speaking of which, while a good conversation requires back and forth, planning out your response while the speaker is tknailg is a common way to miss what’s being said. So try to stay present and if you lose focus, don't be shy about asking the speaker to repeat what you mssied. This might feel esrmnrbiaasg, but asking for clarification actually shows that you’re committed to understanding. Finally, don’t be afraid of senlice. It’s okay to ask for a moment to formulate your rsenospe and taking a beat to think can help speakers reflect on their speech as well.

Open Cloze


This might feel awkward at first, and what’s most effective might ______ on your relationship with the speaker. But with time and ________ you can ___________ these basic behaviors. So let’s say a good friend wants to tell you about an issue they’re having with their partner. Before even starting your conversation, ______ any distractions in the environment. Turn off the TV, take off your headphones and put your phone away— far away. One study showed that even the visible presence of a phone made conversations feel less intimate and fulfilling to those involved.

Once the conversation begins, one of the most important things you can do is also the most obvious— try not to _________. This doesn’t mean you need to stay completely ______. But if you do interject, look for natural pauses to ask open-ended questions that _______ the speaker, not just your _________. _________ like “What happened next?” or “How did that make you feel?” confirm that you’re following the story while also helping the speaker dive deeper into their own thoughts. Another _____ way to show your understanding is by ___________ what you just heard and asking if you’ve missed anything. Summaries like this show the speaker that you're truly trying to understand them rather than just waiting for your turn to talk. Speaking of which, while a good conversation requires back and forth, planning out your response while the speaker is _______ is a common way to miss what’s being said. So try to stay present and if you lose focus, don't be shy about asking the speaker to repeat what you ______. This might feel ____________, but asking for clarification actually shows that you’re committed to understanding. Finally, don’t be afraid of _______. It’s okay to ask for a moment to formulate your ________ and taking a beat to think can help speakers reflect on their speech as well.

Solution


  1. questions
  2. remove
  3. great
  4. response
  5. silence
  6. embarrassing
  7. summarizing
  8. depend
  9. silent
  10. practice
  11. benefit
  12. talking
  13. curiosity
  14. interrupt
  15. internalize
  16. missed

Original Text


This might feel awkward at first, and what’s most effective might depend on your relationship with the speaker. But with time and practice you can internalize these basic behaviors. So let’s say a good friend wants to tell you about an issue they’re having with their partner. Before even starting your conversation, remove any distractions in the environment. Turn off the TV, take off your headphones and put your phone away— far away. One study showed that even the visible presence of a phone made conversations feel less intimate and fulfilling to those involved.

Once the conversation begins, one of the most important things you can do is also the most obvious— try not to interrupt. This doesn’t mean you need to stay completely silent. But if you do interject, look for natural pauses to ask open-ended questions that benefit the speaker, not just your curiosity. Questions like “What happened next?” or “How did that make you feel?” confirm that you’re following the story while also helping the speaker dive deeper into their own thoughts. Another great way to show your understanding is by summarizing what you just heard and asking if you’ve missed anything. Summaries like this show the speaker that you're truly trying to understand them rather than just waiting for your turn to talk. Speaking of which, while a good conversation requires back and forth, planning out your response while the speaker is talking is a common way to miss what’s being said. So try to stay present and if you lose focus, don't be shy about asking the speaker to repeat what you missed. This might feel embarrassing, but asking for clarification actually shows that you’re committed to understanding. Finally, don’t be afraid of silence. It’s okay to ask for a moment to formulate your response and taking a beat to think can help speakers reflect on their speech as well.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
good listening 2


Important Words


  1. afraid
  2. awkward
  3. basic
  4. beat
  5. begins
  6. behaviors
  7. benefit
  8. clarification
  9. committed
  10. common
  11. completely
  12. confirm
  13. conversation
  14. conversations
  15. curiosity
  16. deeper
  17. depend
  18. distractions
  19. dive
  20. effective
  21. embarrassing
  22. environment
  23. feel
  24. finally
  25. focus
  26. formulate
  27. friend
  28. fulfilling
  29. good
  30. great
  31. happened
  32. headphones
  33. heard
  34. helping
  35. important
  36. interject
  37. internalize
  38. interrupt
  39. intimate
  40. involved
  41. issue
  42. lose
  43. missed
  44. moment
  45. natural
  46. partner
  47. pauses
  48. phone
  49. planning
  50. practice
  51. presence
  52. present
  53. put
  54. questions
  55. reflect
  56. relationship
  57. remove
  58. repeat
  59. requires
  60. response
  61. show
  62. showed
  63. shows
  64. shy
  65. silence
  66. silent
  67. speaker
  68. speakers
  69. speaking
  70. speech
  71. starting
  72. stay
  73. story
  74. study
  75. summaries
  76. summarizing
  77. talk
  78. talking
  79. thoughts
  80. time
  81. turn
  82. tv
  83. understand
  84. understanding
  85. visible
  86. waiting