Blog Posting #81, October 11, 2009

Listening for Learning

Google “Listening skills” and you will have over 6,000,000 results. Go to Amazon.com and enter “Listening skills,” for the book category only, and you have almost 26,000 possibilities such as: Just Listen by Goulston, Are You Really Listening by Donoghue and Siegel, Listening: The Forgotten Skill by Burley-Allen, and Effective Listening Skills by Kratz.

Books like these generally prescribe a list of things to do such as: “12 Steps to Listening” and “5 Principles for Effective Listening and Communication” but they often miss the most important ingredient—love. Love will read the lines, between the lines, above the lines, and below the lines. Love processes information for one purpose—helping the one being listened to. If not in a book, where can we find this highest and deepest form of learning? It’s found in almost any classroom, field, court, or rink. It’s found in the profession of teaching and coaching. We call it, “Listening for Learning.”

What is “Listening for Learning?” Teachers already know but let’s assume some of those business book authors are tuned in. From reading their books, we already know they understand the difference between “hearing” (taking in verbal sounds) and “listening” (understanding what is being said). That’s a good thing. But they may not completely understand the highest form of listening. Comparing the four types of listening will make it clear.  

1. Listening for Speaking: While listening, thinking of what you are going to say.
2. Listening for Information: Listening with the intent of spreading information to others.
3. Listening for Appeasement: To let the speaker know you are taking time to listen.
4. Listening for Learning: Assimilating information that can be used to help the speaker.

Two teachers of basketball that understand the value of “Listening for Learning” are Pete Newell and John Wooden. Each of these great men knows the value of “Listening for Learning” because it not only enabled them to help players reach their individual potential but, in doing so, it helped their teams reach its potential as well.  

Pete Newell: Listening and Shooting Percentage
Did you know you can improve a player’s shooting percentage by listening? In the book, Playing Big (Pete Newell and Swen Nater), Pete Newell says, “I have always felt that the mental aspects should be considered. A player with a troubled mind, whatever the cause, loses concentration when shooting the outside shot. Many things can cause that lack of focus. In college, it can be the player’s studies or academic problems. It could be home or social problems. It could also be financial worries.

“No matter how much coaches preach to leave everything other than basketball outside of the gymnasium, players will bring problems of this magnitude with them to practice and games. A wandering mind will most definitely affect shooting.”

Once he determined the cause for a shooting slump was possibly mental, Coach Newell talked with the player, listened, and proceeded to help him with his problems. In every case, the shooting percentage went up.

John Wooden: Tardiness Rule
John Wooden, in his earlier coaching, had rules for tardiness that were black and white and applied to all players. However, at some point, he realized treating everyone the same was the most unfair thing to do because players were different and each earned and deserved different treatment. Therefore, he revised his rule to this: “If you are going to be late to practice, before suiting up, come see me and give me your excuse. If I buy it, you can practice. If I don’t buy it, you are excused from practice.” The new rule allowed Wooden the chance to listen to a player and take all things into consideration before making a decision. Once the player made his presentation, Coach Wooden repeated it back to him, just to make sure they were on the same page.

On one occasion, Curtis Rowe came down onto the court in street clothes and talked to Coach. We all knew why before Coach did. He was detained by campus police because he had a dozen parking violations he had not paid for. Guess what? Coach let him practice because it was his first tardiness offense.  None of us had a problem with that, except, perhaps, the guy that was Rowe’s backup in games. Incidentally, Curtis was never late again.

Conclusion
There are thousands of books about listening, most written by authors who write motivational material. It’s good to read them. But if you want to learn about real listening, “Listening for Learning,” you have to go to a teacher. Hey! How come teachers are not writing these books?  The answer is: Teachers are too busy teaching. That’s OK. We’ll spread the word for them.

“The wisdom of an educated and judicious tongue is obtained in a classroom where the ears and eyes are the teachers.”