There have always been arguments among great philosophers and scholars regarding the importance of listening to a book or reading a book by oneself.
According to Daniel Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia, both reading and writing are worthwhile. When you are traveling around a busy metro or working out in the gym or walking on the streets the best option for you will be listening to a book.
The biggest difference between the two is the ‘engagement’ which plays a key factor. A human mind cannot stay focused for a long time even if there are fewer or no distractions at all. When you read a book, you focus on the book and the words; it is something you do while listening is something that happens to you.
Listening increases your concentration power. If a person is giving a seminar you listen to what he says carefully and probably even jot down important points for future references and if you have a question to ask you may even do so. On a personal note, I would listen and write points simultaneously during my university days which made me learn the chapter easily with concentration.
Dyslexic people or even people who are not fluent in the language who would love to read and know things cannot do so as they are not fit for reading. This causes disappointment in them and lowers their self-esteem. To overcome this issue, they can listen to books or articles rather than reading them. They can do so by converting the text to a voice file by notevibes.
Notevibes is an online application that converts the text files to audio. You can use the free version up to 5000 characters. You can also convert to MP3 files.
Listening is also important than reading as no organization can run successfully without listening to the instructions or assignments given by the manager or the senior person. Also while listening, there is an eye to eye contact between two or more people which gives more confidence to the speaker as he knows and feels that the people are paying attention to his thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Ever felt shy or ashamed of your language style or pronunciation? Worried of the people talking behind you? Listening to a book or an article is the solution to improve yourself. Listening improves vocabulary and pronunciation at the same time. If a person is not fluent in English or any language and listens to the article carefully, they will get the flow of the language with the correct grammar and pronunciation which will help them to grow their confidence to a level ahead.
Human interaction solely depends on the listening and talking skills of a successful and good communicator.
To conclude, good listening doesn’t just improve your confidence and talking style but also benefits personal relationships. Sharing our feelings and listening to other’s feelings gets people closer strengthening the bond.
Featured Photo by Findaway Voices on Unsplash.
Sachin Shakya
Really informative and educative article thanks for sharing this wonderful info