To take good notes, you must be a good listener. Listening is a skill, and it can be improved.

HEARING VS LISTENING
TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR GOOD LISTENING
TEN BAD LISTENING HABITS

HEARING VS LISTENING

Hearing is strictly mechanical. You even hear while you are sleeping.
Listening includes sensing, interpreting, evaluating and reacting to spoken messages. Listening takes:

	Attention-in spite of distractions
	Concentration - focusing your attention on the data and ideas

 
COMMANDMENTS FOR GOOD LISTENING

1. PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME

	Get enough sleep and eat before a lecture so that such things are not distracting you.
	Review info that you already know about the subject.
	Read any info that you have, especially textbooks, to create a framework and vocabulary which will help you follow and understand the lecturer.

2. SHOW THE SPEAKER THAT YOU WANT TO LISTEN

	Look and act interested though eye contact and body language. Do not read your mail while he/she talks.
	Listen to understand, not reply.

3. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS

	Don’t doodle, tap, or shuffle papers.
	Will it be quieter if you shut the door?

4. BE PATIENT

	Allow plenty of time. Do not interrupt.
	Don’t start for the door or walk away.

5. HOLD YOUR TEMPER

	An angry man gets the wrong meanings from words.
	Don’t react; ask intelligent questions for clarification and explanation.

6. GO EASY ON ARGUMENT AND CRITICISM

	Respect the opinions of others.
	Do not argue: even if you win, you lose.

7. ASK QUESTIONS

At the appropriate time, ask questions that will contribute to group discussion. If the answer to the question will benefit you only or take more time, save it for after class.

8. STOP TALKING!

This is where you truly must begin and end because all other commandments depend on it. You just can’t do a good listening job while you are talking.

 
TEN BAD LISTENING HABITS

1. CALLING A SUBJECT DULL

	Do not "turn off" simply because you think a lecture is going to be dull.
	Listen closely for information that can be important or useful.

2. CRITICIZING A SPEAKER

	Do not find fault with the speaker,concentrating on the speaker rather than what is being said
	Realize that a lecture is not a fashion show, and look for ideas, not for things to criticize.

3. OVERREACTING

	Do not become so involved in disagreeing with the speaker that you miss most of the lecture.
	Listen with the mind, not the emotions.
	Jot down a disagreement to ask the speaker about later.

4. LISTENING FOR FACTS ONLY

	Do not merely listen for facts; listening for understanding.
	See how facts illustrate principles, how examples illustrate ideas, and how evidence supports arguments.
	Pay attention to the overriding principle, concept, or theme. Also, look for the implications and significance.

5. OUTLINING EVERYTHING

	Do not try to force every lecture into a rigid mold through detailed outlining; you will be so busy with form and style that the content will be missed.
	Adjust your note taking to the speaker’s topic and organizational pattern.

6. FAKING ATTENTION

	Do not lock your eyes onto the speaker and then let your mind wander.
	Realize that each lecture is an opportunity to learn. A lecture is an easy way to obtain a lot of information!

7. YIELDING TO DISTRACTIONS

	Do not use every little distraction—footsteps, a door opening or closing, a cough, a dropped pencil—as an excuse to stop listening to the instructor.
	Discipline yourself to shut out distractions and to concentrate on the speaker’s message.

8. CHOOSING ONLY EASY STUFF

	Follow an instructor’s complex arguments and ideas with the goal of understanding.
	Be intellectually curious and jot down tough, technical, or complex ideas for further consideration.

9. OVERREACTING TO EMOTIONAL WORDS

Listen for deeper understanding, without reacting to the emotional trigger of controversial subjects. Include your own ideas/reactions in your notes, but differentiate between your thoughts and the speakers words.

10. WASTING THOUGHT SPEED

	Thinking proceeds at a much higher rate than speech (actually about four times as fast).
	Use your thought speed and any pauses in the lecture to distinguish supporting material from main ideas, make fast summaries of the lecture’s highlights and anticipate the lecturer’s next point.