Importance of Active Listening: Analysis of Julian Treasure's Ted Talk

Running head: HEALTH CARE
Health Care
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Author Note

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Video retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_better#t-
12090
Introduction
The art of listening can never be confused with the art of hearing. The following paper
aims to analyse a Ted Talk video orated by Julian Treasure based on his personal opinion of
art of listening and referenced towards refining the analytical skills of an individual. The
TED Talk video mainly deals with active listening and its importance in daily life and tricks
which can be used to practice the art of active listening. The paper will initiate with
highlighting important points stated in the video followed by personal realization and its
subsequent contradictions with the philosophies of beliefs nurtured deep inside the mind.
Reasons behind selection of this video
According to Kawamichi et al. (2015), listening is a part of mental processing under
which the information that has been extracted through auditory impulses is processed through
the intellectual thinking skills. In relation to the same topic, Raniereet al. (2015) argued that
people are slowly losing their ability to listen. Approximately 60% of the communication
time must be indulged into active listening but it was found that within this 60%, people are
not listening attentively, what they are doing is hearing. Thus, the majority of the individuals
can retain only 25% of what they have heard during conversation (Kawamichi et al., 2015).
Extinction in the art of listening is making it difficult for the people to pay attention to subtle,
quite and an understated part hidden in the conversation. The reason behind the selection of
this video is, it provides a deep insight about how the loss art of listening can be gained back
against the backdrop of the present day jet age, where communication mainly occurs through
text messages or emails and people have less time in paying a heed to other people words.

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Important points highlighted in the video
Julian Treasure in his Ted Talk video highlighted the importance of listening and
strategies that can be used for active listening. Treasure also succinctly classifies the
difference between hearing and listening. He said, listening is a kind of pattern recognition
which is opposed to hearing. The concept highlighted by Treasure finds prominence in the
findings of Heald and Nusbaum (2014). Kolers (2014) stated that pattern recognition is a
crucial aspect of active listening and it helps to draw the relationship with the speech
perception and use of non-verbal auditory patterns. In his video, Treasure also stated that
conversation is guided by a range of different filters like language, culture, beliefs, attitudes
and values. People pay attention based on use and the presence of these filters. Treasure also
stated that listening means understanding and it assists in improving the analytical skills of a
person. In relation to listening, Figueroa (2014) argued that, listening is a thinking function
and requires proper analytical skills. Tyagi (2013) highlighted that hearing is an
indispensable part of active listening but majority of the people fail to practice this and the
information delivered by one person, fails to reach to a meaningful conclusion to others. This
can be explained by lack of focus. The focus is something that that can be practiced through
refining the skills of concentration. Attention increases focus and focus helps in active
listening.
Personal realization
From my personal understanding, I want to highlight that the facts and figures
highlighted by Treasure in his video holds significant prominence in the present day
perspective. At present, people are busy in broadcasting their personal achievement and this
is hampering the art of active listening. When they take break from advertising their own
skills, they dig inside their cell phones, either surfing social media or listening to music.