The Importance of Listening: A Review of Julian Treasure's Video

Running head: HEALTH CARE
Health Care
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Author Note

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Video Taken: https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_better#t-445882
The art of listening is different from the art of hearing (Goodman, 2017). The
following essay aims is based on the video of Julian Treasure who has provided his opinion
on listening and its importance in shaping up the analytical skills. The essay begins with
highlighting the reason behind the selection of video followed by important points
highlighted in the video, personal realization and contradiction with personal philosophies of
beliefs. Finally the essay sums up with the important message shared in the video.
Reason for selection of this video
Listening is defined as a mental process or a process of extraction of information via
auditory impulses (Bond, 2012). However, according to Turner (2013), people are gradually
losing their ability to listen. Julian Treasure in the video has opined that people spent roughly
60% of the communication time in listening. However, even in this 60%, people are not
listening attentively, they are only hearing. As a result, they can retain only 25% of what they
have listened during the conversation. Moreover, decay in the art of listening is making it
difficult for people to pay attention to something subtle, quiet and something which is
understated. According to the recent reports published in The Hindu (2015), human have two
ears and one mouth and here comes the importance of listening over speaking. Bond (2012) is
of the opinion that when one is hearing and not listening, the words fall on the deaf ears and
fails to reach the brain. Thus in the juxtaposition of listening and hearing, the live flow of
information between the people is getting stagnant and thus there is decreasing the quality of
effective communication. This different between listening and hearing along with the
importance of listening has been highlighted in the video of Julian Treasure, making it a topic
of interest. Moreover, the video also discussed the different strategies employed for listening

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along the practises that must be undertaken in order to increase the power of listening and
thus further making it a topic of interest.
Important points emphasized
The points highlighted in the video of Julian Treasure is the importance of listening,
its difference between the hearing and different examples of listening. According to Julian
Treasure, one of the important examples of listening is pattern recognition. The concept
proposed by Julian Treasure goes in sync with the findings of Turner (2013). According to
Turner (2013) pattern recognition is an important aspect of listening as it helps in the
definition of relation of speech perception towards the perception of the non-verbal auditory
patterns. Julian Treasure further stated that there is a whole range of filters like culture,
language, values, beliefs, attitudes, expectations and it is these filters we pay attention to and
thus listen to the conversation that encompass these filters. Julian Treasure further opined the
listening means understanding and it helps in refining the analytical skills of the person.
According to Yang (2013), listening is a thinking function and demands analytical skills.
Under the listeners hear the speaker carefully; they will not be able to make accurate analysis.
Hearing on the other hand is prerequisite of active listening. However, the majority of people
fail here, as the data that are being delivered by other person fail to reach a meaningful
conclusion until they focus on the words pronounced by other persons. In the video, Julian
highlighted that listening promotes understanding. According to Noddings (2012), the sense
of understanding comes from reading or listening, when one listen’s carefully, he or she feeds
the data inside the brain through the input devices (ear). The focus on the words refines the
art of listening and thereby increasing the skill of understanding and analysis.
Personal level realization