Listening Skills
 Tune in. Focus your attention on the lecture or presentation before it
begins. Recall what you know about the topic. Review related reading
assignments while you are waiting for the lecture to begin.
 Maintain eye contact with the lecturer. Except when writing notes,
make eye contact with the lecturer. Eye contact improves communication;
you will feel more involved and find it easier to stay interested in the
lecture.
 Stay active by asking mental questions. Keep your attention focused
on the lecture by asking yourself questions. For example, what key point is
the lecturer making? How does it fit with previously discussed key points?
How is the lecture organized?
 Stick with the lecture. When a lecture becomes confusing, complicated
or technical, it is tempting to tune out. Resist this temptation be taking
detailed notes. These notes, when reviewed after the lecture, will be
valuable as you try to straighten out your confusion.
 Avoid emotional involvement. Although a topic may be near and dear to
your heart, try to avoid letting your emotions get in the way of listening.
 Focus on content, not delivery. Disregard personal characteristics such
as an annoying laugh or overused expressions.
 Focus on ideas, not facts. Listen for ideas, trends and patterns.
 Listen carefully to the speaker’s opening comments. Here the speaker
may establish connections with prior lectures, identify his or her purpose,
or describe the lecture’s content or organization. An announcement
regarding an upcoming quiz, test or assignment could likely be made at
this time.
Note-Taking Skills
 Attend all lectures.
 Date and number your note pages and handouts. It will help with
continuity.
 Give yourself plenty of blank spaces in your notes as well as plenty of
room to write. This will allow you to make additional notes, sketch helpful
graphics, or write textbook references.
 Write in pen because pencil smudges and use only one side of the paper.
 Law-ruled or summary margin paper is helpful with its 3-inch margin on
the left side of the page. This sets you up for using the Cornell format of
note taking. Write your notes on the right side of the line. After the lecture,
use the left margin for key words or phrases, or sample questions when
you review the notes.
 Take as many notes as you can. If you miss something, leave a space;
you may be able to fill in the blanks later. Do not stop taking notes if you
are confused or if you want to ponder a particular concept. You will have
time for that later.
 Abbreviations are very helpful.
 Sit up front where it is easier to hear the lecturer. It is also easier to see
the instructor and to catch his or her nonverbal clues.
 Listen for clues such as: “this is important;” “you’ll need to know this;”
“you’ll need to know how to do this;” “this will be covered on the exam;”
“you may be tested on this.” When these clues are given, write them down
in your notes in the appropriate spots.
 Other clues to watch for are a change in voice, a change in rate of
speaking, use of visuals, listing, numbering or prioritizing, and body
language.
 Include everything that teachers write on the board and mark these notes
for special attention when you study.
 Include everything that teachers say after glancing at their notes.
 Record examples exactly as they are given so you will recognize them if
they show up in test questions.
 Include all definitions of terminology. In many subjects, a large portion of
test questions directly or indirectly test students’ knowledge of
terminology.
 Take notes until the very end of class. Instructors often rush to cover a
great deal of information during the last few minutes of a class session.
 If notes need to be recopied, keep in mind that errors are often made, and
information is frequently lost when this is done. Always compare the
information from the original set of notes with the new set before
discarding them.
 A failure to review any notes taken in class within 24-48 hours results in
forgetting approximately 80 percent of the material. This means spending
additional time relearning the information.
1. Symbols and graphics
= equal
* = important
= does not equal
** = very important
& = and
# = number
w/ = with
w/o = with out
(), []. {} = information that belongs together
> = greater than
< = less than
$ = cost, money
vs = versus, against
2. Abbreviations (don’t worry about punctuation)
cf = compare
eg = for example
NYC = New York City
mx = maximum
dept = department
mn = minimum
3. Use only the first syllable of the word
pol = politics
dem = democracy
lib = liberal
4. Use the first syllable and only the first letter of the second
subj = subject
cons = conservative
5. Eliminate final letters; just use enough to recognize the abbreviation
assoc = association
bio = biology
rep = repetition
intro = introduction
concl = conclusion
info = information
6. Omit vowels from the middle of words
bkgrd = background
pprd = prepared
gov = governor
rdng = reading
estmt = estimate
orgnsm = organism
7. Use apostrophes
gov’t = government
cont’d = Continued
am’t = amount
8. Form a plural of symbol by adding “s”
co-ops = cooperatives
lbs = liberals
/s = ratios