Pre-Read II Listening Skills by - EFN 1-D Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. We remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear. Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including a greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades at school and in academic work and even better health and general well-being. Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps. Hearing. Hearing just means listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. For example, say you were listening to a report on zebras, and the speaker mentioned that no two are alike. If you can repeat the fact, then you have heard what has been said. U...