MKT 352
26 September 2013

Listening Assignment Over the weekend I decided to practice my effective listening skills on my roommate. We usually talk when she gets home from class, however I tend to cook my dinner or continue working on homework as she talks about her day. This time, when she got home from class I put aside my laptop and books and sat across from her at the kitchen table. I could tell she was irritated about something so I asked her how her day was. I made direct eye contact when I asked her this question. She immediately began to vent to me about missing the bus, being late to class, and the amount of work she was assigned. Though there were times I was tempted to jump in and share my story from the day I refrained and instead only asked small questions about her day to get her to open up more. Towards the beginning of the conversation she seemed distracted and kept looking off other places while talking, however the longer I reinforced that I was interested in what she had to say and the more I attempted to make eye contact with you the more she relaxed. She then began meeting my eyes as she talked. At the end of the conversation she in turn asked about my day. It was nice to each get to share out stories to someone who was clearly interested in listening to what we had to say. Throughout the week I paid extra attention to not only my body language, but the body language of others. In one instance I noticed that a member in my group project was sitting with their arms crossed and their eyes focused down at the table. I then began to notice that no one had asked for this person’s input on the project because he seemed so closed off. I decided to mirror his body language and I folded my arms across my chest and looked down. I stopped engaging in the conversation and no one directly spoke to me. After a couple of minutes I sat up straight, placed my hands on the table, and looked up. Within a few seconds I was asked my opinion on the colors of our group logo. This reinforced the concept that if your body language suggests that you’re closed off; people will not feel comfortable engaging with you. Whereas, if you’re body language shows that you are open to conversation people will feel comfortable engaging you. I also worked on my eye contact throughout the week. I practiced what we learned in class on focusing on the color of the person’s eyes and found that it relaxed me and made it easier to keep eye contact. In a couple of instances where I felt somewhat uncomfortable making eye contact I focused by attention on the forehead, right above the eyes. This worked very well for me. I found that when I made an effort to make eye contact, the person I was speaking to mirrored me and also made eye contact when speaking with me. Throughout the week it became increasingly easier to make and keep eye contact. It also made me feel closer to the person I was speaking to and I found myself opening up more during conversations as well.