Study 5

Be a Good Listener

 1-5. What does it mean to listen, and why is it important, especially at congregation meetings?

¹ Your progress as a minister of Jehovah is dependent to a considerable extent on how you listen. Throughout your life listening plays an important role in learning. You are listening when you hear with thoughtful attention, but if your attention is not focused on what is being said, the words that are spoken fall on deaf ears. No doubt you have talked to persons who gave you only part of their attention. No matter how often they agreed with you, you knew that they were not really getting the point and so were not really being benefited by what you said. How careful, then, we should be to be good listeners at all times, but especially when attending a course in divine education! As Proverbs 1:5 states: “A wise person will listen and take in more instruction.”

² The congregation meetings are part of the educational program provided for us through Jehovah’s organization. By listening intently we show respect for Jehovah and his provision for our education. But God knows our makeup and that we may tend at times to let our attention wander, so in his invitation to eat of the abundance of spiritual food that he provides he emphatically says: “Listen intently to me, and eat what is good, . . . Incline your ear and come to me. Listen, and your soul will keep alive.” (Isa. 55:2, 3) If we would have eternal life and aid others to gain that prize, then we need to listen closely and grasp God’s thoughts.—Heb. 1:1, 2; 2:1.

³ Listening attentively also demonstrates proper humility, and we all have good reason to be humble. We can all learn from someone else; none of us know it all. Even if the one speaking lacks in fluency or some other quality of the capable speaker, genuine humility should lead us to give help and encouragement by our attentiveness and response to what he says. And who knows but that he may touch on some angle or some shade of meaning that has never occurred to us before? Out of the mouths of babes, spiritually speaking, Jehovah can provide enlightenment.—Matt. 11:25.

⁴ Paying close attention is vital in connection with congregation meetings because the things we learn are to be applied in our lives. It is through gaining “accurate knowledge” that we are able to put on the new personality. (Col. 3:9, 10) But if we do not listen carefully, if we fail to pay attention to details, we may not fully appreciate what changes are needed in our lives and so our spiritual growth may be hindered. Too, it is important to be able to give the right answers in oral or written reviews. But how much more so, in the field ministry, should we be able to give everyone who asks us a reason for the grand hope that we cherish!

⁵ As you cultivate the habit of paying close attention to what is spoken, you will improve your ability to remember the things you hear.

 6-8. How can you keep your mind from wandering when a talk is being given?

⁶ How to listen. It is easy to let other matters distract us at meetings. We may be preoccupied by things that happened during the day or concerned about something that has to be done tomorrow. But if one is not listening intently to what is being said, what is the point of being present? So there is need for each one to discipline himself, to keep a tight rein on his train of thought. One must be determined to give full attention to the discussion at hand, and refuse to allow the mind to wander. It should be as though one has pulled down a mental curtain on all thoughts that are foreign to the subject under discussion. That is concentration.

⁷ A good way to protect yourself against the wandering mind or the daydreaming habit is to make notes of points and scriptures used by the speaker. Keep the notes brief, as too many will distract your attention, while a few will help your concentration. These notes may be of value to you at some later time. But, even if you never use them again, they do help to keep your attention riveted on what is being said. You become deeply involved in the subject under discussion and can pinpoint the speaker’s main arguments.

⁸ In ordinary conversation it is a good indication that the other party is listening if he raises intelligent questions on the subject under discussion. So, too, when listening to a prepared talk it is good evidence that your mind is on the subject if you find yourself raising constructive questions and then watching to see if the speaker will answer them. Among other things, ask yourself how you could use the material being presented.

 9. How can the comparatively fast rate of thinking be used to good advantage when listening to a talk?

⁹ The average person thinks much faster than the speaker can talk, permitting time for outside thoughts to enter the mind. It has been estimated that the average rate of thinking is about 400 words a minute, but the average rate of speaking is about 125 words a minute. However, this thinking speed can be used to our advantage if we reflect on the material presented, summarizing it, reviewing it, and so fixing it firmly in mind.

10, 11. How can right motive be an aid in listening?

¹⁰ Another aid to getting the important points a speaker has to offer is to listen with the right motive. It is not our objective to listen with a view to criticizing the speaker’s material and delivery. In the ministry school the appointed overseer has the responsibility of offering counsel. So that leaves the rest of us free to concentrate on whatever useful information the speaker has to offer.

¹¹ Again, when the school overseer offers counsel to student speakers, it is seldom constructive for another student to be deciding whether he agrees with the counsel offered or not. But it will definitely be to his advantage to ask himself whether the same counsel applies to him, and what benefit he can personally gain from it. Thus by being a good listener he is aided to progress by each talk given instead of limiting his advancement to the occasions when he personally is assigned to speak.

12. In what way can children learn to be good listeners?

¹² Youths and young children should also be taught to be attentive listeners. It helps if they are seated in a location where they are under the watchful eye of parents. If they can read, it is encouraging for them to have their own copy of the publication being used. Generally speaking, it is unwise to permit them to occupy the time with material that is foreign to the program. As a stimulus to listening they can be given to understand that when they get home they will be asked to repeat something they have learned. And they should be warmly commended if they do remember or make note of something said during the meeting.—Deut. 31:12.

13, 14. How can eating habits affect our listening?

¹³ Concentration comes more easily if we have been careful to avoid eating a heavy meal just prior to meeting time, for this is sleep-inducing. This is because the body’s resources are taxed to care for digestion, leaving but a minimum to operate one’s thinking processes. With mental perception thus dulled, there is danger of simply listening sluggishly to what is said, without response or deep appreciation, or of dozing off altogether.

¹⁴ Perhaps even more important is scheduling your affairs to be present regularly for the instruction presented. Students at many schools skip classes and then try to review the material themselves. But you will hardly benefit from instruction you do not hear. Do not let family or friends keep you from being present at the meetings. Make certain you are present to hear with life-sustaining regularity the truths presented from God’s Word.

15, 16. Explain how we can test and improve our listening ability at the meetings.

¹⁵ Testing your listening ability. We spend five hours each week at congregation meetings, and during most of that time we have the opportunity to learn by listening. Do you personally make the best possible use of that time? How much of the fine material covered each week by the public speaker do you retain? After attending the ministry school and the service meeting, can you state the main idea of each talk in your own words, or do you find that at times you cannot even remember who was on the program? Might you benefit more fully by putting forth a greater effort to concentrate, perhaps even taking notes? Try it. Then review the main ideas in discussion with others after the meetings.

¹⁶ During several of our weekly meetings, questions are propounded and the audience is invited to comment. Those comments often reflect hours of personal study and years of experience. When others offer comments, do you really listen to what they are saying? Do you listen carefully enough so that, when they are finished, you could repeat in your own words the gist of what they said? Try to do just that, and you will be delighted at how much more you really hear.

17. What will help to hold our attention while paragraphs are being read?

¹⁷ During these meetings much reading is also done. Paragraphs of the study material are read at the Watchtower study and the congregation book study. Do you really listen to what is being read, or do you let your mind wander during the reading? There is a wealth of detail in the paragraphs that time does not permit to be covered by oral comments. And then the repetition of the main points by the commenters helps to fix the material clearly in mind. How much we can learn if we really listen to everything that is read at the meetings! It will help you to do so if you focus your eyes on the printed material as well as listening.

18-20. How are eager listeners rewarded?

¹⁸ Eager listeners rewarded. Eager listeners recognize that there is much to be learned and they are anxious to get as much as possible. They heed the advice of Proverbs 2:3, 4: “Call out for understanding itself . . . give forth your voice for discernment itself, . . . keep seeking for it as for silver.” And as they search, Jehovah blesses them, because he has promised: “In that case you will understand the fear of Jehovah, and you will find the very knowledge of God. . . . you will understand righteousness and judgment and uprightness, the entire course of what is good.”—Prov. 2:5, 9.

¹⁹ It is true that to be good listeners we must discipline ourselves. But how rewarding it is! Our spiritual growth becomes readily manifest. Beneficial changes are made in our lives. And our ability to make known the good news both from the platform and in the field ministry improves.

²⁰ Whereas our time for personal study may be quite limited, we all have opportunity to do much listening at congregation meetings. How important, then, the quality of our listening! And since the things we hear involve our service to Jehovah and our eternal life, how appropriate the counsel of Jesus: “Pay attention to how you listen”!—Luke 8:18.