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Effective Listening
What does it mean to be a good listener? Is it about the actions you take, which include acknowledging
the speaker, asking appropriate questions, and maintaining appropriate eye contact? Effective listening
involves much more than actions, as you are the receiver of a communication message that the sender
intended to deliver, whether it was spoken words or something in writing.
When a sender is communicating with you are you actually hearing their message or are you actually
listening? Is there a difference between hearing and listening? To put it simply, hearing is the process of
receiving a message or information, whereas, listening is doing something with that message or
information. Hearing is receiving and listening is processing.
To be effective at listening you should understand what prevents you from doing more than hearing. We
often read in business books and magazines that when we are communicating with someone we should
take the actions that I mentioned, whether acknowledging the speaker, asking clarifying questions, or
maintaining appropriate eye contact. This gives the appearance that we are paying attention; therefore,
we must be engaged and we must be listening. Those actions; however, do not guarantee that we are
processing the information or message that we are receiving, which is at the heart of listening.
I have previously written about the process of communication and discussed our internal filtering
process. These processes slow down our ability to interpret the information or communication message
that we have received. The internal processes include biases, prejudices, opinions, beliefs, attitudes, etc.
When we first hear a message, we may allow these internal filters to prevent us from listening to the
message, or interpreting and processing the message. That is the reason why communication fails to be
effective, when we hear the communication message but do not really listen to it.
To become an effective listener, especially when you have an important communication, try following this
plan:
1. Be sure you have devoted enough time that is free of distraction
2. Ask the speaker if it is okay for you to take notes
3. Be aware of when you are hearing and when you are listening to the communication message
4. When you find that your own internal filters are preventing you from listening, make a note to
yourself. Then ask follow up questions either to yourself or to the speaker for clarification. You want to
be able to demonstrate that you have listened, that you have taken the information or the message
received and processed it, interpreted it, and taken action based upon it.
Dr. Bruce A. Johnson, Ph.D. ABD, MBA
©2006
Professional Writer, Trainer, College Instructor
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Master's in Adult Education
Certificate in Training & Performance Improvement
Member: Association of Training & Development
Member: Society of Human Resource Management
Extensive Experience with Writing Resumes, Researching, Writing & Editing, Proofreading Manuscripts,
Public Speaking, Developing Training Programs & PowerPoint Presentations, Career Development, &
Career Coaching
"Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as
the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in" –Abraham Lincoln, March 9, 1832
What does it mean to be a good listener? Is it about the actions you take, which include acknowledging
the speaker, asking appropriate questions, and maintaining appropriate eye contact? Effective listening
involves much more than actions, as you are the receiver of a communication message that the sender
intended to deliver, whether it was spoken words or something in writing.
When a sender is communicating with you are you actually hearing their message or are you actually
listening? Is there a difference between hearing and listening? To put it simply, hearing is the process of
receiving a message or information, whereas, listening is doing something with that message or
information. Hearing is receiving and listening is processing.
To be effective at listening you should understand what prevents you from doing more than hearing. We
often read in business books and magazines that when we are communicating with someone we should
take the actions that I mentioned, whether acknowledging the speaker, asking clarifying questions, or
maintaining appropriate eye contact. This gives the appearance that we are paying attention; therefore,
we must be engaged and we must be listening. Those actions; however, do not guarantee that we are
processing the information or message that we are receiving, which is at the heart of listening.
I have previously written about the process of communication and discussed our internal filtering
process. These processes slow down our ability to interpret the information or communication message
that we have received. The internal processes include biases, prejudices, opinions, beliefs, attitudes, etc.
When we first hear a message, we may allow these internal filters to prevent us from listening to the
message, or interpreting and processing the message. That is the reason why communication fails to be
effective, when we hear the communication message but do not really listen to it.
To become an effective listener, especially when you have an important communication, try following this
plan:
1. Be sure you have devoted enough time that is free of distraction
2. Ask the speaker if it is okay for you to take notes
3. Be aware of when you are hearing and when you are listening to the communication message
4. When you find that your own internal filters are preventing you from listening, make a note to
yourself. Then ask follow up questions either to yourself or to the speaker for clarification. You want to
be able to demonstrate that you have listened, that you have taken the information or the message
received and processed it, interpreted it, and taken action based upon it.
Dr. Bruce A. Johnson, Ph.D. ABD, MBA
©2006
Professional Writer, Trainer, College Instructor
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Master's in Adult Education
Certificate in Training & Performance Improvement
Member: Association of Training & Development
Member: Society of Human Resource Management
Extensive Experience with Writing Resumes, Researching, Writing & Editing, Proofreading Manuscripts,
Public Speaking, Developing Training Programs & PowerPoint Presentations, Career Development, &
Career Coaching
"Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as
the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in" –Abraham Lincoln, March 9, 1832
| Written by Dr. Bruce A. Johnson, Ph.D. ABD, MBA |
| Additional Sample Business Writing |