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Effective Listening During Communication
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 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,
Dr. Bruce A. Johnson, Ph.D., MBA
©2006
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 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,
Dr. Bruce A. Johnson, Ph.D., MBA
©2006
| Written by Dr. Bruce A. Johnson, Ph.D., MBA |