Why are most people poor listeners?
Why are most people poor listeners?
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” —Stephen R. Covey. Its all in the mindset and what revolves around us is what I believe causes most people to become poor listeners. Therefore, if it wasn’t for media access or the internet, I suppose the percentage would be fairly even; however, technology is what is needed although most people have poor social skills. They are too into themselves and/or have selective hearing. In other words, the act of "listening" may be affected by barriers that impede the flow of information. These barriers include distractions, an inability to prioritize information, a tendency to assume or judge based on little or no information, and general confusion about the topic being discussed. Above all, some of the most common barriers to effective listening include low concentration, lack of prioritization, poor judgement, and focusing on style rather than substance.
What are some of the barriers to effective listening?
There are many things that get in the way of listening, many of which are bad habits such as trying to listen to more than one conversation at a time, you find the communicator attractive/unattractive, you are not interested in the topic/issue being discussed and become bored, you have preconceived ideas or bias, and have a closed mind that we believe to be correct and it can be difficult to listen to the views of others that contradict our own opinions. Above all, I believe identifying rather than empathising is one of the most important barriers because understanding what you are hearing but not putting yourself in the shoes of the speaker is tough. As most of us have a lot of internal self-dialogue, we spend a lot of time listening to our own thoughts and feelings and it can be difficult to switch the focus from 'I' or 'me' to 'them' or 'you'. Therefore, effective listening involves opening our minds to the views of others
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” —Stephen R. Covey. Its all in the mindset and what revolves around us is what I believe causes most people to become poor listeners. Therefore, if it wasn’t for media access or the internet, I suppose the percentage would be fairly even; however, technology is what is needed although most people have poor social skills. They are too into themselves and/or have selective hearing. In other words, the act of "listening" may be affected by barriers that impede the flow of information. These barriers include distractions, an inability to prioritize information, a tendency to assume or judge based on little or no information, and general confusion about the topic being discussed. Above all, some of the most common barriers to effective listening include low concentration, lack of prioritization, poor judgement, and focusing on style rather than substance.
What are some of the barriers to effective listening?
There are many things that get in the way of listening, many of which are bad habits such as trying to listen to more than one conversation at a time, you find the communicator attractive/unattractive, you are not interested in the topic/issue being discussed and become bored, you have preconceived ideas or bias, and have a closed mind that we believe to be correct and it can be difficult to listen to the views of others that contradict our own opinions. Above all, I believe identifying rather than empathising is one of the most important barriers because understanding what you are hearing but not putting yourself in the shoes of the speaker is tough. As most of us have a lot of internal self-dialogue, we spend a lot of time listening to our own thoughts and feelings and it can be difficult to switch the focus from 'I' or 'me' to 'them' or 'you'. Therefore, effective listening involves opening our minds to the views of others