Journal on Speaking and Listening

IT’S NOT JUST BY THE EARS! January 24, 2011 Though I have previous knowledge about listening, but I still find our discussion much different from the latter, it’s a lot more fun with lesser pressure. Listening is the most important part of the communication process. However, listening skills do not come naturally to most people; they require willingness, practice, and patience to develop. Effective listening is every bit as important as effective speaking, and generally much more difficult. Although numerous barriers to effective listening can make the practice difficult, there are several habits one can adopt that will lead to a higher level of listening proficiency. There are many reasons individuals fail to listen successfully. These include (summarized version): interrupting, judging, faking attention, becoming emotional, tuning out, jumping to conclusions, becoming distracted. Interrupting is a problem for many reasons. First, it is aggressive behavior and will most likely bring a negative response from the speaker being interrupted. Second, it is difficult to listen and speak at the same time. When the listener is interrupting, he or she is certainly not listening fully. Becoming emotional can hinder one's ability to listen. It is important that the receiver be aware of his or her emotions. If the sender is sending a message that is offensive, it is important to acknowledge that fact and be aware of the fact that something is threatening a breakdown in the process. When a receiver is angered, it is easy for him or her to miss the most important part of the sender's message. Although the reasons for listening breakdowns are numerous, there are many ways to improve listening skills. These are: provide clues that you are actively involved, concentrator, refrain from formulating an immediate response, try to prepare beforehand, and be prepared to accept revisions. Be sure