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The importance of communication
The importance of communication
The importance of communication
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Listening for Understanding
Listening is an important form of communication. Unfortunately, many people who do not know how to listen believe they can listen well. They often say "I have been doing this all of my life of course I can listen". Listening is not inherited, or a personality trait, it is a skill that must be worked on and practiced.
Anybody can become a good listener if they are committed to learn how and are willing to work hard. The first mistake that people tend to make when listening is to not make any type of comments while listening. They tend to just stand there and listen while the speaker talks. This can become very frustrating for the speaker and the listener. While the speaker may feel like he isn't being listened to, the listener may find some parts of the speakers talk confusing and hard to follow. Without comments, his concerns and confusion are never addressed. The simplest way to help a speaker along and show that you are listening is with subtle cues such as "hum", and "uh", "huh". While this is not a complicated form of listening it shows the speaker that you are paying attention to them. This is also good to way to show the focus of your attention is on the speaker. These subtle terms can be increased in effectiveness by adding good posture, proper facial expressions and eye contact to show the speaker that you are paying attention. Not only will this make the speaker more at ease, but it gives you a chance, as a listener, to help clarify the conversation such as "You don't say," "what?" etc. These comments can show the listener not only that you are listening but that you might have questions concerning what is being said.
To be a good listener, one must always keep from becoming ...
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...listened poorly or misunderstood the speaker than he is given the chance to correct any misunderstandings at that time. One of the most useful times to use paraphrasing is when someone is complaining to you. You always feel better when you feel like you have been truly listened too. It has the effect of calming you down and makes you feel much more important. Even if you are unable to fix the problem completely you feel like someone has tried to help you.
Bibliography:
Works Cited
Adler Ronald B. and Elmhorst, Jeanne Marquardt Communicating at work McGraw- Hill, Companies, Inc, 1999
Anastasi, Thomas E. Listen! Techniques for improving communication skills CBI
Publishing Company, Inc, 1982
Bone Diane The business of Listening Crisp Publications, Inc, Los Altos California, 1988
Paraphrasing is defined as “feedback that restates, in your own words, the message you thought the speaker sent” (Adler et. al, 2015, pg. 221). This strategy becomes useful when you want to clarify what you thought they said without asking them to repeat themselves. This creates a natural flow of conversation that specifies what was said without pausing the conversation and make it seem as if you weren’t listening mindfully. This strategy can remove the heat or tension from a conversation. I’ve personally, unknowingly used this strategy several times, particularly in high intensity situations. For example, I’ve used paraphrasing when having a conversation with my best friend about the death of a loved one. When his grandfather passed away, he was very upset and didn’t give a lot of information, so I was left to paraphrase his statements and clarify how he truly felt about the situation. It ties in very closely with questioning, however paraphrasing works more efficiently for defusing the high-stress situation. He would generalize about how upset he was and how he felt, so by paraphrasing I was able to determine the root of his distraught and how best to help him. If I had straight up asked him why he was upset, he would most likely have become upset and offended by my insensitivity. I support the use of paraphrasing, and most definitely
“There are a few who know how to listen and I have not met anyone who can do so like you,” (105). This was Siddhartha complimenting Vasudeva on his listening skills. I think of myself as a fairly good listener because my definition of a good listener is someone who can listen to what someone is saying and comprehend what they are saying and not always giving feedback, but rather showing them that you listened and know what they are saying. When I was in my Freshman year, I had a friend who was having some trouble, trouble being mental. She talked to me in physical science, that being our only class together, and i would just listen to her talk about her issues. I knew when she wanted me to say something back, but really I think she just wanted someone to talk to. Siddhartha and I both are either good listeners or aspire to be good
For example, when a friend pours forth her pain or sorrow to me, I will not evaluate or judge her words. I put myself in her shoes and attempt to understand her point of view and emotions. I also show my empathy and encourage her to express herself. Self-reflective listening is effective in dealing with emotions and helps me better understand the speaker and maintain the relationship. Automatic hearing also occurs when I am not interested in what the speaker says.
Compare listening to driving a car. The person talking can be likened to the engine, while the person listening can be likened to the driver. The engine provides the power, but the person at the wheel decides where the car will go. You, as the listener, can guide the flow of a conversation by the statements you make and the questions you ask. This is called paraphrasing. When you paraphrase what another person is saying, that person continues to talk. When you verbally agree with the talker, you encourage them to share more.
The ability to listen is the foundation upon which language, reading and writing are developed. Listening is a very important part of school learning, with an estimated fifty to seventy-five percent of a student's
It seems evident that poor listening is becoming more prevalent in our society, but whether it is an epidemic seems yet to be decided. It does not seem that all individuals are infected with this malady, but it does seem that the numbers afflicted are increasing. This wide-ranging prevalence seems due, in part, to faster-paced societal norms in which we find ourselves. The environment seems to dictate that we multi-task at an increasing speed and this interferes with attentive listening. This is particularly true for individuals who have known no lesser technology-filled way of life.
In life coaching, one of the most important skills a coach can have is the ability to listen. Many times it is easy to be “hearing” and forget to “listen”. In order to conduct a proper coaching session, the coach must be well versed in the techniques, skills, and obstacles in listening. Listening is not only important to the coach, but also to the client. Both parties need to have a mutual understanding and comfortable communication. By gaining a more full understanding of listening skills it enables the coach to listen and guide the client to his or her goal. The success of the client-coach relationship is dependent upon the ability the coach has to put aside their personal thoughts and fully engage in effective listening of the client.
Listening and understanding what others communicate to us is the communication process needed for interpersonal effectiveness. If you listen well, you will understand the meaning of the message. If you are unfocused, you will not know most of what the other person is saying. However, there is a range of listening skills that can be learned to develop the communication effectiveness. Firstly, encouraging listening points to the listener that is willing to do more than listen. Usually it provides feedback that supports speakers to say more. Fur...
As The Gift of Listening describes, “Opening one’s heart and listening at a deep level does not come easily and is rarely achieved simply by life experience” (Browning & Waite, 2010, p. 151) There are different aspects to being a good listener that are often difficult to achieve and lead to poor listening. One significant challenge to listening is the attention needed in order to actively listen to another person. Proper listening does not occur due to a passive process but instead it takes deliberate action and thought towards what a person in saying. Like previously stated, actively listening is achieved by sitting in a comfortable and open way and maintaining good eye contact. When a person does not exhibit these techniques good listening often does not occur. The challenge of utilizing different techniques in order to listen to others in a better way often gets blocked by barriers that make active listening unable to occur. In our society today one major barrier to listening is technology. In a casual setting, proper listening often doesn’t occur due to someone being tied to their cell phone. The millennial generation is often guilty of passively listening to others due to the mobile technology that is being used today. Many conversations occur without eye contact or full focus on what the other has to say and instead is spent staring at a
There are five concepts of listening that play an important role in the communication process. Sharpening our listening skills can benefit our professional lives and our customer service skills. Various techniques can help us improve our listening skills. Active listening involves sitting forward, making eye contact, nodding to prompt the speaker, asking clarifying questions, and taking notes. Distractions and personal biases can hinder our ability to listen effectively. Furthermore, effective listening is directly related to memory; improving our listening skills and practicing memory techniques often can dramatically increase our ability to capture the speakers message.
Listening is a big part of communicating well with others. Take time to carefully listen to what others are saying, and also take time to observe their nonverbal communications. A good listener does not interrupt the person while their talking. they make eye contact with the person speaking. they provide the speaker with their full attention, avoid unnecessary distractions, and try to understand the other persons point of view by being empathetic.
One of the main aspects in communicating is listening. An effective listener is one who, not only comprehends how the speaker feels but, also understands what they are stating. Building a strong connection between the speaker and the listener is one of the first steps to become a good listener. By building this connection speakers should first be in an environment with open minded listeners, it makes them feel more comfortable to state their opinions, feelings and ideas. Listeners should avoid being judgmental. The individual does not have to agree with the ideas, values or opinions of the speaker; however, to fully understand them, one must put aside their criticism. Speakers will believe that they can trust the listeners with their information when they know that they will not be judged. Miscommunication happens frequently, listene...
To be effective listeners, the listening process should be incorporated into our lives. We should be attentive to what people say, clarify what the speaker is trying to come across, and respond in a way the speaker can understand what we are saying. I think I was aware that I needed some improvement in certain areas of this process but I feel as everything is slowly changing. In the future, I’m going try not to interrupt people, get distracted, tune out, and try to get a bigger picture of what the person is telling me. If good listening habits are applied in our day-to-day life, we can easily communicate with anyone and everyone.
A skill, according the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is a learned power of doing something competently: a developed aptitude or ability. The skill of listening is a skill that I believe everyone should have but most people lack. Many people do not realize that listening is not merely the act of hearing a sound but of paying close attention to what someone is saying and trying to understand the message that they are trying to relate to you. Most times people say they are listening when in all actuality they are merely hearing you but not even attempting to understand what is being spoken of. The advantages of being a good listener are vast. This skill can positively affect many parts of our everyday life and interaction with people. Nevertheless, it is a skilled that is overlooked in today’s unmindful society. The reason I believe that listening is of such importance is because nowadays people have developed the mentality of “every man for himself.” People are not concerned about their fellows anymore. We are only concerned about our own issues and problems. Listening is a skill that is acquired throughout a lifetime. It is an important virtue when it comes to communication.People should be taught from childhood the importance of learning how to listen. If we realized how much we would benefit from being good listeners, I believe that things would change. Lack of listening skills affects marriages, parents and children, teachers and students, employers and employees, foreign affairs, and the list goes on.
Be deliberate with your listening and remind yourself frequently that your goal is to truly hear what the other person is saying. Set aside all other thoughts and behaviors and concentrate on the message. Ask questions, reflect, and paraphrase to ensure you understand the message. If you don't, then you'll find that what someone says to you and what you hear can be amazingly different!