Summary
In the book, Why Don't We Listen Better?: Communicating and Connecting in Relationships, the writer, James C. Peterson, pushes the effort of becoming better communicators by helping us increase great relational abilities to enhance in our connections. This book offered a manual for changing negative behavior patterns and transforming them into great, solid correspondence. According to Peterson (2007), “Good communication is just as important in business, family, and social life. Listening well matters for co-workers, when intimacy is not the goal, but being able to work together effectively is” (p.4). Communication is vibrant in any workplace, especially in the relationship between a subordinate and predominant. Communication is not only one of the abilities a leader must have;
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Once you take the time to obtain great communication skills, your professional and personal life will be so much better for you and those around you.
In order to become an effective communicator, you must learn how to become a better listener. This book also touched basis on the importance of listening and how sometimes it become a forgotten skill. Listening, to most people, is a very difficult thing to do sometimes. To listen, requires the person to think about what they are saying and how they are saying it. Peterson's book is a wonderful apparatus that improves a wide range of connections. Peterson's book plot an exceptionally hands-on, well ordered route on the most proficient method to enhance our listening abilities. The way to getting a message adequately includes tuning in. There is a contrast amongst hearing and listening. For example, you can hear somebody talk but are you actually comprehending the words he or she is actually saying? An affecting and effective audience comprehends the words or the message that is being displayed or communicated. Peterson (2007) offered knowledge on
James C. Petersen (2007), author of Why Don’t We Listen Better, offers practical advice on how to communicate effectively and connect with others. In order to help his readers, communicate effectively, Petersen (2007) divides his book into five divisions. Each division builds on the content in the preceding portions. Every segment provides a great amount of information, which will aid people in how they choose to communicate.
The Importance of Listening for Professional and Personal Relationships Listening is essential for communication, yet is a skill in which most are lacking. Though we are listening constantly, knowing what to listen to requires an enormous amount of discipline and practice, which is vital for communicating effectively. Learning to listen will benefit all relationships from professional to personal and not being able to listen effectively can cause these relationships to deteriorate. “Indeed, although aware of the instrumentality of listening, even trained communicators often fail to listen correctly or at opportune times” (Cline, 2013). In order for all of areas of communication in an individual to flourish, listening must be emphasized.
James Petersen’s book, Why don’t we listen better? Communicating and connecting in relationships, outlines the requirement for a continual use of good communication, through a series of actions and steps, by the practice of comprehending, dynamic listening, and actively perceiving. Listening then becomes a creative force that creates a context in which the development of a communicative relationship can foster.
Petersen, J. C. (2007). Why don’t we listen better? Communicating & connecting in relationships (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Petersen.
A vital aspect of interpersonal communication is the style in which one listens. While every individual possesses their own preferred method of listening in communication, it can be enlightening to analyze our own strengths and weaknesses so as to maximize effectual communication. Within the confines of four main listening style categories, I have chosen those which best describe my own personal listening style.
...e any conflict is to become calm an effective communicator. Reinforcing your listening skills are a must when looking to further your communication skills. Let’s face it you want to listen well before setting a plan of action. Never jump into any conversation unprepared, not only can it cause conflict but you can lose credibility if the meaning of what you are trying to say is lost. Verbal communication is always best, talking to another individual face to face is a good idea this way you can judge their reactions by their body language and you can express the correct meaning. But, remember that verbal is not the only form of communication. Your nonverbal communication can say a lot to the receiver (ie. body language). Use supportive messages rather than defensive ones can be more productive. Any conflict can be resolved through correct and effective communication.
Every business consists of a variety of communication activities such as listening, speaking, questioning, gathering and participating in small work groups. The listening skill is one of the most important aspects of communication process. It helps to understand and read the other person’s message. Effective listening skills create positive workplace relationships which influence our opinions and responsiveness to one another.
Communication plays a key role to a leader. To have communication skills is to have the ability to express oneself clearly to others. It is extremely important as...
It is not easy to understand significance of some things and their impact until you actually undergo them. Ability to effectively communicate and work is one such thing. Before I started business communication class, I was very pessimistic about my communication abilities and my competence in rapidly evolving field of business communication. I was unconfident and nervous on my first day of class. I quickly realized that business communication is course that you will never learn until you energetically engage in various situations of listening and speaking. However, with all wonderful experiences of participation in the class, I personally felt that I gained a real experience without even working in an organization. Interactive nature of the class combined with wonderful teaching of Diana has really helped me to gain immortal knowledge. Through this course, I have refined my communication skills and strengthened my confidence to deliver professional standards and competencies emphasized by potential employers. I would like to share how each module of the course helped me to hone my interpersonal skills:
Clearly, communication plays a significant role in every aspect of our life. Communication is the simply act of conveying information from one person to another by using voice (verbally), gesture or body language (nonverbally), books or magazines (written), pictures (visually). The better communication skills that one has is the better the information could be transferred and received. The ability to convey information successfully and clearly is a fundamental life skill and should not be underestimated. Additional, effectively communication is the key to solve problems in any situation. With good communication skills, you can absolutely improve your professional life as well as strengthen your social and family relation ship. Indeed, communication allows us to relate and understand each other. “It also provides us with a significant frame of reference and relational context that sustain our identities.” (Imberti, 2007)
Effectively listening not only helps me to understand others but has allowed me to give appropriate feedback when needed. To listen is critical because there are certain instructions a supervisor may be delivering verbally and to be a good employee to understand what is being said helps improve performance as a worker. Effective listening in the work place has also allowed me to learn how to maintain eye contact while speaking to the employer or a co-worker. In all aspects eye contact is a way to show the speaker that my attention is focused on what he or she is saying and having an understanding of the context. According Joseph A. DeVito 2012), listening effectively requires the skills to be understood and communicate effectively. We can only foster aid to others only if we apply ourselves to effective
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...
As in all aspects of personal and professional life, having effective communication is a key element of success. Effective communication can benefit your relationships with people. By conveying your message and integrating them as a member of the team and not just a subordinate leads to better production. By effectively communicating you can clearly define job responsibilities and expectations. The better you are able to communicate the less likely organizational turnover of personnel will occur. Supervisors and leaders in the professional workplace find that the most important factor in advancement and retain ability is effective communication. Senior level executives and human resources managers are stressing the importance of communication and providing more training for mid-level management. Emphasis is placed on communication being clear by being transmitted strongly.
This differs from hearing in that this is a voluntary action, and we have control over what we choose to listen to. As stated by William Seiler and Melissa Beall, “You don’t have to work at hearing; it just happens… Listening, on the other hand, is active and requires energy and desire,” (145). To further explicate this argument, it has been noted that listening, in addition to requi... ... middle of paper ... ...
Listening is one of the most powerful tools of communication and is a process that is used to receive, convey a meaning, and respond to both verbal and nonverbal messages. It is what we choose to do and it requires more work than speaking. Oftentimes, people simply misunderstand the difference between listening and hearing. Hearing is a passive process that takes in sounds and noises and listening is what you choose to do. This selective process includes 5 phases that can be acquired for us to become effective listeners in the future. The 5 phases are attending, understanding, remembering, critically evaluating (listening), and responding. Once the 5 different areas are understood, we will become aware of what needs to change and how we can change them. This will also allow us to improve our listening skills in the workplace, school, at home, etc.