Overview: The purpose of this appraisal is to draw attention to my very own active listening skills. Throughout my life I have been told several times that I am a “good listener,” up until recently. After thinking long and hard about this comment, I became aware that it is an issue that I will need to manage if I plan on effectively communicating with my friend’s family and future coworkers. I purpose a plan to change my mindless listening back into mindful listening by withholding judgment, interrupting less, asking questions and paraphrasing.
Description of problem:
A Social skill such as effective listening is a crucial part of communication. Often I find myself assuming that I know what the other person is going to say before they
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Withholding judgment is a difficult habit to overcome because judgment often occurs without being aware of it. I plan on practicing this skill by focusing on the words that are being spoken instead of reading between the lines. A helpful rule to follow is to listen, make sure you understand, then evaluate (Adler et. al, p. 68).
Talking and interrupting less is another skill that can take time and practice to achieve. I find myself wanting to rush the conversations by interrupting the person because of my busy schedule. Similar to judgment, this interferes with actually listening to the message and causes miscommunication. To avoid interrupting a person, I plan on replacing a non-obvious deep breath, every time I want to interrupt someone. Instead of rushing a conversation I will wait till a break in the conversation to politely say, “I do not mean to cut our conversation short, but I have to____. Can we talk at another time?” This will inform the person of my situation and reduce communication
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Recent studies found that texting/posting during class have obstructed the information from being process in the brain and inevitably hampering a students learning (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, p. 236). While in class I will practice turning off my cell phone before entering the classroom. As far as using my phone during other interactions I will use self-control and remind myself that it is impolite to check my phone while listening to someone.
Summary:
Effective listening is a life long skill that must be maintained though practice. I am aware that my busy schedule has interfered with my listening skills, but my proposed plan ensures that I can regain these skills through withholding judgment, interrupting less, avoiding counterfeit questions and paraphrasing. If I am conscious of my shortcomings and am putting forth effort to change my behavior, I am certain that I will reach my goal of effective
Michael Rubinkam’s “Texting in class is Rampant” brings awareness to the fact that most students use their phones during a lecture to text. Many professors are starting to notice it and some have even gone to extremes by having punishments if they see a phone out. Michael Rubinkam conducted a number of surveys with students who attend Wilkes University to see how many students actually use their phones during class. The author also discusses with some professors at the university to see their opinion on how phone use in class can impact the student’s education and how it impacts them as well. There is no doubt that texting is a habit most high school and college students face. It’s our primary way of communication with people. We get so addicted to texting people considering it only takes a few seconds to reply, but with that being said does it interfere with our school life too? Sitting in a lecture and pulling your phone out can be distracting because you’re not paying attention to the professor and the skills they’re teaching you’re practically in your own world at that point. Is the excessive use of texting in class-harming student’s education? The author
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.
What am I not saying? How do I demonstrate healthy listening? Am I balanced in the time I spend talking and listening? Can I take a day of silence per week? Or eat one meal per day in silence?
.... Through the evaluation of reactions from both myself and others, I have realized the significant impact the misuse of a particular listening style may have. These effects reach beyond social and professional environments, and in some cases may produce unintended negative effects with family. I had not realized that the two listening styles I use most commonly could be so incredibly polarized when it comes to employing critical listening. As a result, I have devised appropriate steps which I feel will assist in creating a more balanced conversational environment and improve my overall effectiveness in communication. I was surprised to discover that my listening styles are not always conducive to the environment in which I am listening; however, I am consequently compelled to take the steps necessary to achieve higher-quality communication in every aspect of life.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: The Seven Habits and Their Contribution to Listening
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...
In applying the skills to a case scenario, I found it difficult to focus and use my active listening skills. I do know that in an ideal situation, I will more than likely be one on one with my client and will generally conduct the interview in a quieter atmosphere, allowing me to focus better on what the client discloses. However, with continuous practice I believe I will be able to overcome becoming distracted by background noises.
In every class I find myself sitting next to a student that is constantly texting, making it almost impossible for myself to concentrate. The teachers also hold some blame, they to are always attached to their Blackberry’s. Punishments are set up for these students and teachers attempt at enforcing them. Texting brings in a whole new way to distract the whole classroom from the teacher. In a recent study nin...
The common view on listening often does not even involve true listening. People often mistake hearing for listening. Just because you heard something does not necessarily mean that you were listening. While others do not even realize that listening is one step of a four-part process. While two people are involved in communication, the one receiving the message while “listening” formulates the next phase within their head. They miss a large percentage of what the person involved in speaking is saying (Tubbs and Moss 141). The reasons [for ineffective listening] are so obvious that they are sometimes overlooked. First, listening is mistakenly equated with hearing and since most of us can hear, no academic priority is given to this subject in college. Second, we perceive power in speech. We put a value on those who have the gift of gab. How often have you heard the compliment, “He/she can talk to anyone?” Additionally, we equate speaking with controlling both the conversation and the situation. The third and last reason we don’t listen, is that we are in an ear of information overload. We are bombarded with the relevant and the irrelevant and it is easy to confuse them. Often it is all jus...
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.
Use communication skills effectively, use active listening by listening to the other person and paying close attention to what they are saying, asking questions and rephrasing what the person says to ensure understanding.
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.
For Effective listening ,we can focus on other people,what they think,what they feel etc.We should step away from our own concern to think about speaker.We should give our full attention to the speaker.
The first concept I used was responsive listening, responsive listening is giving your complete undivided attention, while letting the other person get a chance to speak freely and openly, while the person listening provides only small interjections and nonverbal listening cues while sometimes paraphrasing to show that you have fully been aware. I choose this concept because I felt like sometimes I dominate the conversation with my brother and I decided to just give him complete undivided attention and a chance to talk. I was picking up my brother from school, and from the start he seemed to be...