Listening Is A Listening Process

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“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway
Listening is often times confused with hearing, when in fact, they are very different processes. Hearing is the physical process of perceiving sound; the listening process follows this perception. Many people believe that listening comes naturally to people, but it is actually an active process of creating meaning of other’s spoken messages. It is an often overlooked element of the communication process because of the amount of effort and skill that it requires to effectively listen (Brown, 2009). Listening is a necessary business communication tool as it is an active process that generates comprehension and development of a response. Listening is more than …show more content…

Understanding means to comprehend the actual meaning of what is being heard. Remembering is the process of recalling the comprehensions from what the speaker had said. Most people only recall 25% of what they hear and remember only 20% of it accurately (Brownell, 2013). Interpreting refers to paying attention to the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal communication. After a listener has interpreted the information, they begin to evaluate it. They do this by analyzing the facts and decide whether they agree, disagree, or categorize them as opinions. The final step of the active listening process is to take into consideration the information that has been evaluated and respond to it. “A good listener will use reaction time to their advantage for better overall communication. While the poor listener will waste it or worse yet misuse it so that the comprehension of the message suffers” (Shrivastava, 2014, pg.1). The best method of response, which shows effective listening is by analyzing the message and providing the perspective of the listener. A listener may also respond to the speaker by supporting the message, empathizing with it, or advising the speaker (if asked). Poor listeners will respond with vague feedback such as repeating the speakers message, back channeling which is a simple gesture such as a head nod or an “uh huh”, or by offering no response at all (Brownell,

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