Listening in Communication

1276 Words3 Pages

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. Upon exploring the four different personal listening styles from which we had to choose, I was surprised to realize that I am considered a people-oriented and content-oriented listener. Another listening style which scored within close range of the aforementioned results was that of time-oriented listening. These results were greatly unexpected given my high level of energy and desire to accomplish goals, but certainly seemed to prove valid through my subsequent self-exploration. In order to determine whether or not my listening style changes in various situations, I decided to perform an assessment of my conversations over the past ten days. The first evaluation I conducted occurred after volunteering at my child’s school, and yielded some rather interesting results. I reflected upon my conversations with the teachers, and settled on my listening style being more content-oriented; while my interaction with the children was almost completely people-oriented. I had predicted that my listening style would be more balanced between all of the age groups involved; however, I could not relay many of the details discussed with the children after my volunteering time ended. I am happy to say that I did retain most of the content of my conversations with the teachers, but had no recollection of an emotional impression with t... ... middle of paper ... .... 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.

Show More
Related

  • J. C. Petersen: Why Don't We Listen Better

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    Listening is a vital and important part of communication. While speaking clearly and concisely is imperative, true listening is central to speaking with mindfulness and in the case of the counselor, this mindfulness has the possibility of leading clients to their own solutions to life’s tough circumstances. In his book, Petersen (2007) breaks down the communication cycle so that we can be aware of how we react when people share their emotions with us, and how to effectively communicate by listening and speaking in turn to build strong and supportive relationships, whether they are personal or professional.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Why Don T We Listen Better

    1639 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Personal Progression of Public Speaking

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the semester our class was introduced to a new term, listenability. The level of listenability is at the mercy of the speaker, not of the audience. During our semester, we were taught to harness the listenability keys of strategy, structure, support, and style in order to achieve a high level of listenability. Examples of listenability include when a speaker engages the audience by asking questions, using narratives or stories that people can relate to, and has stimulating visual support and content. These are only a couple of keys used to create a listener centered speech.

    Read More

  • LISTENING STYLES

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Communication in all relationship can be successful when our listener get the message that we want to convey and it is not so much about what we want to say. Listening is a unique process because it involves psychological and voluntary process that goes beyond simply reacting to sounds. It includes understanding, analyzing, evaluating, and responding. As a human, we will use different listening styles, depending on our preferences and purposes. Listening styles refer to the different ways people listen and analyze the content of a conversation. Usually, these styles either have to do with the way listeners choose to receive the message or with how they analyze the message. Listening is very important because we listen in order to establish and communicate power. There are few types of listening that can be used in order to communicate effectively.

    Read More

  • Mindless Listening Importance

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Being a Good Listener

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is the primary reason you, personally, "tune out" and fail to listen effectively? What advantages and what problems does it result in? What specific steps can you, personally, take to become a better listener?

    Read More

  • Instrumental Reflective Essay

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being instrumental reflective has more weaknesses than strength. By interviewing three people with different communication styles, I realize the tendency and pattern of my own style. I identify the reflective side as the “real me” because I use it most of the time. It serves as a good listener along normal conversation with friends and family members because conflict seldom happens through this approach. The only weakness for the reflective side is lack of confidence when I communicate at workplace. The instrumental side appears only when there are conflicts and problems that need to be resolved. The above example from Enesha and Kathy clearly explains how I change to instrumental in a sudden.

    Read More

  • Active Listening Essay

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Effective Listening Essay

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    In all aspects in life effective listening plays an important role in our lives, both professionally and personally. As many of know from experience listening is never easy in fact it can be difficult to understand what is being said by the speaker. Because of laps in attention we tend to misunderstand some of the messages that are being relayed to us or disregard them altogether. Effective listening is important for receiving the correct feedback from those you’re speaking with and requires a focus that should be central to what is being said or what topic is being discussed.

    Read More

  • Listening Process

    1718 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Listening

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Why Should We Study Oral Communication?

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Interaction is a significant part of our daily lives. Oral communication with others is inevitable, and therefore it is crucial for us to acquire the skills to do so correctly. Aside from simply stating words or expressing ideas, oral communication serves various purposes. Oral communication allows an individual to express emotions, ideas, and feelings; it gives people the ability to empower, inspire, and motivate those who listen; and it allows people to share knowledge and traditions, as well as build their self-esteem. Oral communication is also useful in leading us to new discoveries, ideas, cultures, and perspectives (O’Neill). Thus, oral communication serves several different purposes in daily life; yet each of these purposes are connected to an even larger purpose. According to the textbook Communication: Making Connections, “Effective communication is critical to living successfully in today’s soc...

    Read More

  • Impact of Negative Childhood Messages on Adult Life

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Galvin, (1999) also reports, if one of the steps to listening is missing, listening has not occurred and there are no shortcuts to active listening (p.61). In addition to reading Galvin’s _______________ I also interacted with a nonverbal immediacy scale and listening awareness inventory to provide insight on my communication skills (CHERYL SMITH, January 28, 2018). In my interaction with these assessments demonstrated I am below average on the nonverbal immediacy scale and need to work on my listening awareness (Cheryl Smith, January 28, 2018). Aside from my results my husband and sister completed the nonverbal immediacy scale and listening awareness inventory on my behalf. Their results we opposite to my findings, both my husband and sister rated me at the mean on the nonverbal immediacy scale and a good listener on the listening awareness inventory (Smith, C. Listening Awareness Inventory & Nonverbal Immediacy Scale. January 28, 2018). Comparing my results and family results of these assessments leads me to the believe I am critical of myself and although I have room for growth my communication skills are not as terrible as deemed. Nevertheless, there is always room for growth. Thus, I feel I need to continue to work on the responding element. While participating in Reflective listening during a class session, it was

    Read More

  • My Relationship With My Brother

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    It’s been said, “you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family” this quote is so true when it comes to family relationships you can’t choose them but you’re stuck with them for life. Things can often get tough and when family relationships get tense it can only make life a lot more difficult than what is necessary. My communication goal is to better improve my current relationship with my teenage brother, we have both have not been getting along lately as well as I would like (teenagers and their mood swings…) and I want to change that in a more effective way by using the skills I learned in interpersonal speech. In this paper I tried to complete my goal of improving and maintaing a solid relationship with my brother I applied perception checking, listening, and self-disclosure to better communicate and understand my brother. I used the concepts of self-disclosure, perception checking and responsive listening because those three concepts applied the closest to each situation. With each one I felt that I understood how exactly to communicate using them and that they fit in well with what was going on between my brother and I.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Effective Communication

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Listening in Communication

Open Document