Reading Messages Mckay

When I think of listening I relate it to just hearing the message. I do not follow the process of listening that was taught in my communication class. Rather than receiving, recalling, rating, and responding, I often hear and skip right to responding. I do believe that because I don’t follow all the steps I forget easily or do not understand things completely, which leads to me either questioning later, or just winging it. I also realized that I have selective listening, because of lack of interest in some conversations I often block out part of the conversation, or lose focus and zone out until the end of the conversation. By then I know little of what was talked about and only respond to what I think is most important to me. Another bad habit I have when it comes to listening is my responding habits, I’m not sure how to respond to most

* active listening helps improve mutual understanding and sorting out problems – open up and say what they really mean

Within the graduate school setting, strong communication skills are vital when interacting with classmates and faculty. Perfecting communication skills in the classroom setting prepares students to communicate effectively with fellow colleagues and professionals (Fisher & Zigmond, 1996). An essential strategy to improve one’s communication skills lies in the ability to be an excellent listener. Klein (2009) asserts that effective listening involves more concentration and focus than any other form of communication. Engaging in active listening shows that the individual is truly interested in what the other party has to say. This in itself results in a mutual respect that fosters healthy communication.

Active listening is also an integral part in the receipt of a message. Part of a listener’s responsibility is to provide feedback, making communication a two-person affair, and as important, senders must seek out and attend to the feedback that is offered by their receivers (Cheesebro, O’Connor, Rios, 2010). By actively listening to the sender, we can translate and respond to the message appropriately. Through active listening, we can develop respect and trust with the sender, increase productivity, maintain a “cooler head”, increased confidence and remembering the important information that the sender is trying to convey to us (Cheesebro, O’Connor, Rios, 2010). It is believed that we only take in 50% of what we are listening to at any given time so it is crucial that in communication, we extend to each other the same courtesy as the sender as we do as the receiver. Active listening is more than just hearing what the sender is

Let´s focus on communication, specifically listening. , As employees each of you have a leadership role based on your positions. In these positions you are required to take instructions, present guidance, make decisions, and implement policy. If you cannot listen effectively, you will miss critical instructions, mislead guidance, make less informed decisions, and hopefully never implement the wrong policies.

In the book of “Why dont we listen better?” by James C. Peterson, he provides the readers with a strategic understanding of listening and how executing the skill can significantly impact your social life. While reading this book, I noticed a lot of repetition stated by Mr. Peterson, a method in which I found to be very interesting and helpful. Alongside of repetition, he also introduced various methods used to effectively communicate with each other separated into five sections. Part One: Options in Communicating, Part Two: The Talker-Listener Process, Part Three: The Listening Techniques, Part Four: Using the TLC in groups, and Part Five: Concluding Philosophy.

Chris Cotter says that active listening is a complicated skill to learn because it requires an individual to be mentally engaged to the speaker’s tone of voice, and body language (Cotter). In other words, students need to be aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Louise Rehling says an effective means to start actively listening to focus on a what a group member is communicating, instead of thinking of a response at the same time. When a disagreement occurs in the group, members are expected to watch for body language and other cues to fully understand their group member thought process, instead of deeming them unhelpful for the group (482). When individuals feel that their voice is being heard then a trust among group members is strengthened and the quality of assignment is improved, thus listening skills is an important skill taught in group work. In the present day, a majority of companies want to create a relationship with their consumer. Employees that are able to actively listen to clients are better adept to understand the client and change the way they are communicating with the client.

Petersen (2015) in the second part of this book developed the Talker-Listener Card (abbreviated as TLC) in an effort to get people to remember to take turns talking and listening in his workshops. Petersen (2015) said "this handy little tool, the Talker-Listener Card, has helped many people significantly improve their communication, their relationships, and the cooperation of their work groups." His method can assist with stopping persons from arguing to shifting their focus to the other persons point slowly. It gives the talker, who has the problem, and the talkers’ objective would be to articulate or convey their thoughts and feelings in such a way that it does not accuse, attack, label, or judge the listener (Petersen, 2015). Also in this process the listener should remember to be or remain calm because they're not the one with the problem. One of the primary jobs of the listener is to understand while resolving an issue without disagreeing, agreeing, giving unsolicited advice or being

This paper evaluates the several main effective listening responses; prompting, questioning, paraphrasing, supportive, analyzing, advising, and judging. This paper also explains how they are applied in society, and how they can be used. The paper also goes over the definitions of these responses and when it is ideally appropriate to use said responses. We will also go over the importance of mindfulness. J. T. Wood (2014) says that the first step in finding an effective response is to be mindful. This paper explains the steps that are to be taken to have effective listening skills that will later bring you to having a response. Adia Lane (2012) suggests that we use the knowledge of knowing the other person's personal style. . We will also discuss

In one stage of communication, the quality of conversation can be improved when the workers are engaged in active listening. For instance, note taking during meetings which challenge both individual listening and writing skills, encourages co-workers to improve their sort-term memory to be more active later that day (Hybels & Weaver 2008,). It helps listeners to verify their understanding, and it gives the other person an opportunity to elaborate on main point of the information. Active and effective listening behaviours have a huge impact on the growth of business in the work place, because it shows the interaction between co-workers and how they deal with problems in their environment (Eunson 2012). Active and effective listening demonstrates the ability of workers to hear and feel what the other people want so say without judgment. Thus, active and effective listening skills have positively impact on the workplace.

Active listening will show Florence that I am interested in what is being discussed, even if afterward I change the topic. I will always make a comment about what she was saying before I change the topic. I will use reflective listening by summarizing what she says. This will demonstrate that I am listening, builds rapport, and creates empathy by showing that I understand what is said. It can also ensure that the information gathered is accurate. I will listen to what Florence says and then summarize what the she said and ask her if that is correct.

Three elements of active listening that I consider crucial for addressing the aforementioned issues are withhold judgment, ask for clarifications, and sharing experiences. Active listening shows that the listener is concern regarding the message and/or the person conveying it. By paying attention to the speaker, the listener is more capable to focus on important elements of the message being sent, (Janasz, Dowd, & Schneider, 2009). Withholding judgments refers to approach a topic with an open mind; additionally, it implies avoiding criticism, arguments, or disregarding other people’s views. When there is a doubt or we are not clear at all with a message, the listener should always ask for clarifications. However, it is indispensable to do so in a respectful manner. Sharing experiences might help to understand others perspectives. Moreover, it can help the other parties to share their experiences as well, (What does it…,

One thing that I am working on is giving everyone a chance to speak in small group collaborations. I tend to be outspoken and share whatever I am thinking, which I have learned can be overbearing if I don’t give others a chance to equally contribute. This past semester, I took a class called Intergroup Dialogue which met every Monday for three hours to discuss current world issues. At first, I would consistently be the first to answer a question or share a past experience. However, during my first TA meeting, I was told that, while I have very good leadership and initiative, I should also try to develop my listening skills in order to learn more from others. For the rest of the semester, I made sure to allow other students to share their opinions

The study presented the following scores: the sum for people-oriented listening style was 14, an action-oriented listening style was 7, a content-oriented listening style was 12, and the sum for time-oriented listening style was 11. From this score, I demonstrated the highest score in the people-oriented listening style which points out that I am very emphatic and much concerned with other people's emotions, and this is my preferred listening style. I do listen without judging others, and at some point, during communication; I support the speaker as well as learning from other people's experiences. This type of listening style may help me to enhance relationships; however, it might interfere with efficient judgment or decision since I tend to trust others to a great extent (Watson & Barker, 1995).

You all must learn to be motivated and have an open mind and be willing to gain something from one another. During conversation between the two of you make sure you can hear each other clearly without any interruption. Virginia Satir (1976) suggests that when you do not clearly hear the speaker, you often make up what you think the other person said. We tend to make an assumption and then hold the other person responsible for not communicating effectively. Paying Attention is another means of effective listening. Messages are sent by verbal and nonverbal means. To be an effective listener you must give your undivided attention to both verbal and nonverbal messages. Never jump to conclusion, let the other party finish their thoughts before you intervene to ensure that you have interpreted the message correctly.