According to Laura Schneider’s article, What Great Listeners Actually Do, good listening is much more than being silent when the other person talks. Many people have high appraisal of their listening abilities, often times they are seen as above average. In today’s society, management often encourages listeners to remain quiet, nod and “Mh-hmm” accordingly, and then repeat something like “So, let me make sure I understand.” However, recent research conducted by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) suggested that these behaviors actually fall short of good listening skills. With that in mind, the general consensus of good listening involves; not talking when others are speaking, letting others know you’re listening through facial expressions and verbal sounds, and being able to repeat what others have said. With that, HBR analyzed data describing behavior of …show more content…
As can be seen, good listening involves the ability to bounce ideas off of one another, amplifying, energizing, and clarifying your thinking. Good listeners never steal the conversation so that their issues can become the subject of the discussion. Listeners will understand the person’s emotions and feelings about the topic at hand, then proceed to identify and acknowledge them. The listener will empathize with them and validate those feelings in a supportive way that is reflective of their personality. This allows for a safe environment and suggests that there are no assumptions being made about the current subject. Often, we are caught up in barriers that do not allow us to understand the substance of what the other person is saying. It is natural for listeners to think of what they are saying before the other person has spoken. The listener must seek to understand the substance in order to have a frame of reference, allowing them to capture ideas, ask questions and restate issues to confirm that their understanding is
The greatest listeners use all of the listening responses: Prompting, questioning, paraphrasing, supporting, advising, and judging. The correct response depends on a couple different factors, for instance: the situation you are in, who you are talking to and how well you know the person, as well as your own personal style and what you are good at. Switching between responses can be helpful as well you could be supportive and give the person advice. Being there for the person and showing that you care is the best way to show that you are listening and that you care about what the person is
Being a good listener is more than just allowing the other person to speak and you being nearby. You have to take in what the person is saying and sometimes go deeper. Being a better listener helps you and it can make people like you more. There are ten laws to be an effective listener not just a good listener. The first law is, face the reader and maintain eye contact. Give the speaker some respect and face them and look them in the eyes and not the things around you. The second law is to be attentive and just chill. Be present with the conversation, you can look away, but it is important to screen out distractions and don't be distracted your thoughts, bias, and feelings. The third law keep an open mind. Don't judge the other person while
As expressed in Julian Treasure’s TED Talk “5 Ways to Listen Better,” our society has lost its listening skills due to invented ways of recording. He discusses how our loss of listening is proven when news companies need to “scream at us with headlines in order to get our attention,” and it becomes more difficult to listen to the subdued. I can sympathize with this, as I sometimes find myself losing focus to a conversation if I know I can use the Internet to search the facts or stories later. Another reason I find listening to be difficult is that I am almost always attempting to do multiple tasks at once. Technology and the whole internet at the click of a button has made it increasingly easy to check the weather while talking to somebody or to do homework while a teacher is explaining a concept. When I am listening, too, I realize that I am constantly thinking about what I should say in response that I lose focus of what the speaker is actually talking about. To focus on only listening, I will use the mindfulness skills I have learned. In mindfulness lessons, I learned how to focus on the present moment by noticing my breath and to come back from thoughts of the past or future. Additionally, I will work on putting away any distractions when somebody is talking to me. Another act I can work on to improve my listening is to avoid thinking about what I should say. By finding understanding in why the person is talking to me and by sympathizing with their story of concerns, I can focus on what they are saying rather than what I should say in response. I will work on my listening skills and continue to improve my reading comprehension and problem solving skills so that I will be college and career ready to be a
What makes someone a good listener?In the textbook Looking Out Looking In, “A good listener pays attention to paralanguage, facial expression, and a host of non verbal cues”. Listening is defined as “to hear something with thoughtful attention, give consideration” (Merriam-Webster). Yet listening can also be defined
I have always been a good listener and been fairly good at discerning the information I am taking in. I have been complemented many times on my listening skills. Listening is almost twice as important as talking. Taking in information and pocketing it in your mind correctly is critical. Listening is much like working a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. If you get the pieces in the correct spot, you have a beautiful picture. If not, the end result is fractured and often trashed, because the picture is not clear.
Listeners need to make eye contact, pay attention to the non-verbal communication, take notes, and acknowledge the points. Listeners need to avoid distractions and interruptions. On occasionally, organizations have to test the employee such as observe evaluations for all employees. These improvements can only build listening skills in organization's if everyone works together.
Some us will admit we’re not the best listeners and others will claim to be great listeners when in reality, they only listen with the purpose of responding and fail to absorb what is actually being said.
Listening by definition would be to give ones attention to a sound, however, in business we need to be active listeners providing responses that engage the person speaking and affirm we hear them. As managers we are often tasked with the skill of listening. Your subordinates will need to be heard and have important things to discuss. One example may be an employee discussing a safety issue. The ability to actively listen to the employee and provide feedback will assure the employee you have taken their concern and plan to act. I have found a website that offers training on the skill of listening called mindtools.com. One can utilize this website to improve the skill of listening.
The ability to listen well is an important tool for understanding others. Sadly, very few people know how to listen well. In fact, most people can think of only one or two good listeners in their lives. Listening is not simply agreeing - it is much more. Good listeners are able to better understand and respond to others, complete assignments accurately, settle disagreements before they escalate, and establish rapport with difficult people.
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…,
Many people have never considered the fact that effective listening is a vital part of the communication process. As learned, listening consists of the following activities: selecting, attending, understanding, remembering, and responding. In conjunction with that, there are several skills that individuals need to possess in order to assist them with effectively listening to others during the communication process. I think the most important skill that I possess is listening to understand both major ideas and details. This is a skill that I have to work on continuously to become good at. Learning how to ask clarifying questions pertaining to major themes and underlining information helps me to problem solve quickly and effectively. In my profession, I have lead teams that have consisted of anywhere from 35-250 employees. In my various leadership positions, making leadership decisions by actively listening to my associates is key when trying to accomplish the company’s vision, goals, and directives. Giving a person my full attention when they are speaking was difficult for me for some time. However, I have learned that many conversations need to happen behind closed doors, with no distractions for true understanding to
The definition of listening from dictionary.com is to give attention with the ear, to pay attention, heed or obey Listening is one of the most important skills that we possess. Your ability to listen can affect your relationships as well as your job effectiveness. Research suggest that we only retain 25 to 50 percent of what we hear. When talking to colleagues, partners or employees they only hear half of a 10 minute conversation. If we can be a better listener, productivity can increase, as well as your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. It can also help to avoid conflict and misunderstandings.
Listening is more complex, and it encourages one to analyze and think about an idea, rather than to simply accept it (or “hear” it). Hearing is a skill that is beneficial for every aspect of life. As long as we have our ability to hear, we will always perceive different sounds, music, and voices. Listening, however, is beneficial to us in specific instances. It is important for us to attain good listening skills in education, the work force, and in our relationships with others in order to succeed. Good listening in education will bring about confident participation in class discussions; good listening in the workplace will lead to cooperation and good teamwork among colleagues; good listening in relationships is healthy and positive, for it is important to hear what an individual has to say in order to know how they feel.
Listening is probably the most important element for any relationships rather intimate or professional. Many people, such as myself, strongly feel as though they are great listeners and do not need any improvement in this particular skill. However, according to “Are you a good Listener” survey, my listening skills were not up to par. Scoring a 97 out of 125, showed me that I’m a good listener but not quite perfect.The survey goes on to describe what an exceptional listener is. An exceptional listener is someone who is gifted, selfless, and overall enjoys conversing with others. To be a great listener, one must allow people to make and think about their own decisions. My results were in fact not surprising to my love ones or me. I love to communicate, to listen and possibly help. Growing up I was always applauded by my ability to focus and to make good eye-contact when others were talking;
Many people do not recognize that listening is not solely the act of hearing a noise but of paying close consideration to what someone is stating and trying to learn the message that they are attempting to relate to you. Most times people say they are hearing when in all actuality they are merely hearing you but not even trying to understand what is being spoken of. The many advantages of being a good listener are endless. This skill can positively affect many elements of our everyday life and communication with people. Nonetheless, it is an experienced that is oftened neglected in today’s careless society. The purpose I believe that listening is of such importance is because nowadays people have acquired the mentality of “every man for himself.” People are not concerned about their associates anymore. We are only concerned about our own problems and concerns. Listening is a skill that is gained throughout a lifetime. It is an important virtue when it comes to communication.People should be trained from childhood the effect of learning how to listen. If we realized how much we would profit from being good listeners, I believe that things would improve. Lack of listening skills can affect marriages, parents, and children, teachers and students, employers and employees, international affairs, the list goes on. If a husband and wife discovered to sit down and actually listen to each other, they could dodge many misunderstandings that often lead to arguments, separation and