BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING

TOPIC:

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING

CONTENTS
1.Introduction .4 Are you listening or just hearing? Why are people inherently poor listeners? 2.Content 5 Listeners knowing too much. Listeners knowing too little. 3.Speaker .5 Delivery. Attitudes towards speaker. 4.Medium ..6 Distance and circumstances. Reasons. 5.Distractions .....6 Extraneous stimuli. 6.Mindset .....7 Attitudes. 7.Language .......7 Ambiguity Misinterpretation 8.Listening Speed 8 Rate. Thinking speed. 9.Feedback ....8 Inappropriate. 10.Other barriers to effective listening..9 Physical conditions. Casual attitude. Speaking-thinking rate. Premature evaluation. Status and role. Communication context. 11.Active and Passive listening...10 12.Conclusion ....11 13.Bibliography..12

INTRODUCTION:
"We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice as hard as talking." Are you Listening or Just Hearing? When we think about listening, we tend to assume that it is basically the same as hearing; this is a misconception because it leads to believe that effective listening is instinctive. As a result, we make little effort to learn, or develop listening skills, and unknowingly neglect a vital communication function. Consequently, we create unnecessary problems for others and ourselves: misunderstandings, hurt feelings, confused instructions, loss of important information, embarrassment, frustration, and lost opportunities. Listening involves a more sophisticated mental process than hearing. It demands energy and discipline. Listening is most often a learned skill. The first step is to realize that effective listening is an active, not a passive, process. A skilled listener does not just sit there and allow listening to happen haphazardly. The belief that the power of the talker plays a major role in communication is why many managers are poor listeners. In our society talking is viewed as more important, with listening categorized as only a supportive function. Why are people inherently poor listeners? Listening training is unavailable. Thought speed is more than speaking speed. We are inefficient listeners, Listening but not hearing. Rehearsing , interrupting , feeling defensive. Hearing what is expected, Listening for a point of disagreement. Call the subject matter uninteresting. Criticize the delivery or appearance of speaker. Become too stimulated and listen only for facts. Try to outline everything that is being said. Fake attention,Tolerate or create distractions. Evade the difficult, Mental verbal criticism. Interrupting or finishing their sentences. To improve the listening comprehension one must overcome barriers like content, speaker, distractions, mindset, language listening speed and feedback.

The following could be some reasons that create barriers to listening.

CONTENT
Listeners knowing too much: Feel that their knowledge is so extensive that there is little left to learn.

Listeners knowing too little:

Tune out when faced with difficult intellectual or emotional content. Only listen to information within their beliefs.

Remedy: Do not sit back passively and allow sound to enter ears. Develop a positive attitude towards message. Anticipate the importance of the message content. Seek areas of interest in the message. Remind self that something of value can be learned.

SPEAKER
Delivery : Speakers enunciation, organization, clarity, speed, volume, tone, inflections, emotions, and appearance affect interpretation of message.

Attitude toward speaker: Listeners are influenced more by their attitude towards the speaker than the information presented. If the listener likes the speaker, he/she is more likely to empathize and therefore comprehend the message.

Remedy: Concentrate on the what of the message, not the who or how.

MEDIUM
Distance and circumstances: Least effort is needed when the speaker is not visible. More effort is needed when the speaker is visible, but not present. Most effort is needed in face-to-face interactions.

Reasons: Occurs because the amount and variety of both verbal and non-verbal stimuli increases. These stimuli can either help or hinder communication.

Remedy: Realize the potential for better understanding, and increase listening effort.

DISTRACTION:
Extraneous stimuli: Sounds, lights, odors, mannerisms, voice inflections, and moving objects can easily distract listeners. Psychological studies indicate that a listeners attention span is sometimes no more than two or three seconds. Can be categorized as environmental or physical, but most often psychological.

Remedy: Identify and eradicate distractions. If distractions cannot be eliminated, increase concentration. Free self from preconceptions, prejudices, and negative emotions.

MINDSET
Attitudes: Structural by a listeners unique physical, mental, and emotional characteristics. An individuals mindset can either magnify or diminish stimuli, distorting the message.

Remedy: Strive to not let personal biases interfere with comprehension. Respect others freedom of values and beliefs. Accept that attempting to understand anothers viewpoint is not necessarily. agreeing with it. Realize that there may be more than one acceptable point of view.

LANGUAGE
Ambiguity: Listeners rarely hear every word spoken and may attach different meanings to words than the speaker.

Misinterpretation: Can occur when words are imprecise, emotional, technical, or overly intellectual. Occurs most often when listeners interpret words based on personal definitions established by background, education, and experience.

Remedy: Realize that different words may have different meanings for different people. Evaluate the context in which the word is used. See that meaning is in the mind, not in the word.

LISTENING SPEED
Rate: The average speaking rate is 125-150 words per minute. The average listening rate is 500 words a minute, leaving a lot of excess thinking time.

Thinking time: Poor listeners use the excess time to day dream, often missing part of the message.

Remedy: Use excess time to outline messages, identify the purpose and how it is supported, evaluate the soundness of logic, verify, and integrate with existing knowledge, maintain eye-contact to observe and interpret non-verbal signals, formulate questions to enhance and verify understanding and provide feedback.

FEEDBACK
Inappropriate: Premature comments or evaluations before a full understanding of the speaker's view-point. Comments which are colored with emotions of resentment, defensiveness, or suspicion. Can hinder speaker by confusing or diverting into tangents.

Remedy: Supportive feedback can demonstrate interest through appropriate eye-contact, smiling and animation, nodding, leaning forward, verbal reinforcements such as 'I see' or 'yes', and phrasing interpretations of the comments for verification. These must be timed to assist rather than hinder the speaker.

OTHER BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING:

Because the communications process is so complex, many variables exert themselves whenever we try to listen. These can generally be categorized as: Physical condition: Distracting noises, poor acoustics, uncomfortable seating arrangements, physical discomfort caused by uncomfortable temperature, etc.., from a barrier. The most effective device for surmounting these difficulties is concentration if you cannot manipulate the distractions. Casual attitude: Assuming that since you are hearing, you must also be listening, the lack of effort and concentration forms one of the major barriers to listening. Speaking-thinking rate: We usually speak to the rate of 125-150 words per minute but the mind is able to cope with approximately 400 words per minute. This means there is considerable amount of idle time in which the mind can wander away from the task of critical and careful listening. It is during this free time that many listeners surrender to external distractions. Premature evaluation: It is the trait of jumping to conclusions. As psychologist Carl Rogers has noted, The problem is the very human tendency to evaluate what is said from ones point of view only, the inability to postpone an evaluation for the sake of communication in the particular situation. This immediate evaluation sets up a chain reaction that colors ones response to a speaker. Status and role: Your impression of a persons status will determine, to a large degree, what you learn from him/her and what influence he/she will have over your attitudes. Status relationships between the speaker and listener, as well as the various roles they both play, frequently determine the success or failure of the communication act. Communication context: Still another ingredient that influences the process of communication is what we will refer to as the communication context. The place of encounter (the where) has an impact on the final outcome. We all behave differently at our homes, for example, than at school, on the job, or at a party. The arena of our acts helps govern both our messages and our responses.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE LISTENING

There are two types of listening: passive and active. Passive listening occurs when a listener does not verbally respond to the speaker. The listener may deliberately or unintentionally send non-verbal messages through eye contact, smiles, yawns, or nods. Sometimes passive listening is appropriate. If the speaker wants to air a gripe, vent frustration, or express an opinion, you may want to listen passively, the speaker may not want or need a verbal response; rather he or she may want a sounding board. Passive listening is also appropriate when you want to ease back mentally and be entertained. It would be a mistake to interrupt the speaker as he/she narrates a good joke or story.

Passive listening is the kind we do when we LISTEN to the stereo while we are cleaning the house. When we listen in this manner, we are actually moving in and out of comprehension.

Active listening involves verbal feedback. One type of feedback involves questioning. You ask for additional information to clarify the speakers message. For instance, you might ask, what do you mean? by asking this type of question, you want the speaker to elaborate on the information already given. Another type of feedback is paraphrasing (e.g., Let me make sure I am with you so far, or what I hear you saying is). Then you rephrase the speakers ideas in your own words. With this type of feedback, you demonstrate that you have understood her/his concerns.

Watching TV or otherwise listening without responding is passive listening, as the communication is one-way, with no exchange or feedback.

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CONCLUSION:
Let us consider a business organization. Employees in a particular organization frequently have excellent ideas about improving the productivity of the work environment. Managers who listen to these ideas solve more problems than those who do not. These managers create a sense of concern for their staff while receiving better quality information.

PAYOFFS OF EFFECTIVE LISTENING:

The first real evidence of effective communication is when each person really understands what the other person has said- the meaning, attitudes, and feelings behind the words. That takes time and concentration. Here are some positive results that can be gained from effective listening. Gaining knowledge. Receiving better work and cooperation from others. Wining friends. Solving problems and conflicts. Reducing tension. Preventing trouble. Doing a better job.

Listening is never easy. There are number of common barriers that you, if you are aware of them, can try to counteract. To improve the listening comprehension one must overcome barriers like content, speaker, distractions, mindset, language, listening speed and feedback.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Communication skills (Oxford Higher Education)- MEENAKSHI RAMAN & SANGEETA SHARMA.

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