...In: Business and Management Listening EFFECTIVE LISTENING What Effective Listening Is ? Effective listening is actively absorbing the information given to you by a speaker, showing that you are listening and interested, and providing feedback to the speaker so that he or she knows the message was received. Delivering verbal communication, like writing a newsletter, involves trying to choose the right words and nonverbal cues to convey a message that will be interpreted in the way that you intend. Effective listeners show speakers that they have been heard and understood. "We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice as hard as talking." Sources of Difficulty by the Speaker • Voice volume too low to be heard. • Making the message too complex, either by including too many unnecessary details or too many issues. • Getting lost, forgetting your point or the purpose of the interaction. • Body language or nonverbal elements contradicting or interfering with the verbal message, such as smiling when anger or hurt is being expressed. • Paying too much attention to how the other person is taking the message, or how the person might react. Sources of Difficulty by the Listener • Being preoccupied and not listening. • Being so interested in what you have to say that you listen mainly to find an opening to get the floor. • Formulating and listening to your own rebuttal to what the speaker...
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...Effective Listening Skills Student Name Course/Number Date Instructor Name Introduction Listening is defined by the International Listening Association as the process of receiving and constructing meaning from verbal or non verbal messages, and then offering a response (Cheesebro, O’Connor, & Rios, 2010). This implies that to offer accurate responses in various situations including during conflict resolution, one must be able to receive the information accurately through effective listening in order to draw meaning and respond to the parties in question appropriately (Shermerhon, Hunt, & Osborn, 2004). It is through effective listening to a party that one is able to grasp the intended meaning and offer a relevant response. Effective listening skills are one of the main determinants of the progress of teaching, informing, and conflict resolution. However, various factors need to be put in place to ensure that listening enhances the quality of communication among the parties involved. It requires effective coordination between the brain and the ear as well as proper concentration by the parties involved. This study presents listening strategies employed in effective conflict resolution. Listening Process The starting point is the absorption of information through the ear which is the transmitting device to the brain as indicated below. Source: Cheesebro, T., O’Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2010). For listening to occur, hearing must first take place. While...
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...Effective Listening Strategies BSHS 385 April 21, 2015 Dr. Barbara Hughson Effective Listening Strategies Effective listening is an important part of the human service profession. This paper will review three articles about effective listening. For each article, I will provide a summary that includes my thoughts of the article, what was learned about effective listening, and how I can apply it to my daily life as a human service professional. I will also discuss my thoughts on how I will use these strategies and how effective they may be. The first article I read is called “Listen Carefully." This article is discussing teaching listening skills to school-aged children. Some of the research reviewed shows the importance of listening when it comes to human learning and development. Learning how to listen is the first skill in language most children will develop first. Once children begin school, listening becomes even more important because the majority of what children learn is through listening. An interesting fact to me was when McPherson (2008) stated, “Teaching listening skills to middle school at-risk readers improved their reading comprehension scores and found that listening to a story while reading the story's words also improved elementary children's reading comprehension.” (McPherson, 2008) This speaks volumes to me especially when the teaching of listening skills in the classroom is not being done today. Teachers who start teaching listening strategies have...
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...BSHS/385 WEEK THREE EFFECTIVE LISTENING STRATEGIES The main objective of listening is to establish empathy between the helper and client by listening to the clients words, sensing their feelings, and interpreting their thoughts. It is very important that clients know and feel that their helper is paying attention and care about the story they are telling. I have reviewed three articles that can really help me in my career when it comes to being an active and effective listener. Article one: The human side of teaching: Effective Listener. This article is very informative by offering effective listening suggestions. It suggest that professionals listen fully to clients without any interruptions. By waiting for the client to pause on speaking, giving the professional time to empathize before asking questions. This is very important to focus on the client and conversation at hand, so you’re able to give feedback to the client. Also, listen with your eyes, ears, and body. Who knew by sitting a certain way or spot would show your client that you’re giving your undivided attention and allow you to notice those non-verbal gestures or expressions. Taking notes allows you to be more engaged with any speaker and prove that you are listening effectively (Boyd, 2001). I am a strong believer of eye contact when talking with someone. Article two: The gift of listening: JUST Listening Strategies. This article discuss how listening with sensitivity is a key component when...
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...Benefits of Effective Listening Benefits of Effective Listening Maryann Rieger Brandman University COMU-410 April 21, 2012 Benefits of Effective Listening Effective listening is one of the most important parts in communication. As noted by Elizabeth Rice (1998), “[Listening] involves caring, hearing, interpreting, evaluating, and responding to oral messages to gain a shared understanding” (Rice, 1998) There is always something to be learned when listening. As listeners, we cannot have an "I know everything" attitude. There is always a different opinion, or a new piece of information that can come to light. Listening is never a waste of time. We must pay attention and be active and total listeners when communicating with our peers, supervisors, employees and customers It is important to understand both how we listen as well as who is communicating to us in order to become more effective listeners. Listening Types There are many listening types and we need to understand how we are listening in order to improve and become more effective listeners. We need to be engaged when we listen to hear and understand what is being said. We need to listen to verbal and non-verbal communication to get the full effect of what is being communicated to us. Common listening types are active, inactive, total and partial. Of these, active and total are the most successful. Active listening “Listening in a way that demonstrates interest and encourages continued speaking....
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...Andrea Beachum Effective Listening Strategies Paper BSHS 385 October 12, 2015 Audra Stinson Effective Listening Strategies Paper The understanding of what effective listening is and what it means is a vital part of the role of human service provider. Effective listening means more than just hearing what your client is saying to you when they are in a session. Effective listening means that you as the provider are able to understand their body language and other nonverbal cues. By using effective learning skills the human service provider can help the client by providing the right tools and resources to help them gain control over their situation and to help them find a way to a solution. What is effective listening? Effective listening is defined as the ability to actively understand and listen to what the client is saying and to show interest into what is being discussed. Effective listening also means that you are providing the client/individual with reflective feedback that demonstrates that you not only heard what they were saying but that you understand as well. (Effective Listening Skills, 2004-2015) Ways to demonstrate attentive/effective listening skills There are many different ways to show your client and others around you that you are actively listening to what they are saying. Some of these skills come naturally while others tend to need some practice. Listed below are some of the skills that are important when communicating...
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...Effective Listening Strategies Paper Melinda Schimmel BSHS/385 1/26/2015 Barbara Hughson Effective Listening Strategies In the following paper, it is my intention to establish with the reader a link between effective listening skills and the importance they have when establishing relationships. These relationships could be with family, co-workers and most importantly, the clients that we do or will come in to contact with. (Article I) Effective Interpersonal Listening and Personal Selling is the first article reviewed. This particular article is geared toward listening strategies in the sales world. However, the key points on effective listening are all the same when it comes to our clientele and showing them that we are actively listening to what they are telling us. Even sales people need to actively listen to their customers to truly know what it is they need and want. Without actively listening, the clients will end up unhappy and the salesman will end up with no sale. Many people mix up the act of hearing with the act of listening, in reality, they are two different concepts. “Hearing is defined as the special sense by which noise and tones are received as stimulus" (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 1991, p. 559). Hearing is just one step in how we actually listen to people. While listening is the act of not just hearing what is being said, but also responding to the stimuli being heard. We can do this not only verbally, but non-verbally as well. We...
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...http://vigaexalt.blogspot.com/2014/01/effective-listening-skills.html Why active listening is critical in business? Most of us tend to hear rather than LISTEN. Listen shows that you are serious and committed in acquiring and confirming the information. Paying attentive listening proves significant as an ability to understand thoroughly the defined meanings, understood the read lines clearly and enables to relate to with the speaker. We may have encountered poor listening habit which contributes to repetitive of tasks, poor quality output, customer’s dissatisfaction, wrong interpretation and waste of raw materials. How does a poor listening skill affect the overall operation? Several times when I order the required food and beverages at Mamak restaurants, there is bound to be a mistake. I ordered Tea but the waiter shall bring Ice Tea. One of the key weaknesses I noticed in a Mamak restaurant is their waiters shall take order without jotting down in their order record. Another incident related to poor listening skills was with Astro. I called their customer care line to inform the defects on the decoder due to lightening. Their customer representative had wrongly inserted my address and I had to wait up to 10 days for a new installation. Worse I had to call them every day to find out what went wrong. They only found it out one the 9th day that the address was inserted wrongly. My colleague who works as Quality Manager stated that his newly recruited foreign operators from...
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...Effective Listening Strategies Paper LaDonna Landry BSHS 385 Audra Stinson June 15, 2015 Effective Listening Strategies Paper Thinking and acting in ways that connect you to a person that is speaking is attentive listening. The benefits of listening are codependent and synergistic not many people are attentive listeners but if they can possess the skill of listening there are many benefits. Some benefits are respect, airtime, information, increased likability, better relationship and clarity. When you are giving you full listening attention you are showing respect and in turn gain the respect of the speaker. If you listen first to the speaker usually the speaker will return the favor. I say usually because it depends upon the individual and what may be going on with them such as self-absorption, stress or other reason that they might not lend their ear as the listener has done. Attentive listening helps to get information so that you can learn more about the person. The more you know about the individual the more you can do to assist them. People like to be listened to the more you listen to people the more you like them and the more you listen to the person talking the more they began to like you just for the fact that you listened. Listening creates a feeling of goodwill in relationships. If you are to listen to others problems non-judgmentally this gives the individual a chance to hear themselves and possibly find their own solution to their problem. Listening...
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...The ability to listen more effectively may be acquired through discipline and practice. As a listener one should physically and mentally prepare yourself for the communication. We must be physically relaxed and mentally alert to receive and understand the message. Effective listening requires sustained concentration (regardless of the length of the message), attention to the main ideas presented, note-taking (if the conditions are appropriate), and no emotional blocks to the message by the listener. You cannot listen passively and expect to retain the message. If you want to be an effective listener, you must give the communicator of the message sufficient attention and make an effort to understand his viewpoint. Guides to Effective Listening Skills Here are some practical suggestions for effective listening which, if followed, can appreciably increase the effectiveness of this communicative skill. Realize that listening is hard work. It is characterized by faster heart action, quicker blood circulation, and a small rise in body temperature. Researchers have found that the higher we climb on the organizational ladder, the more difficult listening becomes. In day-to-day conversations, show the communicator you are interested by looking and acting like you are. Prepare to listen. To receive the message clearly, the receiver must have the correct mental attitude. In your daily communications, establish a permissive environment for each communicator. Recognize your own biases...
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...Introduction This article written by Bill Reynolds is entitled ‘Characteristics of Good Listening Skills’ dated – and it is from http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/. It discusses the attributes of a good listener possesses. Listening skill is an important skill but difficult to master. Most people unaware that it is a skill. Firstly, good listener encourages the speaker by providing positive reinforcement. Secondly, looking at the speaker by maintaining eye contact and observing his non-verbal messages. Thirdly, always convey interest to the speaker by providing constant feedback. Lastly, deferring rebuttal by waiting the speaker to finish talking. Critical Review In my opinion, listening plays a crucial role in an effective communication. Communication takes place along four modalities: speaking, writing, listening and reading. Listening is at once the least understood and the most important of these competencies. Listening is a skill of critical significance in all aspects of our lives, from maintaining our personal relationships, to getting our jobs done, to taking notes in class, to figuring out which bus to take to the airport. Regardless of how we're engaged with listening, it is important to understand that listening involves more than just hearing the words that are directed at us. Most people often forget that we have one mouth and two ears, which means we should listen twice as much as we speak. That way provides us the capability to connect with others on...
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...Effective Listening General Short Essay Stage One (1st person, opinionated) Effective listening is an ongoing skill that improves with time and effort. People are more often interested on conveying their own ideas. Being an effective listener requires a person to withdraw in order to better understand another individual's idea. “Assumptions” is actually the general idea, that when someone begins to express themselves and try to convey a concept the listener will jump to conclusion. I personally noticed that I most often assume what someone others are saying. When one assumes what another is trying to say it can hinder the other's ability to fully say what they want to say. For example, a two people are having a conversation; one says to another that they are going to an event next weekend. The other responds by saying that he/she is free to go with him/her that weekend. One assumes, and should have waited for the other actually invites him/her, which could turn out to an awkward situation. Effective listening sometimes doesn’t really need a response. It’s what I’ve noticed, I personally can’t say I am an effective listener, but for some reason I’ve picked up a few tells that someone isn’t really listening when they try to respond or fix a problem. One is when someone is blowing off steam about a stressful situation like work or a relationship. In my experience those type of conversations don’t require responses other than nods, those who are speaking are actually just putting...
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...What Is Effective Listening In Nursing YourFirstName YourLastName University title Effective listening commonly refers to perfect hearing of any message being sent, understanding the message and deriving sense out of it, and then responding to the message in a way that shows better understanding. Effective listening can be described and categorized in a different ways according to the field of communication and the environment surrounding the communication. In the nursing field, effective listening will involves boldness and keenness by nurses towards patients, and others health practitioners in trying to understand the intended nursing message being sent, which will later be used in the nursing activities. An effective listeners in the nursing field is expected to retain facial and eye contact with the speaker, be attentive and relaxed, open minded, ask questions as an attempt to ensure understanding, and provide regular feedback to the speaker. As a nurse, it is extremely crucial to be an effective listener with patients in order to create some bond with the patients. Through effective listening, patients are able to air out their different feelings and health conditions. The information gathered by an effective listening nurse tend to be extremely useful in treating the patents and the general ease of the nursing activities. Patients need health practitioners who listen and understand their different concerns which can only be portrayed through effective...
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...EFFECTIVE LISTENING IN THE WORKPLACE Jeff Bernier Abstract “Listening is perhaps the most critical element in language and language learning, for it is the key to speaking, and beyond that, reading and writing. At all levels --- from entry level to managerial --- listening is perceived as crucial for communication. Yet listening remains one of the least understood processes in language learning” (Allene Grognet and Carol Van Duzer, 2002, p. 1). The ability to listen to employees and colleagues is an essential skill for developing a productive environment. By improving listening skills, supervisors and employees can create a “listening environment” within their own organization. This study examines the relationship between University of Southern Maine (USM) personal that feel they have effective listening skills and USM personal that had training in effective listening skills. The subjects were 182 USM employees surveyed to determine effective listening in the workplace. Each USM employee surveyed identified themselves as either an “employee” or “supervisor”, the number of years employed and answered either “yes” or “no” to ten various questions on effective listening in the workplace. Results showed strong, positive relationships among the two dependent variables in effective listening in the workplace. Hypothesis USM employees who feel they have effective listening skills as determined by the survey conducted at USM have a positive relationship with USM employees...
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...Meaningful Dialogue Means Effective Listening Tarenzo P. Clemmons COM200: Interpersonal Communication Prof. Danielle Doud August 17, 2015 Meaningful Dialogue Means Effective Listening Self-disclosure is very important, especially in an intimate relationship where a couple is dating or married. The benefits of self-disclosure are great, because both parties begin and continue to understand each other and know things about each other that other people would not necessarily understand very quickly. Becoming comfortable enough with one’s own emotions and feelings, and being confident enough to communicate them is a great thing when it pertains to couples elevating and prospering in their relationships. To have meaningful discussion between two people or even a large group of people there has to be effective listening amongst everyone. Effective listening is what holds the discussion together, because if it is not in the conversation, the problem often times arises where one party does not know where the other party is coming from, and consequently they become totally misunderstood. With that being said, I can absolutely relate to self-disclosure in a relationship. In my opinion, there is no better way to ensure that your partner, mate, spouse, significant other, or however you want to identify the person you are in a relationship with relates to you. I agree wholeheartedly with self-disclosure. I have done it all throughout my marriage, and I practice it in the workplace...
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