Rezwan Chowdhury writes for DOT :
In any communication process listening is one of the important elements that need to be maintained smartly. Listening is well known as the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages. Any message can be easily misunderstood if the listener pays good attention. As a result, communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. If there is one communication skill you should aim to master, then listening is it. There is a popular proverb: “No one is as deaf as the man who will not listen”. These days, even many top employers provide listening skills training for their employees and there is no doubt that listening is very roe in our overall communication process. Good listening skills can lead to better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes and increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work. It is so obvious that listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing refers to the sounds that enter your ears. It is a physical process that, provided you do not have any hearing problems, happens automatically. However, listening requires more than that; it requires focus and concentrated effort, both mental and sometimes physical as well. Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Someone’s ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which s/he perceives and understands messages.
Effective listening is a great skill and there is no doubt on that. Listening serves a number of possible purposes and the purpose of listening will depend on the situation and the nature of the communication. The below contains seven effective purposes of good listening activities:
a. To specifically focus on the messages being communicated, avoiding distractions and preconceptions.
b. To gain a full and accurate understanding into the speakers point of view and ideas.
c. To observe the non-verbal signals accompanying what is being said to enhance understanding.
d. To show interest, concern and concentration.
e. To encourage the speaker to communicate fully, openly and honestly.
f. To develop a generosity approach, putting the speaker first.
g. To arrive at a shared and agreed understanding and acceptance of both sides views.
To improve the process of effective listening, it can be helpful to turn the problem on its head and look at barriers to effective listening, or ineffective listening. For example, one common problem is that instead of listening closely to what someone is saying, we often get distracted after a sentence or two and instead start to think about what we are going to say in reply or think about unrelated things. This means that we do not fully listen to the rest of the speaker’s message. Of course the clarity of what the speaker is saying can also affect how well we listen.
When someone is speaking it is vitally important to be fully present and in the moment with them. If something else is on your mind, like a call you have to make, or a text you need to answer, let them know, do what you need to do, and when you are finished let them know you are ready to listen.
The famous educator, author, businessman and keynote speaker Stephen R. Covey said that most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. Most people are thinking of how they are going to reply when someone is talking. Instead of doing that, try to focus completely on what the person is saying. Pretend that you will be tested on how much of what they were saying you heard and understood. A good exercise to practice is to sit down with a family member or a good friend and practice simply giving feedback to them of what you heard. You will notice that it gets much easier to focus on their words when you aren’t worrying about how you will respond.
Generally we find it easier to focus if the speaker is fluent in their speech, has a familiar accent with well know words and speaks at an appropriate loudness for the situation. It is more difficult, for example, to focus on somebody who is speaking very fast, use non-familiar words and very quietly, especially if they are conveying complex information. We may also get distracted by the speaker’s personal appearance or by what someone else is saying, which sounds more interesting.
Finally, it is important not to jump to conclusions about what you see and hear. You should always seek clarification to ensure that you understand the said matter correctly.
The writer is Head of Marketing, Chattogram Business Circle of Grameenphone Ltd.
Our time is a news portal