Listening Skills

It has been my experience to conclude that most people are poor (or at best, fair) listeners. In fact, you might wonder how anyone manages to listen without misunderstanding considering all the hoops we put messages through. Most people listen from their point-of-view or while only a small percentage listen with true empathy. Listening from the speaker’s standpoint takes energy, awareness and understanding. It is a bit like acting. It is something that needs lots of practice and cannot be accomplished overnight. I believe poor listening to be a generational issue as a result of our advancement in technology. The people who established "reading, writing and math" as the core content of American schools did not recognize the need for other skills such as listening.

Good listening includes a package of skills, which requires knowledge of technique and practice very similar to good writing or good speaking. Many individuals believe that good listening skills are easy to learn or automatically part of everyone’s personality. This is incorrect. The difference is that poor listening skills are often not as obvious to other people. If we cannot speak effectively, it is immediately obvious, but it may take a little time for other’s to notice that you or are a poor listener.

Organizations can improve their listening skills of employees by bringing in an outside agency to conduct training. This might be expensive but in the long term, the value of an employee who listens well is priceless. The training would involve plenty of role playing situations with different scenarios whether it being in person or by electronic means. Then the person being tested would be given the opportunity to present the information they listened to. The results would be explained and proper critique given to the respective employee. It would be in the company’s best interest to conduct this training at least quarterly.

I consider myself a level one listener due to the amount...