Communications barriers - "My shortcomings as a listener and how I plan to overcome them"

by sawantsunny (student)

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

Title:

"My shortcomings as a listener and how I plan to overcome them"

Introduction:

“The principle of listening, someone has said, is to develop a big ear rather than a big mouth.”

-- Howard G. Hendricks

“It is the province of knowledge to speak. And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.”

--Oliver Wendell Holmes

When people think about communication they usually focus on the ability to send the message. It is important to note that the ability to listen or to receive the message is just as important. Listening is a skill that needs to be developed; it does not just happen without effort. Listening accounts for half of the entire communication process.

When listening to another person or reading another person’s message, it is important to evaluate where it is coming from. Is the subject matter important to this person, or is it a casual message? Does the sender have any background experience that would shape their beliefs and expectations? We should be able to draw some conclusions in the beginning, but do not let them overshadow the information that we are collecting.

Scope:

Scope of this assignment is not only limited to the individual as communication is a vital skill in today’s complex business world. It is necessary to all of the functions that a business performs. It is the tool that allows information to flow between people. If we are able to have a visible meeting with the person, we can use body language such as nodding and other gestures to show that we are eagerly listening. If we are having trouble understanding fully, try paraphrasing what has been said back to the speaker to clarify any points. Additionally, ask specific questions and tell the speaker to elaborate.

Every person has his or her own barriers while listening. But to identify them and take the necessary action is very important to sustain in today’s competitive world.

My Barriers as a listener and corrective action:

The following are some of my barriers to good listening and the necessary corrective actions.

Barrier 1: “I know everything”

I work for Datacraft which is a leading consultant in IT network integration. My domain of expertise is in the area of Data network designing and integration. Some time back my team was working on the project for our client Fidelity Information services (FIS) and there was specific deadline to complete the task. FIS wanted to upgrade their core technology, as during Christmas they have peak load on them. I was leading this project. I had to brief to the Technology Vice President (VP) of FIS every week on the progress of the project. Once during the briefing that particular VP asked me very specific question about IT security which I could not answer. This happened because I didn’t take any details from security team about the progress of the project and I was acting like “I know everything” without listening to them and understanding the entire process. That particular incidence leads to the personal embarrassment to me as I was leading the project and I was unaware about the important aspect such as IT security.

Corrective Action

I should actively listen to the people more. I should not only listen to the people around me but also to the people from each and every department. This becomes very necessary when leading a team. I think a simple strategy for overcoming the "I know everything” barrier is to wait for some time after the speaker finishes before beginning we reply and ask more specific questions to the speaker and understand it.

An old Zen proverb says, "When walking, walk. When eating, eat." In other words, we should give our whole attention to whatever we're doing. It's ...

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Corrective Action

An old Zen proverb says, "When walking, walk. When eating, eat." In other words, we should give our whole attention to whatever we're doing. It's worth emphasizing that the goal of good listening is simply to listen -- nothing more and nothing less. Interrupting the speaker in order to offer advice disrupts the flow of conversation, and impairs the listener's ability to understand the speaker's experience.

Barrier 2: “Language Barrier”

One of the trickiest barriers is language -- a misplaced trust in the precision of words. The linguistic differences also lead to the communication breakdown. This happens to many students who complete their schooling in their native language. And in colleges the medium of instruction is generally English. I have done my entire schooling in Marathi language. In the first year science, the major barrier was the language. As a science student, I used to find it difficult to understand many English “scientific” words. I had to listen to the teacher very carefully to understand the meaning of the topic. If the subject or topics were too difficult, I used stressed out and could not pay attention to the rest of the session.

Corrective Action

I had to increase my English scientific vocabulary. Increasing a vocabulary is never ending process. I as a good listener ought to practice mistrusting the meaning of words. I should ask the speaker supporting questions to cross-verify what the words mean to him and to me. Watching English language television programs or videos or reading English newspaper are a great way to improve one’s listening skills because what we see can help we understand what we hear. Working on increasing my vocabulary will also help me to become a better listener.

One should not assume that words or expressions mean exactly the same to us as they do to the speaker. We can stop the speaker and question the meaning of a word. Doing that too often also becomes a hurdle, of course, but if we suspect that the speaker's usage of the word might be slightly different, we have to take time to explore that, before the difference leads to misunderstanding.

Studies reveal that most people spend as much as 90 percent of their working life in one of the four modes of communication: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Of these four modes, we devote over half of our time to listening. We spend about 30 percent of our time listening to mass communication media and about 25 percent listening to other people. Clearly then, listening is a critically important skill to master.

In order to become a good learner, one needs to become a good listener. We may be surprised to know that hearing and listening is not the same thing. One could say that good hearing is the foundation of good listening. Listening is a specialized form of hearing, and is the primary function of the ear.

Hearing is a passive process. It merely involves the detection of sounds around us.

Listening is an active process. It involves the conscious desire to determine the meaning of what is heard.

Barrier 3: “Concentration”

We are so preoccupied with our own thoughts that we are unable to listen attentively. I always find myself having the difficulty to concentrate and listening to people. Initially I thought of having any unhealthy disease that bothers me for listening to people. Then I realize that if I want to concentrate listening first of all I need to have a good listening habit. This is not easy. It is proved scientifically that an average person listens at about 25 percent of efficiency only. It happens many a times when I am listening to someone, the speaker's words unconsciously trigger a conversation within inner self. I also do not realize when our inner self will either internally agree or disagree with the speaker without clarify the message he is trying to convey. So I conclude the conversation in my heart through my own judgment.

This leads to misunderstanding and miscommunication in any organization. So, as a human, we must practice and get ourselves listen to peoples and putting effort to concentrate without having any preconceived notions until I get the clarity from the speaker.

Corrective Action

Firstly, I need to create interest in any subject in order for me to listen and concentrate. I discovered that, if I am able to show interest in the topic which is conducted by the speaker then I am able to listen well. So, I practice this and trying to show interest in whatever topic to the person I am talking with. There is no such thing as an uninteresting subject, but there are only uninterested people.

Now I try to focus all of my attention on the speaker and the message being delivered. Being able to concentrate is definitely a skill -- one that we all need in today’s information rich world.

Barrier 4: “I am in a hurry”

As I already mentioned, I work in Datacenter technology which is “Real Time” service industry. Sometimes to avoid IT “downtime” I tend to do the things in hurried manner without listening to other people around me. This may sometime result in to the unnecessary technology outage. This has not happened yet but may happen and if it happens it may lead to huge business losses although my true intention is to avoid losses. In such pressure situations I am so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I am unable to listen attentively to the others.

Corrective Action

I should actively listen to people more and then come to any decision. In this Real Time service industry I should keep my mind cool and before taking any decision I should listen to the experts and take advice from them.

We don't have time to listen and can't wait for the other people to finish their thoughts so that we could get on with our business. People will sense that we don't really want to listen to them. If we find ourselves always trying to control the pace of conversations, talk too fast, or urge others to get to the point, try to consciously slow ourselves down. Find a better time to talk.

We as a student and working professionals spend more time either in classroom or in office than doing any other activity. Therefore, it’s very important that we understand most of what we hear.

Having a good listening skill will help us to reduce miscommunication and misunderstanding among family members as well as at workplace and this will enhance the relationship build, especially in a big family and organization.

Inference:

“Listening is hearing, understanding, remembering, interpreting, evaluating, and responding.”

Most of the people while listening to a conversation can only get what the others are trying to deliver through conversation but not the real content of the message. Trying to listen beyond the surface as most of the speakers who speak with charm or an air of authority may not really say anything in the public whereas the unpolished speaker will have significant messages or lessons to pass on, so without a good listening skill we might not be able to judge what they are trying to impart.

Also the other more effective approach is to encourage the speaker to supply missing context or examples by asking him open-ended questions. Asking open-ended questions when listening is generally more effective than asking closed-ended ones.

One should remember that the listeners are also a part of the conversation. The listeners must give their feedback at the end of the conversation. If we are not clear what our boss is expecting out of we, or what we are actually supposed to do, please ASK. Don’t hesitate, ask questions. Don’t hide our queries, ask and clear our doubts then and there only. our boss will only feel happy if we share our queries with him.

Effective leaders and influencers master the art of listening, and they understand that people want to be heard. In our fast-paced world, active and empathetic listening is a rarity, and it's not as simple as it sounds. Even if we know how to listen, we often don't for a number of reasons.

Listening barriers can prevent effective listening if they aren’t understood and managed.

Benefits of Active Listening:

Respect and Trust

Enhances our Relationships.

Conflict Resolution

Cultivates positive work environment

Wins friends

Confidence

Reduce negative assumptions.

Finally, we need to remember this: the more we speak to people, the more they will speak back to us. Talking with native speakers is perhaps the best way of getting lots of extra listening practice!

References:

books.google.co.in/books?isbn=1439036438

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