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INEFFECTIVE LISTENING.

The greater importance of listening than speaking in the process of communication. Contends listening is a skill that needs to be developed. Inability to listen effectively as undermining effective communication in informal and formal settings, causing interpersonal conflicts. Examples of ineffective listening. Recommendations to improve listening skills.

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Ineffective Listening
The problem of ineffective listening is applicable to a wide variety of situations. As Ronald B. Adler and Neil Towne (1998) pointed out in their book, Looking Out, Looking In: Interpersonal Communications, listening constitutes an integral part of life for people in a wide variety of settings. The quality of the communication between lecturers and students, employers and employees, clients and service providers, or among family members and friends is highly dependent on the listening skills of the parties involved.
In spite of the importance of effective listening, most people demonstrate their inability to listen effectively, thus undermining effective communication. Adler and Towne (1998), along with Johnson (1996) highlighted the following characteristics of ine

Communication is thus undermined by the biased attitudes of the listeners. Attacking and criticizing speaker: Ineffective listeners may adopt a belligerent stance towards their speaker, perhaps in challenging negotiations. Listening only to portions: The internal editing of the speaker's comments is detrimental to the quality of the communication between listeners and speakers. Judging and interpreting the speaker's remarks in a biased fashion: Ineffective listeners are also unlikely to attend closely to the remarks of speakers whom they had prejudged as an incompetent or untrustworthy individual. Adler and Towne (1998), along with Johnson (1996)highlighted the following characteristics of ineffective listening. Fourth, apart fromlistening, listeners also need to be highly aware of their body language bymoving in tandem with the speaker's body language. Although it isnot a simple skill, it is vital that people develop this skill because ofits importance in all types of interactions in both formal and informalsettings. . By ignoring any conciliatory or even positive components of the speaker's comments, these listeners will only respond by underscoring the negative components, thus heightening the disagreement and tensions, which may already exist between the two parties. Adler and Towne (1998) cited a study of 195 incidents in banking and medical settings, which showed that the type of feedback provided by the listeners will illuminate their pretense. ReferencesAdler, R. R. Adler and Neil Towne (1998) pointed out intheir book, Looking Out, Looking In: Interpersonal Communications,listening constitutes an integral part of life for people in a wide varietyof settings. . The speakers will also know that these listeners have not listened attentively to their words. Redirecting the discussion away from speaker: Ineffective listeners who refer speakers' remarks to their own experiences are quick to interrupt the speakers in order to present their stories. San Francisco: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.Ivy Sea, Inc. Looking out/looking in: Interpersonal communication (9th Ed.). B., & Towne, N. The first set of recommendations refers tothe hearing, attending and understanding components of the listeningprocess, as mentioned in Adler and Towne's (1996) book. The lost art of listening Part II. Apparently, ineffective listeners who are problem-solvers are overly eager to present their solutions, thus undermining their ability to listen attentively to the needs of the speaker. Third, effective listeners identify major themes in theremarks of the speaker to understand the concerns. (1999a, May 4). (2 3). The speakers who realize that their comments have been largely ignored will naturally be angry and frustrated. Retrieved February 6, 2 3, from http://www.suite1 1.com/article.cfm/3649/19292Ruttan, M. In this scenario, they are focused solely on collecting evidence to oppose or criticize the speaker. As Ronald B. (1998). Second, they must maintain full attention on thespeaker by removing distracting thoughts in the mind and environmentaldisruptions. The latter set of recommendations is pertinent to the responding andremembering components of the listening process (Adler & Towne, 1998).First, effective listeners provide feedback by paraphrasing the speaker'scomments to demonstrate their understanding and to ensure that they havecorrectly understood the speaker's meaning. Deep listening: How can it make a difference for you? Their preoccupation with their own stories also reflects their lack of caring and concern for their friends. Ineffective Listening The problem of ineffective listening is applicable to a wide varietyof situations. Finally, effective listeners are also meticulousand careful in providing an analysis of the speaker's comments. However, the interruptions not only prevent the speakers from finishing their stories, but also undermine the overall quality of the relationships among the speakers. They also use theirbody language to indicate to the speakers that they are attending to theconversation (Adler & Towne, 1998; Ruttan, 1999a; Ivy Sea Inc., 2 3). Interpersonal conflicts may occur as the friends become frustrated with the poor listeners who are overly eager to speak about themselves. (1999b, May 18). Furthermore, they are liable to misinterpret and distort the speaker's comments in order to cling onto their own perspectives. Theidentification of these characteristics is also accompanied by a discussionof the negative impact on the outcomes of the communication process: . Therefore, problems that result from ineffective listening suchas ineffective communication and interpersonal conflicts will be minimized. (1996). . Deliberately avoiding aspects of conversation: When listeners encounter issues that are personal or uncomfortable, they will interrupt the speaker or tell a joke in order to divert the conversation away from the topic. Other biases related to gender and race may also contribute to the stance adopted by the listeners. Based on the above discussion, it is evident that effective listeningis a skill that needs practice, training and awareness. Second, they may ask questionsto clarify some of the comments and to move the conversation forward basedon the speaker's remarks. . Effective listening skills. Therefore, it is highly probable that they will miss important aspects of the communication that may be helpful to the listeners. On the other hand, Adler and Towne (1998) believed that effective listeners still can offer advice on the condition that: 1) the advice is correct; 2) the willingness of the person to take the advice; 3) the belief that they would not be blamed for the negative outcome of the advice; and 4) the presentation of the advice is done appropriately. This ineffective listening approach provides a conducive environment for interpersonal conflicts. Pretending to listen: Individuals who exhibit this characteristic project the appearance of listening attentively even though their mind may be engaged in daydreaming or preparing their responses to the speaker's earlier remarks. Retrieved February 6, 2 3, from http://www.itmweb.com/essay514.htmRuttan, M. Since they are only attending to the sections of the speakers' comments, these ineffective listeners will not be able to provide adequate feedback. Offering advice: Johnson (1996) recommended that listeners should abstain completely from giving advice unless the speaker asked for it. In this study, the customers' (speakers) perception of the poor quality of customer service will undermine their trust in future communication encounters with these service providers (listeners) because they will be wondering whether the latter is truly listening to their concerns. Apart from undermining the effectiveness of the communication, interpersonal conflicts may also erupt over this unexplored significant issue. In order to improve one's listening skills, various experts haveprovided their recommendations. For instance, the failure of the two communicators to address the issue may constitute a huge barrier that prevents further genuine interaction to occur between them. This characteristic thus prevents them from listening effectively and affects the quality of communication. Thelisteners' analytical remarks will not only be useful in demonstratingtheir understanding of the speaker's meanings, but also in enabling thespeaker to delve into areas he or she has not previously considered (Adler& Towne, 1998; Ruttan, 1999b; Ivy Sea, Inc.). In spite of the importance of effective listening, most peopledemonstrate their inability to listen effectively, thus underminingeffective communication. The lost art of listening Part I. . This paper hasalso illuminated that listening is just as important an aspect, if not moreimportant than speaking in the process of communication. The quality of the communication between lecturers andstudents, employers and employees, clients and service providers, or amongfamily members and friends is highly dependent on the listening skills ofthe parties involved. Retrieved February 6, 2 3, from http://www.suite1 1.com/article.cfm/3649/19926 Retrieved February 6, 2 3, from http://www.ivysea.com/pages/intrap_11 _1.htmlJohnson, K. This ineffective listening strategy can have adverse ramifications for interpersonal relationships. First, listenersshould minimize the amount of their talking to ensure that the speaker hasthe opportunity to speak. .

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