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Business Communication: Effective Listening

The document discusses effective listening as a key business communication skill. It notes that listening is an active process that involves comprehending and assigning meaning to sounds, unlike hearing which is passive. While listening is the most used communication skill, people typically retain only 50% of information immediately after listening and only 25% 48 hours later. The document then provides several keys to better listening, including giving the speaker undivided attention without distractions, staying open-minded, avoiding interrupting, and actively involving oneself in the communication through actions like summarizing, note-taking, and providing feedback.

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483 views10 pages

Business Communication: Effective Listening

The document discusses effective listening as a key business communication skill. It notes that listening is an active process that involves comprehending and assigning meaning to sounds, unlike hearing which is passive. While listening is the most used communication skill, people typically retain only 50% of information immediately after listening and only 25% 48 hours later. The document then provides several keys to better listening, including giving the speaker undivided attention without distractions, staying open-minded, avoiding interrupting, and actively involving oneself in the communication through actions like summarizing, note-taking, and providing feedback.

Uploaded by

debdattaa
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Business Communication

Effective listening
Listening
• Listening involves much more than just
hearing
• You can hear and not listen (just as you
can listen and not understand)
• Hearing is simply perceiving sound; sound
waves strike the eardrum, sending
impulses to the brain
• Hearing is a passive process; listening is
an active process
• When you perceive a sound, you’re merely
aware of it; you don’t necessarily
comprehend it
• When you listen, you interpret and assign
meaning to the sounds
e.g.. Car engine
Listening-The Communication skill
• It is used the most
• White-collar workers typically devote at least
40% of their workday to listening
• Yet, immediately after listening to a ten- minute
oral presentation, the average person retains
only 50% of the information; 48 hrs later, only
25% of what was heard can be recalled
• Our brains can process data four times faster
than the speed at which we normally speak
• Thus, listening is probably the least developed of
the four verbal communication skills
Keys to better listening-1
Give the speaker your undivided attention
• Do not tune out
• Avoid physical distractions like phone calls,
doodling etc…
• Avoid mental distractions too
• Maintain eye-contact
• Some information that may be boring or difficult
to follow may be quite useful and deserve your
full attention
Keys to better listening-2
Stay open-minded
• Keep your emotions in check
• Listen objectively and empathetically
• Be willing to accept new information and
new points of view
• Concentrate on the contents of the
message rather than on the source
Keys to better listening-3
Avoid interrupting
• Interruptions have negative consequences
• They are rude
• They actually drag out the exchange since
the speaker is forced to backtrack
• It sends a nonverbal message “ I have the
right to interrupt you because what I have
to say is more important than what you
have to say”
Keys to better listening-4
Involve yourself in the communication
• Get involved mentally
• Summarize to yourself what the speaker says (create a
mental paraphrase)
• Jot down points (main ideas only)
• Be selfish in your listening
• Encourage the speaker; maintain eye-contact, nod in
agreement, lean forward, utter encouraging phrases like
“I see”…
• Give feedback like “ So you believe…,is that true?” or
“Do you mean that…?”
Contemporary Business Communication, Scot Ober, Biztantra
Questions?
Thank you

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