Communicating Effectively in the Workforce

Chapter 5Listening

Learning objectives

• Recognize the significance and benefits of listening:
  • The significance of listening
  • The benefits of listening
• Differentiate types of listening:
  • Distracted listening
  • Listening styles: people, action, content, and time-oriented
  • Levels of listening: nonverbal, verbal, and emotional
  • Fear of listening or receiver apprehension
• Determine ways to listen more effectively:
  • Rehearsal and memory techniques
  • Asking questions

Recognize the significance and benefits of listening

The significance of listening

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. — Epictetus

Contemporary articles emphasize the importance of listening in the workplace. First, listening may be a hidden resource because it is overlooked, according to Melissa Daimler, writing in the Harvard Business Review. Second, effective listening has tangible benefits. In her article “Why is Listening Important in a Business Organisation?,” Janice Tingum explains that listening is a way of getting information and building trust.

Our society seems to have a clear bias toward speaking. Speaking often is portrayed as active and virtuous. Being quiet sometimes is portrayed as passive and weak. For example, the United States guarantees freedom of speech. Citizens are encouraged to speak out. We even have clubs, such as Toastmasters, for speaking and award prizes for the best speakers.

Now think about listening. Many people have had a formal, organized class ...