7.1 Overview of listening
Listening is important to each of us because it enables us to:
- be more effective in our interpersonal relationships
- gain important information
- gather data to make sound decisions
- respond appropriately to the messages that we hear.
When we listen to others we need to listen for total meaning, that is, both the content and the attitudes or feelings underlying the content. Therefore, even though listening may appear effortless - we have the cognitive (mental) ability to process information three to four times faster than people speak - we still require concentration and commitment to the listening process.
Listening involves much more than hearing a message. Hearing is merely the physical component of listening: it is a relaxed, passive and physical occupation that requires little or no effort of mind or will. Thus, it is possible to hear sounds, for example, recorded music, while concentrating on other tasks.
Three events take place if hearing is to occur properly.
- The receiver isolates the sounds correctly.
- We place the sounds in a meaningful order so that they may be recognised as words.
- We recognise words in a pattern that constitutes a language, which then helps to convey the communicator's message to us.
Listening, on the other hand, is a mental and active process and thus it is virtually impossible to do other tasks effectively at the same time. Listening involves the three steps necessary for the hearing process but incorporates two additional steps. They are:
- paying attention to the speaker
- trying to understand what the other person is saying.
Therefore, listening is the process of actively decoding and interpreting verbal messages; it requires cognitive attention and information processing (Kreitner & Kinicki 1995).
Activity 7a
As a background to this topic read Reading 7.1 'Barriers and gateways to communication' written by Rogers, a psychotherapist, and Roethlisberger, a management consultant. It is considered a Harvard Business Review classic and provides valuable insight into the importance of listening.
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