Active listening is an important component of effective communication. Information sharing forms part of everyday life and is important for conveying messages. Interpersonal communication skills like active listening are crucial components of effective information sharing. In business, listening is an important communication skill for effective information sharing and determines the effectiveness with which the shared information is understood.

Active listening enhances interpersonal communication as it influences the decisions of the listener as understood from the message of the speaker. Additionally, it defines the measure of the listeners ability to make meaning from a message, commensurate to the original intentions of the speaker (Team, 2013).

Characteristics of Good Listening Skills

Good listeners exhibit several characteristics of active listening. The first characteristic of good listeners is patience, as people need to first explore their thought and the associated feeling that the words they intend to use may create. Silent periods are a common feature of active communication since the people involved have to evaluate the appropriateness of their responses throughout the conversation.

Effective communication can be evaluated using measures of degrees of repetition, paraphrasing and reflection. The degree of these measures are used to indicate the quality of communication. The elements of the each degree result for a given communication brings a variety of concerns, attitudes and ideas to the listener. These elements include perception, paying attention, and reasoning. Moreover, they influence the listener’s ability to remember the exact words of the speaker and restructure them differently without changing their true meaning. These elements influence how the listener understands the message in a communication.

An active listener is required to demonstrate undivided attention. He/she should also the conversation, while reassuring self-disclosure for the other party. With a well-built rapport with the speaker, an active listener should also fill the gaps between the conversations as well as improve the insight of the other party on the issues regarding the narrative.

Active listening is useful in improving communication skills since it is a straightforward technique requiring the listener to focus on the meaning of from speaker’s words. In addition, it engages the mind and thoughts of the listener throughout the conversation in a neutral and non-judgmental way. It improves the ability to pay attention and effective understanding of concepts, which also a learning technique (Team, 2003).

Active listening has various applications in business setting. It influences effective communication between the management and the employees especially where detailed instructions are to be given and followed to exact specifications. Active listening techniques enable the manager to create an effective team due to enhanced communications skills between the manager and among the members. Messages can be effectively passed within the team and perfectly understood. This increases productivity as the team enjoys strong connections that make it easy to work a team.

Key Components of Good, Active Listening Skills

Understanding the art of active listening skills requires one to master its three important components. The orientation of the listener is one of those components. It defines the attitude of both parties in the conversation. A positive attitude determines the successes of the conversation and therefore the listener must make a conscious effort. Undivided attention is the other component, as the listener should always ensure that his /her total attention is focused on the speaker. This component is also enhanced by holding the conversation in an environment free from any distractions. Other factors to consider include empathy, respect and acceptance among others.

The second component involves reflecting on the actual meaning of the spoken worlds through clarification where the meaning is not clear. The reflective technique is important in ensuring improving understanding, thought clarification and assurance. The last component that is important in perfecting active listening is questioning skills. This entails the ability of the listener to enquire on information that is not clearly understood. Questioning skills are important in keeping the conversation engaging. Using various questions type, the listener demonstrates a clear understanding of the information in the speakers’ words.

Barriers and Hindrances to Active Listening Skills

Active listening can be hindered by diverse barriers. They include cultural, physical, inappropriate responses, false comprehension, and complex responses among others. These are the common causes of communication breakdown in conversation blocking the benefits of active listening. The most common barriers to effective listening is overreaching or under-reaching that entails assigning the meanings that are less or more that the intended meaning expressed in a conversation.

Active listening is very important for strong business communication skills. The success of every organization depends on good communications skills between the management and employees. The structure of the communication skills in a business setting can be more effective the active listening skills are observed. It eliminates the common barriers that affect the message passed through in every communication. Using active listening skills prevents the tendency or rushing with wrong responses while making a decision without first seeking the meaning of the information. This can have devastating consequences for a business if the manager and the employees have a communication failure because of proper listening skills. Listening skills enable people to pay attention to the details of the conversations. Learning active listening skills can eliminate these difficulties as the listener pays attention and clarifies messages before making decisions.

Read more on the Cognitive Dissonance Theory of Communication

References

Bauer, C., Figl, K., & Motschnig-Pitrik, R. (2010). Introducing’Active Listening’to Instant Messaging and E-mail: Benefits and Limitations. IADIS International Journal on WWW/Internet, 7(2), 1-17.

Rogers, C. R., & Farson, R. E. (1957). Active listening. Industrial Relations Center of The University of Chicago.

Team, F. M. E. (2013). Active Listening.