Do you know you may be "hearing" when you think you are "listening?"

Do we recognize that listening is critical for effective communication? After reading the Listening Style Inventory (LSI) as an Instrument for Improving Listening Skill by Jianying Lu, I agree with her position that “listening is both a process and a behavior” (Lu, 2005, p.45). The nature of my job requires me to talk to a lot of people I do not see, however, I recognize their behavior and I believe they recognize mine too. But there seem to be much misunderstanding thus, the discussion can become conflicting because we both feel like we are not listening to each other.

In my view, it is more of disagreement due to the nature of the product I service. The challenge is how you get someone to truly get the needed attention and possibly agree with you when it is obvious from their responses that they are not listening. That is where I find value in the LSI. When you know your style, you are more likely to find ways to use it effectively. I sometimes encounter similar difficulties when communicating with my partner and it can be very frustrating especially when both parties are physically present. Jianying Lu again thinks that people “hear” and not “listen” because “daydreaming and other means of mental escape can, and do, occur” (Lu, 2005, p. 45) during the communication process. The challenge is whether we can completely shut off from all the “noise” we experience during the communication process to enable us listen and not hear. What do you think will make you and effective listener?

Lu, J. (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening skill. Sino-US English Teaching, 2 (5), 45-50. Available October 12, 2007 at http://www.linguist.org.cn/doc/su200505/su20050510.pdf.