Unfortunately, in today's world people have lost the desire and the patience to listen to what others have to say. In fact, in our communication skills course, a large part of the training focuses on active listening. Douglas Mault is president of the Executive Advisory Institute, Yakima, Wash.We've already mentioned before that listening is one of the most important aspects of communication. Be sure to avoid such major вЂworth-reducersвЂ™ as ignoring or interrupting another or using impersonal or irrelevant responses.

Poor listening tends to reduce the self-worth of those with whom we are interacting. When we ignore feelings, we give others the impression that we donвЂ™t care about them. There are times when we need to stop listening to facts and concentrate on meanings and feelings. Of course, we have to be sure any hidden agenda is accounted for and eventually dealt with.ДЇacts Versus Empathy. We all have hidden agendas, but we need to be sure that they do not get in the way of our listening. Hidden motives can affect the information that is gathered as well as distort the meaning of this information. People are extremely sensitive to, and aware of, those who feign listening. Be careful not to view listening as a passive activity.

It requires a great deal of energy and concentration. Effective listening is an active process. This is especially important if you are emotionally invested in an opinion contrary to the one being discussed.ДЄpathy. It is important to build this out whether it is anger, fear, guilt, etc. The key is to try to keep listening with an open mind and reserve judgment until all the facts are in.Д®xcessive Emotional Involvement. It is easy to make a judgment upon hearing something and to accept or reject without much depth of understanding. This activity can payoff in large dividends. If the topic is important make a value judgment and commit the necessary time. It is important to remember that listening to others is one of the most important uses of your time. This is one of the good listenerвЂ™s most important assets. Be aware of this potential to be distracted or your mind may well wander. That leaves a lot of time for your brain to be 'idleвЂќ and for you to seem inattentive. While most people talk at about 125 to 150 words per minute, they can listen at about 500 to 700 words per minute. Keep them in mind the next time one of your colleagues or customers is trying to tell you something you should know. Here are eight barriers to effective listening. One way to engender respect and better performance is to learn to listen. In other words, if someone is talking and no one is listening, there is no conversation. When you listen actively, the conversation is complete and whole. Bear in mind that listening, for many of us, is difficult, with some of that difficulty arises from many aspects. One of the key items listed in that article was 'Listen actively and effectively.вЂќ Many months ago we reviewed the need for good, open and clear communications within an organization. This also gives us the chance to bring back some of our old favorites this one is from December 2002 but still applies to todayвЂ™s work environment. November 2005 EditorвЂ™s Note: Our authorвЂ™s workload has increased so much recently that we are giving him a few months off from writing this column.

Barriers to listening