EFFECTIVE LISTENING 1.5

EFFECTIVE LISTENING 1.5 

Barriers to Effective Listening  

Shift Response: Shift response occurs when one competes for attention in a conversation by changing the subject in order to favour oneself. The opposite of this occurrence is support response, which is constructive to appropriate listening. Both genders use shift response in conversation, but men utilize shift response more often than women.

Impression Interrupting: Interrupting is something we all do. It's natural for listeners to evaluate a speaker, but our impressions should not interfere with our listening. The content (what the speaker is saying) should be judged on its own value to you and the speaker. Sometimes you may be tempted to tune out the speaker because of his or her appearance. If an instructor is sloppily dressed and careless about their appearance, you may conclude that what is being said isn't worth listening to. Avoid the temptation and do not let your personal feelings interfere with your learning.

Glazing: Glazing over occurs when the listener’s attention wanders, dozes off or daydreaming begins.

Pseudo Listening: This happens when someone pretends to listen during a conversation and attempts to disguise inattention. Typical responses include “Mm-Hmm”, “Really?”, and “Uh huh”. During this time of inattention, the pseudo listener is unfocused, therefore, it can be very frustrating for the speaker.

Ambushing: Ambushing is an example of negative listening in which the listener ignores the strength of the message, instead looking for weaknesses in order to attack what the speaker says. Although the listener is attentive, the problem stems from the fact that responses are rebuttals and refutations of the speaker’s message. 

Content only Response: This type of response occurs when one focuses on the content of the message, but ignores the emotional side. This type of response does not recognize feelings and comprehends only the literal meaning of messages.

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