Page 485 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

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Listening Skills in Business

U.S. Department of Commerce. U.S. Census Bureau. ument while reading, it can be reread for clarification.
http://www.census.gov Oral messages, however, unless they are mechanically
U.S. Department of Labor. http://www.dol.gov recorded, cannot be heard more than once. The listener
U.S. Postal Service. (2005, July 21). New study reveals 724,000 may misunderstand, misinterpret, or forget a high per-
Americans rely on eBay sales for income. Retrieved Novem- centage of the original message. With proper training,
ber 18, 2005, from
http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/2005/pr05 though, listening skills can be improved. It has been
_062.htm proven that with extended, focused training in listening,
one can more than double one’s listening efficiency and
effectiveness.
Michelle Voto

RECEPTION AND
INTERPRETATION
LISTENING SKILLS IN Communication involves message reception and interpre-
BUSINESS tation. Studies of communication have routinely found
Expressive skills and receptive skills make up the two skills that almost all people listen more than they talk, read
of communication. Speaking and writing are generally more than they write, and spend a lot more time receiving
referred to as expressive skills; they provide the means by messages than sending them. The average person speaks at
which people express themselves to others. The receptive a rate of 100 to 200 words per minute. An average listener,
skills, listening and reading, are the ways in which people however, can adequately process 400 words per minute.
receive information. Given this differential between what is normally heard
and what potentially can be processed, it is little wonder
LISTENING IMPROVES that people tend to “tune out” at certain times. Mental
PRODUCTIVITY tangents are the obvious product of this differential, and
It has been reported that senior officers of major North managers who believe that subordinates are listening
American corporations spend up to 80 percent of their intently to every word they utter are deluding themselves.
working time in meetings, discussions, face-to-face con- Listening can be compared to exercising or wearing
versations, or telephone conversations. Most employees
seat belts: Everybody knows it is desirable, but everybody
spend about 60 percent of the workday listening. Since finds it difficult to do on a regular basis. Most people
such a large percentage of one’s waking time is consumed yearn to talk and want to be center stage. If one listens to
by listening activities, it is clear that one’s productivity
any casual conversation between friends, one will proba-
could be increased through listening training.
bly note that most people spend much of the conversation
Listening consumes about half of all communication
paying maximum attention to what they are going to say
time, yet people typically listen with only about 25 per-
next. As people listen to others, they spend much of the
cent of their attention. Ineffective listening is costly,
time thinking about the next thing they will be saying.
whether it occurs in families, businesses, government, or
international affairs. Most people make numerous listen-
ing mistakes every day, but the costs—financial and oth- SKILLED LISTENING
erwise—are seldom analyzed. Because of listening Listening is more than just hearing what a speaker says.
mistakes, appointments have to be rescheduled, letters
Hearing is simply the reception of sounds by one’s ears;
retyped, and shipments rerouted. Any number of catastro-
listening is interpreting, or making sense of, the sounds
phes can arise from a failed communication, regardless of
that one hears. Hearing is a physical perception; listening
the type of industry. Productivity is affected and profits
is a mental activity. Listening requires concentration,
suffer.
cooperation, and an open mind.
Research indicates that people hear only 25 percent
of what is said and, after two months, remember only Many situations at work demand skilled listening.
one-half of that. This is not true at all stages of one’s life. Conferences, interviews, receiving instructions, and han-
First graders listen to 90 percent of what is said, second dling complaints, all call for alert, sensitive listening.
graders 80 percent, seventh graders 43 percent, and ninth Whether one is listening in order to learn how to do a
graders only 25 percent. task, make a decision, or achieve friendly relations with
It is imperative that people strive to improve their lis- one’s coworkers, it is important to make a concentrated
tening skills. When having difficulty understanding a doc- effort to understand what the speaker is saying.

462 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION