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Student’s Name
Course Name
Instructor’s Name
Due Date
Listening Styles
Introduction
Listening is an essential part of a conversation that allows one to understand the context of the speaker’s conversation. According to Zaman (p. 1), listening is subject to the individuals’ style of acquiring information from a speaker. Therefore, gaining insight as part of the conversation process provides individuals with the opportunity to discover the speaker’s central message, sometimes without the need for interpretation. (Weaver, p. 381). Listening is therefore unique to the individual. While a group of people can share the mode of acquisition of information from a speaker based on the technique of listening that has been ascribed, it can be pointed out that this is different for the majority of people. According to Weaver p. (382), individuals thus find it had to switch from certain listening styles as it has predominantly become a part of their lives. Listening, therefore, connects to one’s personality. The various techniques of listening are relational, analytical, task-oriented, and critical listening. Each individual ascribes tone listening style. In this context, listening is an essential aspect of interpersonal relationships. In essence, one should identify the most prevalent listening style that adopts their personality. At the same time improve their effectiveness as a listener through the application of non-verbal skills.
Communication aids in giving information to a listener, who shows their message inception by giving accurate responses. In giving out responses, especially in interpersonal contexts, both parties have to listen to each other. In this context, listening is an integral part of interpersonal communication. According to HRDQ-U (par 2-3), verbal communication involves two or more parties. In its effectiveness, listening is vital as it provides one with the opportunity to perform better given the context, understand more, communicate effectively and in the same context acquire a sense of belonging. Listening in enhancing interpersonal communication enables one to help the speaker navigate the message, capture the message and at the same time stay focused during the communication process. (HRDQ-U, Par 4). Notably, there’s a difference between listening and hearing. Hearing is an act that involves the reception and perception of sound, while listening involves concentration, where one recognizes a sound and tries to understand and perceive its meaning. (Listening Ears, Par 1). For instance, in most cases, one can hear the sound of dogs and not perceive what they are saying, while at the same time, one can hear the sound of a human being and listen to understand a particular request or instruction.
There are a variety of listening styles, each impacting the communication process differently and uniquely. Relational listening, for instance, is governed by the establishment of an emotional connection between the listener and the speaker. Notably, relational-listening one strives to showcase empathy to the other party without any intentions of manipulating or judging them. Individuals capable of exhibiting relational listening are empathetic, friendly, and charismatic. They are thus at a higher likelihood to draw information from the listener. The score for relational listening was 35, with the highest score. Based on these results, it can be concluded that I’m more empathetic in my communication with the desire to develop an emotional connection.
The other listening style was analytical listening. With analytical listening, one employs their skills of analysis in trying to conceive the message. This usually happens in most cases, even before the speaker has completed their message. Analytical listening aims at deriving conclusions of what one may presume is the message of the speaker, develop accurate responses and at the same time generate responses from multiple perspectives. This technique serves best when dealing with or handling a complicated set of questions. The listener may be forced to develop various approaches to the speaker’s context of the conversation and develop effective strategies essential in deriving conclusions about what they might think about the speaker’s central message. The score for the analytical-listening technique was 32 showcasing a difference of less than two from the relational-listening. In this context, it can also be concluded that apart from my dominance in possessing the relational-listening style, to a great extent, I also possess aspects of analytical listening.
The third listening technique is task-oriented listening. With this listening style, one focuses on completing the duties that are present within a particular context. Task-oriented listening is more prevalent in the business context, where individuals must complete specific tasks or complete deadlines. Individuals possessing this listening style more often than not are detached from their feelings and focused on completing the job regardless of any negative repercussions. By ignoring the emotional aspect of communication, this listening style presents a cohesive flow. The score for task-oriented listening was 28, which is lower than analytical and relational reasoning.
The fourth listening style was critical listening. It takes a more investigative approach focused on identifying the context of the communication and the prevalent benefits or demerits. With critical listening, one aims to ascertain the quality of the communication process, the ideal aspects of consistency with accuracy variations. Individuals possessing this listening style are curious and may seek clarification more than necessary in interpersonal communication. While critical listening skills are crucial, especially in problem-solving, as they identify and characterize a problem, it may appear frustrating or relatively annoying on the receiving end. The score for this type of listening was 27, which was one point less than task-oriented listening. My scores were thus higher in relational and analytical listening, with the lowest score on critical listening.
The results showcase poor scores in analytical listening, and as such proper strategies for improvement are necessary. Based on these scores, the potential change would be cultivating rational thinking and assessing the communication process. This is primarily because the scores on analytical skills are low. At the same time, relational-style has higher scores showcasing a likelihood of subjectivity being present in almost the entire communication process. I will thus become more objective rather than subjective in interpersonal relationships communication. To improve the listening process, I will incorporate paraphrasing as a listening response and use non-verbal skills.
Paraphrasing involves the use of other words to summarize and reflect on the speaker’s message. (Skills You Need, par 7). The essence of paraphrasing will showcase to the speaker that I am listening. At the same time, for investigative purposes, gain a deeper understanding of the communication process’s context, quality, and consistency. The use of non-verbal skills is also prevalent in enhancing analytical skills by nodding the head to showcase an understanding of the speaker’s sentiments, maintain eye contact for maintenance of concentration, and effortlessly follow up on the conversation. Initiating physical contact with the speaker may also evoke emotional responses that will aid the understanding of the speaker’s context of the conversation and the intent.
Work Cited
HRDQ-U. “The Importance of Listening Skills in the Communication Process.” HRDQ-U, 10 Jan. 2021, www.hrdqu.com/communication-skills-training/learning-to-listen-the-importance-of-great-communication-skills/. Accessed 1 July 2021.
Listening Ears. “Difference between Hearing and Listening – Listening Ears.” Listening Ears, 30 June 2017, www.listening ears.in/difference-hearing-listening/. Accessed 1 July 2021.
Skills You Need. “Reflecting – Effective Communication Skills | SkillsYouNeed.” Skillsyouneed.com, 2021, www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/reflecting.html. Accessed 1 July 2021.
Weaver III, James B., Kittie W. Watson, and Larry L. Barker. “Individual differences in listening styles: Do you hear what I hear?.” Personality and Individual Differences 20.3 (1996): 381-387.
Zaman, Nur Zahira Samsu, and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu. “Listening Styles and Challenges of ESL Instructional Leaders in Institutions of Higher Learning.” Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 90 (2013): 558-565.
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