After observation, several listening behaviors were identified. The most common listening behaviors identified include empathetic listening and poor ineffective listening behaviors. For the empathetic listeners an eye contact was always maintained with the speaker, a good listening posture maintained, concentration and careful consideration before posing a question to the speaker. On the other hand, the poor listeners were always introducing side talking, and non verbal cues were not used to encourage the speaker.
Non listening behaviors were identified and incorporated in the discussion.
- Pseudo listening:a. Situation: teacher student conversationb. Observed behavior:
The student pretended to be listening to the teacher by nodding often during the conversation. However, the student was in his fantasy world. 2. Monopolizing: a. Situation: a conversation between two marketing executive’sb. Observed behavior:
Each of the marketers shifted the conversation to themselves stating their achievement in the sales of fast moving goods. The shift of the topic to reflect the interest of each of the marketers was a clear manifestation of ineffective listening. 3. Selective listening: a. Situation: listening to a boring speaker b. Observed behavior:
The boring speaker was providing unnecessary details of the topic during the public lecture. Only parts of the long monotonous speech were noted down. The selected parts offered a brief insight to the subject matter since some of the sections had been filtered out. 4. Defensive listening: a. Situation: a conversation between team member and the team leaderb. Observed behavior:
The team leader was particularly protective of the interests of the team as well as their objectives. The leader failed to put into consideration the interest of the team member. The leader displayed the impression of someone under siege. 5. Literal listening: a. Situation: an orientation meetingb. Observed behavior:
The recruits ignored to decipher the inherent meaning of the terms and conditions presented to them by a supervisor. Insensitive questions were asked, and the supervisor became angry.
