NAME: RABBIA JUNAID CLASS: BS-IV SUBJECT: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION-II ASSIGNMENT# 1 DATED: 23rd July 2012 SUBMITTED TO:

SIR ABDUR REHMAN GHANIANI

WHAT IS LISTENING?
Listening and hearing arent the same. We hear all sorts of noises in the world around us, but we dont listen to them all. There are things we dont want to listen to so we tune out and dont usually notice them. For example, people who live near busy roads get used to the sound of traffic and dont hear it any more. Listening is a form of communication and is an active process. When you listen you must get meaning from whats being said before you can respond. We listen for different reasons: Just for pleasure: music, birds singing, the crackling of a log fire. To take part in conversation: exchange news with family and friends, make arrangements. For information: the news or weather forecast on the television or radio, or announcements at a station or airport. For instructions: so that we know how to carry out a task or operate equipment at work. To understand: when someone is explaining what is happening, what we have to do, what someone feels - for example, when someone is upset. To get the gist of whats being said: we dont always need to hear and understand every word to get the sense of what someones saying - although we might want to do this if were listening to a story.

REASONS FOR LISTENING

Why should we practise listening? There are many reasons why listening skills are important:

What the person is saying is important to them. To give less than your full attention shows lack of respect for the person's views. If full attention is not given to all the person has to say, assumptions can be made which distort full understanding. Vital information can be missed if our minds get sidetracked. If we concentrate fully on the speaker, we also listen to the unspoken message. We listen on two levels; firstly to the content and secondly to the non verbal signals. A good listener encourages and facilitates effective communication.

BARRIERS TO LISTENING
Barriers to listening take many forms. It is inevitable that barriers will exist in any interaction, but anything which stops concentration, allowing the mind to wander off the topic, must be recognised and overcome if fully successful communication is to take place. Environmental Barriers The following, if encountered, can make us switch off from what is being said, to allow our minds to temporarily concentrate on our surroundings:

the room too hot or too cold the chair uncomfortable the lighting too bright or too dim draughts bad ventilation; stuffy/smoky atmosphere noise sights smells interruptions

Linguistic Barriers Linguistic barriers derive from the speaker and make it difficult for them to be listened to:

jargon or specialist language complex sentences complex vocabulary patronizing manner delivery too fast delivery too slow and ponderous monotonous voice hesitant manner inappropriate tone badly organized material delivery too loud delivery too quiet

Psychological Barriers Emotional states which are brought to the communication or result from it can come between what is being said and effective listening and understanding:

own anxiety anger frustration, inability to put across ideas status difference prejudice

Physiological Barriers The physical condition of the listener can affect concentration and restrict the amount of information taken in:

headache tiredness discomfort, pain, illness poor eyesight hearing impairment

Perceptual Barriers The speaker and the listener sometimes see the same situation from a different point of view and this can affect understanding (e.g. parent and child). Examples of other perceptual barriers are:

social/cultural background differences attitude unexpected expectations different appearance of speaker mannerisms accents

Content Barrier What the speaker is saying may also be a barrier to the listener:

subject of the discussion does not interest us speaker goes on for too long speaker is saying what we don't want to hear you have heard it all before content is too difficult/simplistic content is repetitious

Personal Barriers The listener may put up personal barriers:

preoccupied with own problems thinking about own response without hearing speaker looking for every opportunity to interrupt monopolizing the conversation, dominant speaking