While the right to talk may be the starting of freedom, the necessity of listening is

what makes the right important. Listening plays a vital role in our daily lives. As human

beings, we seek to interact with each other. But most people often fail to listen.

Listening is a skill that everyone should have but most people lack. Gone are days

when people value the art of listening. Listening skills affect interpersonal relationship.

Poor listening skills may cause argument between the speaker and the listener.

Communication is the central to most conflict situations. We need to listen to have a

better communication and to avoid problems.

Poor communication lies between the two parties, the speaker and the listener.

Most of the time, it is listener who communicates inattentively. I beg to disagree that “we

listen, but often don’t hear.” Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear.

Listening, however, is something we consciously choose to do. Instead, “we hear, but

often don’t listen.” We are born with the ability to hear but not to listen.

Some people are narcissistic by nature. According to The Wall Street Journal

reports, those people have poor listening skills because they only care for themselves.

They are the people who talk nonstop about their lives, success, family and etc. They are

not concerned about their fellows anymore. So if you are a narcissist or the one who

always does the talking, change yourself. If you want to gain respect from your listeners,

listen attentively, too, when they are talking. It’s not always you. According to Nadig

(2010), “Speaking is only half of the communication process needed for interpersonal

G-yan D. Mamuyac
BSE III-English
effectiveness. The other half is listening and understanding what others communicate to

us.” In communication, there has to be give and take on both sides.

Nancy J. Foster, J.D., a Director of the Northern California Mediation Center,

stated that “Good communication starts with listening.” When you listen effectively, you

will establish a good relationship with your speaker. Good listening is important in

communicating at home, school, workplace, market, and everywhere. Thus, we should

practice it properly. Being a good listener is advantageous. You must listen with a

willingness in your heart so it would be easy for you to acquire what your speaker is

saying. It is true that “being listened to is reaffirming and comforting.” I also agree that a

good listener require empathy. To listen well, you must want to hear what the other

person is telling you. Listen, don’t judge. There is a wise saying; “if you don’t have

something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Listen with an open mind. Wait for your

turn to talk, let your speaker finish.

To be a good listener, you must pay attention, be patient and ask questions. You

must pay attention. When someone is eyeing his phone while you are talking, you would

feel annoyed, frustrated and anxious. Such feelings usually make communication more

difficult. You have to pay attention not only to words but to the body language of the

speaker, too. If you listen attentively, your speaker would feel grateful. If possible, tell

them if something distracted you so your speaker will pause for a while. Be patient in

listening. It allows you to see the needs of the speaker you communicate with. After

listening to your speaker, ask questions. It clears what you did not understand. Also, it

gives you more information about what your speaker said.

G-yan D. Mamuyac
BSE III-English
 People have different story to tell. They are different from each other. You should

know how to deal with them. Listening attentively could be a good reward to your

speaker. People don’t always want an advice, they need a good listener. We listen to

communicate. We listen to grow. We listen to learn. Be sensitive. Listen the way you

want to be listened.

G-yan D. Mamuyac
BSE III-English