Business Communication

I. Various types of listening

Do you know how much time you spend listening? It is estimated that half of our time is

spent for listening. Moreover, in fact, some 80 percent of Top executives say that

listening is the most important skill needed to get things done in the workplace.

Therefore, no matter what career path you choose, listening is a vital skill. Have you ever

asked yourself if you are a good listener? Even most of us are not good listeners;

however, listening is a skill that you can always improve. On this assignment, I am trying

to identify the ways to improve listening skills so that people can improve quality of

work and relationships with others as well.

Recognizing various types of listening

In order to be a good listener, you should try to adapt the way you listen to suit each

situation because different situations require different types of listening. We may listen to obtain information, improve a relationship, gain appreciation for something, make

discriminations, or engage in a critical evaluation. Before we can fully appreciate the

skills and apply to the actual situation, we must understand the different types of

listening.

According to "A team approach to Behavior Management" by Chris Derrington & Barry

Groom in 2004, they divided listening into 5 types as below:

Informative Listening

The definition is where the listener's primary concern is to understand the message.

Informative listening, or listening to understand, is found in all areas of our lives. Much

of our learning comes from informative listening. For example, we listen to lectures or

instructions from teachers--and what we learn depends on how well we listen. In the

workplace, we listen to understand new practices or procedures--and how well we

perform depends on how well we listen. We listen to instructions, briefings, reports, and

speeches; if we listen poorly, we aren't equipped with the information we need.

There are three key variables related to informative listening. Knowing these variables

can help you begin to improve your informative listening skills; that is, you will become

increasingly successful in understanding what the speaker means. They are vocabulary,

concentration and memory.

Appreciative Listening

Appreciative listening is where the listener gains pleasure or satisfaction from listening.

These are personal preferences and may have been shaped through our experiences and

expectations. The quality of appreciative listening depends in large part on three factors: presentation, perception and previous experience. However, we can change our

perception and experience by changing our attitudes. From that, we can learn to be better

appreciative listeners.

Critical Listening

When we receive information from someone, we always try to weigh up whether the

speaker is credible, or the message is logical. I personally think that the ability to listen

critically is essential in a democracy. On the job, in the community, in the family--there