Most of us would like to think that we are good listeners. In other words, we believe that we hear what someone is saying and are able to take it in and interpret it correctly, before responding appropriately. Show Unfortunately, the sad truth is that most of us overestimate our abilities in this area. Research shows that we generally only listen with about 25% efficiency. This means that about three-quarters of spoken communication is lost on the average person. Instead of giving the speaker our full attention, we may be formulating a reply, or making a judgement about what they are saying, or even being distracted by what we’re going to have for dinner. This ineffective listening leads to misunderstandings and a breakdown in communication. This page describes types of ineffective listening. It also examines some of the barriers and bad habits of listening, enabling you to address and correct them. It will help you to learn to listen more effectively, and therefore to improve the quality of your professional and personal life. Types of Ineffective ListeningAll happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina Just like happiness (or happy families), effective listening is fairly easy to describe. Our page on Effective Listening provides a model that is generally applicable to most situations. However, there are many, many different ways to listen ineffectively, and a huge number of barriers that may prevent or hinder listening. However, we can also identify some particular categories of ineffective listening. John Stoker, an author and communications teachers, has identified seven different types. They are: 1. Evaluative listeningEvaluative listeners spend all their time evaluating what you are saying, and making judgements about it. You can spot an evaluative listener, because they will always respond with either agreement or disagreement (or possibly both, in the form of ‘yes, but…’). The big problem with these listeners is that they are hearing everything from their own point of view. Everything is passed through a prism of their own experiences and opinions. This means that they often miss critical information simply because it does not fit with their view of the world. The other problem is that speaker and listener can get into a negative spiral of argument and counter-argument. Instead of building on each other’s communication, they are engaged in knocking it down. 2. Assumptive listeningAssumptive listeners make assumptions about the speaker’s meaning or intention—and usually before the speaker has finished. They may therefore finish other people’s sentences, or jump in with a response before the speaker has really finished. Engaging with an assumptive listener is hard work, because you constantly have to go back and explain your meaning again because they have interpreted it incorrectly. 3. Self-protective listeningHere, the listener is so wrapped up in their own situation and/or emotional response to it that they simply have no brain-space to hear or concentrate on anything else. In other words, they are NOT really listening at all, and they are certainly not engaging with what anyone else says. It is a moot point whether this should actually be described as ‘listening’ at all—except that these listeners will often be nodding and smiling, and generally looking like they are engaging with what is being said. However, when they come to respond, it will be obvious that they have not really heard or taken on board anything that is said. These listeners often simply repeat their negative stories over and over again—and with increasing levels of negative emotion. The only way out is to break the spiral (see box). A way out Self-protective listeners may need help to break out of their ‘vicious spiral’. Transactional analysis offers some clues about how to do this, suggesting that they may be in ‘Child’ mode. This makes them turn inward, and want to avoid anything that might be threatening, like other ideas. To help them, you will have to ‘hook’ their Child with sympathy, then find a way to engage the Adult. There is more about this in our page on Transactional Analysis. 4. Judgemental listeningJudgemental listeners will constantly criticise what speakers are saying. This type of listening is similar to evaluative listening, but usually with more negativity and less opportunity to respond. These listeners often have preconceived ideas about the speaker (for example, bias or prejudice based on how they look, or their background). This may prevent them from considering the speaker’s ideas with an open mind. This type of listening tends to result in the speaker shutting down, and refusing to provide any more information. Being constantly criticised quickly becomes unpleasant. 5. Affirmative listeningAffirmative listening is more or less the polar opposite of judgemental listening. Affirmative listeners only ‘hear’ messages with which they agree. They therefore only listen for points that they can support, and not those that show different opinions. Having an affirmative listener is at first quite pleasant. They tend to agree with you, which is nice. However, after a while, you realise that they only agree with some points—and possibly not very important ones—but refuse to engage with anything else. The problem here is that these people only listen for themselves. They want their opinion to be validated—and have no real interest in anyone else. This quickly gets one-sided and tiresome, especially if you are genuinely interested in a debate that explores different perspectives. 6. Defensive listeningA defensive listener takes everything that is said as a personal attack. These people therefore feel the need to defend themselves against everything, and to justify everything that they say. They often use the phrase ‘Yes, but…’, because they have no interest in building on any other communication—only to justify themselves. They also find it hard to explore other points of view, because anything different is a threat. 7. Authoritative listeningAuthoritative listeners listen solely in order to advise. They always know best, and are always ready to tell you what to do. You can often spot authoritative listeners by the use of the words ‘You should…’ or ‘You need…’ in their sentences. A Common Thread?You may have spotted that all these types of ineffective listening are related to the listener’s attitude. They may perceive a problem with the speaker, or simply have a ‘mental block’ about the subject. Whatever the cause, their pattern of thinking is not conducive to genuine, effective listening. It is affecting how they relate to other people, and the messages that they hear in other people’s communication. These attitudes may have many causes, such as
Common Physical Barriers to ListeningThese types of ineffective listening generally relate to patterns of thinking. However, there may also be physical barriers to listening. These affect your physical ability to concentrate on a speaker and/or to hear their words or message. They include, but are not limited to:
Signs of Ineffective ListeningSigns of possible inattention while listening include:
However, it is important to be aware that these do not always follow. For example, sometimes people with specific learning difficulties such as autism may find it harder to maintain eye contact. Those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may use doodling or ‘fidget toys’ as a way to help them to concentrate. You may also detect ineffective listening in other ways, and especially in how someone responds. For example, a sudden change in topic is likely to be a sign of inattention. When a listener is distracted, they may suddenly think about something else that is not related to the topic of the speaker and attempt to change the conversation to their new topic. Jumping in with advice is also often a sign that someone is not properly listening, because it means that they have been thinking about how to respond, rather than taking the message on board. Further Reading from Skills You Need Our Communication Skills eBooks Learn more about the key communication skills you need to be a more effective communicator. Our eBooks are ideal for anyone who wants to learn about or develop their interpersonal skills and are full of easy-to-follow, practical information. In ConclusionIneffective listening is very common. However, this does not mean that we should not all try to improve our listening skills. You can probably think of examples when you have listened ineffectively or not been listened to over the last 24 hours. You can probably recognise the frustration and irritation of knowing that the person you are talking to is not listening to you. Listening is fundamental to communication. We could all usefully spend time improving our listening skills. |