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Barriers to Effective Listening

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Barriers to Effective Listening
Abstract:
This paper explores multiple studies on the many listening barriers in communication. Specifically, this paper focuses on a study done about the frequent listening barriers and how they can affect listening effectiveness. In addition, It discuses the many individual listening barriers. It explores six major listening factors that come from the multiple listening barriers. The main study this paper revolves around is conducted by Steven Golen (1990), conducted with university students and their opinions of frequent barriers to effective listening. The study explores the most frequently encountered listening barriers in communication.
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LISTENING BARRIERS IN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Frequent Listening Barriers in Personal Relationships
Listening is very important in every type of relationship. It is used every day to help develop relationships on a personal level. Psychological barriers to listening are something most people have experienced. Emotional episodes such as anger or sadness, or even extreme joy, can create a barrier by distracting us from the speaker’s words. People get so anxious to speak themselves that they do not process what they are hearing. In addition, humans are subject to such continual and diverse stimuli; most do not even realize that they are poor listeners and that listening is hard. (Peterson, 2012).
There are many textbooks written on listening and entire chapters about listening. They all emphasize the importance of listening in relationships. Researchers have found that people who are trained in listening skills see themselves as more competent in academic settings, career settings, and social settings. Students who have taken courses in listening said they were very beneficial in their lives as students, family members, and partners in social relationships. Listening comprehension has been somewhat neglected and poorly taught for a long time.
“If frequency is a measure of importance, then listening easily qualifies as the



References: Adler, R., & Rodman, G. (1997). Understanding human communication (6th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Adler, R. A., & Rodman, G. (2011). Understanding human communication (11th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. Barker, L. L., Watson, K. W. & Kibler, R. J. (1984). An investigation of the effect of presentations by effective and ineffective speakers on listening test scores. The Southern Speech Communication Journal, 49, 309-318. Brownell, J. (1987). Perceptions of good listeners: A management study. Proceedings, The Association for Business Communication International Convention, Atlanta, Georgia. Golen, S. (1980). An analysis of communication barriers in public accounting firms. The Journal of Business Communication, 17, 39-49. Gorsuch, R. L. (1974). Factor Analysis. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. Hunt, G. T. & Cusella, L. P. (1983). A field study of listening needs in organizations. Johnson, K. S. (2013). Research on Barriers in Listening. Lewis, M. H., & Reinsch, Jr., N. L. (1988). Listening in organizational environments. The Journal of Business Communication 25, 49-67. Peterson, S. A. (2012). The Labor of Listening. International Journal Of Listening, 26(2), 87-90. Watson, K. W., & Smeltzer, L. R. (1984). Barriers to Listening: Comparison between students and practitioners. Communications Research Reports, 1(1), 82-87. Webb M. (2006). Eight Barriers to effective listening.

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