David J. Parnell’s Professional Listening Series | Part 1 – 4 | Effective Listening

The true functionality of “listening” to someone really is an elusive concept. When I talk about listening, you most likely think of hearing someone talk… Although this is a PART of the overall equation, it ISN’T THE equation. Webster’s online defines listening as “to hear something with thoughtful attention: give consideration.” This definition is pretty good, but where the proverbial rubber meets that road is in the term “thoughtful attention”.

What I mean to bring to light here is the consideration of what “thoughtful attention” means exactly. Now as you can see from my previous posts, there are A LOT concepts and much content present while someone is communicating… Feelings, thoughts, actions, facts, presuppositions of space/awareness and time, values, beliefs and the list goes on… The harsh reality of the matter is that your conscious mind will ONLY pick up and work with a small percentage of the information being given to you at any given time.

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My next post will talk further about typical issues that arise while someone is listening so you can begin establishing a cleaner channel of communication moving forward. This will provide a great segue into setting up our subsequent frame work for becoming a listening expert. Please feel free to catch me on Skype if you have any questions…

David J. Parnell | Refining Interpersonal Communication

Tagged as: Brain, communication, Communication Expert, Communication Problems, Conscious Mind, Control, David J Parnell, effective communication skills, effective listening, Feelings, listening methods, Listening Strategies, Presuppositions, Stimulus Response, Thoughtful Attention, Time Values, Verbal Communication Skills