Importance of Listening Skills for Students: the Significance and Benefits

Introduction

The average person misunderstands, ignores, or forgets at least 75 percent of what they hear. Is it any wonder that listening gaps account for the majority of conflicts? Most people are better at hearing themselves talk than they are at really listening to what others say. Rick Bommelje strives to address the benefits as well as the importance of listening.

Benefits of Effective Listening

Bommelje provided mainly two frameworks. The first framework would be the “Listening Pays Framework,” which includes six strategies that occur in listening behavior.

The second framework would be the SIER* framework, which is a supplement to the first framework. It addresses how sensing, interpreting, evaluating, responding as well as remembering help to build a solid foundation of effective listening. Moreover, the article also provides examples as to how SIER* can be used in the future, present as well as past to help examine listening effectiveness in the past to help prepare for interactions in the future. Overall, the article brings the effective practice of listening through a riveting and real-world story that is filled with solid, proven, and relevant content.

The first strength of the article is that it provides various diagrams showing the different frameworks and strategies. I believe that having these allows me to remember the key strategies and well as details better. Furthermore, having figures makes reading a long article livelier; less boring, as it is when I chance upon an interesting diagram whilst reading a mundane article that will capture my attention. The second strength would be that the article includes a sample of responses and various examples, such as sample responses of a listening behavior assessment, examples of opportunities to apply SIER*, as well as a real-life scenario of having to execute thorough listening. This allows me to relate to some situations and perhaps improve their listening skills. The first weakness is that the article lacks an explanation of defining the meaning of significance. It also placed the explanation of the definition in the wrong place in the article.

I feel that the article should address what significance means at the beginning of the article, as it is a little confusing as to what the title of the article might mean. Jumping into a real example of a question might be a little too sudden and does not flow well with the article. Having the real example of a question could come after the introduction or towards the end of the article after the frameworks are established; that would also help me to have a better understanding of what the real example of questions means. The second weakness is how the article concluded by only taking about SIER* and not talking about the listening pays framework. I feel that the article should have also included the listening pays framework as part of the conclusion to remind readers about it as well as mention how the other five strategies of a listening behavior can work in supplement to produce a positive result and achieve significance.

Application and Implications for Students

Listening is key to all effective communication, regardless of context. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. The objective of active listening is to fully understand the message, including any feelings beyond the spoken word that may be conveyed nonverbally. The listening pays frameworks will allow me to understand the key elements of listening behavior as well as how to achieve a positive result by using SIER*. In the context of leadership and teamwork, following the six strategies of the listening pays framework will help me to better understand my team and create opportunities to involve team members in developing solutions collaboratively, as well as understand the message a person is trying to put across. Having understood the message will enable me to perform the task timely as well as correctly.

Conclusion

Moreover, effective listening is vital for leaders to build trust and inspire their teams. Hence, when people feel like their feelings and concerns are understood and that they can participate in a two-way conversation, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work. I will actively listen to various ideas which my team has to offer, as well as any listening to teammates, colleagues, or subordinates’ issues and provide them with the right advice. I feel that taking the time and effort to listen to people, especially my team members, and bosses, will allow me to potentially increase my leadership capacity exponentially as I gain insights, consider new ideas, and receive valuable feedback.

References

1. Bommelje, R. (2018). The benefits and importance of effective listening. Journal of Communication Studies, 25(3), 123-140. 

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