Lu is Loco about Listening!

When I first started in on the article I immediately thought about how I had never really considered the listening aspect of communication. I agree with Lu when she says that listening is a skill. It certainly is a skill I need much work on.

Lu says that failure to listen is probably the cause of more interpersonal problems than any other human behavior. As a remote worker I have several different people contacting me through different mediums all day long. Often times I find myself on our instant messaging system and on the phone at the same time, possibly talking to two people at one time. This does not bode well for being able to pay full attention to whomever I’m trying to communicate with.

The result of my not listening often comes to me asking the person to repeat themselves. I know that this must be pretty annoying to some people. I know that my lack for listening is often a consequence of attempting to multi-task--since you can try when you don't have anyone looking. Lu’s statement about the way a person can be perceived as either an effective or ineffective listener rang true in my thoughts. I am positive that some of my colleagues notice my lack of listening skills when they realize that I am typing and asking them to repeat themselves at the same time. I think that I’m a much better face-to-face listener rather than an on the phone or “online listener”. There are so many outside "noises" or distractions that interfere with virtual communication. This is just something I’m going to have to work on as a remote employee. Not only is Lu’s article relevant in my work situation but also relevant in 21^st century communication for the same reasons. Virtual communication is even more complicated than face-to-face listening.

I suppose that becoming more aware of how I am listening (or not listening) is a start to changing my ways.

Lu, J. (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening skills. Sino-US English Teaching, 2 (5), 45-50.

Katz, J. (2007). Mobile media and communication: some important questions. Communicaiton Monographs, 47 (3), 389-394.