Section 2-2 The Communication Process 39
Verbal
Communication
Communication skills are just
like word processing skills or baseball
skills. You can learn them, practice
them, and improve them. The fi rst
steps in improving your verbal
communication skills are learning to
listen and to speak well.
Listening
Listening plays an important role
in communication. A spoken message
is worthless unless someone hears it
and listens to it. Hearing and listening,
however, have two different meanings.
You hear many sounds all day long.
Radios, kitchen appliances, cars, and
airplanes are just a few examples. If
you really listened to all these sounds,
you would not have time to think about anything else. Instead, you have
developed the habit of ignoring unimportant sounds. This is usually a
good and helpful habit. If you are not careful, however, you may fi nd
yourself slipping into this habit more often than you should. You may be
ignoring spoken messages that people are trying to send to you.
Barriers to Good Listening
Recognizing what gets in the way of good listening can help you
learn to overcome these barriers. The habit of ignoring sounds is just
one barrier to good listening. Forgetting all or part of the message is a
common communication barrier. Even if you listen to what is being said,
there is a chance for a communication failure. Studies show that people
remember as little as 25 percent of the information they receive through
listening. People remember more when they see, read, or verbally repeat
the message they hear. Listening by itself does not always ensure good
communication.
Another barrier to good listening is not understanding the message
being sent. The message a person sends to you may not be the same
message you receive. The speaker may pronounce words differently if he
or she is from a different part of the country. The speaker may use slang
expressions or words that are unfamiliar to you. You may think the
speaker is joking when he or she is serious. Even the tone of voice can
change the meaning of what is said. These are just a few of the factors
that can interfere with good listening.
2-4
How much time do
you spend every day
communicating with family,
friends, classmates, and
teachers?