THE POWER OF LISTENING

One of the nine principles of the NCA’s Credo for Ethical Communication is “We strive
to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their
messages.”.

We typically concentrate on what we should say when speaking with people. Effective
communication, on the other hand, is less about talking and more about listening. Listening well
is comprehending not only the words or information being delivered, but also the feelings the
speaker is attempting to convey.

I once misunderstood because the person I'm speaking with isn't concentrating on me but
is already constructing a counter argument, even if I haven't finished speaking. I was a member
of an organization in high school, and meetings were part of our weekly agenda to speak about
what we had accomplished and what we wanted to accomplish, but unfortunately, meetings that
were supposed to bring us together and organize us often divided us. Assumptions and
misunderstandings are the result of poor listening skills. Errors, ineffective decisions, and/or
costly blunders result from these factors. Poor listening causes damaged sentiments and a lack of
team cohesion on a personal level. This further erodes confidence and impairs communication.

Listening is a skill that many of us take for granted. People frequently hear what is being
said; nevertheless, hearing is not the same as listening. To listen, we must make a conscious
effort to not just hear but also absorb, digest, and comprehend what others are saying. Listening
not only improves your capacity to understand and communicate, but it also makes other people's
experience of conversing with you more pleasurable.