Sirajuddin Aziz<\/p>\n
In almost four decades of my professional career, I must have attended countless hours of meetings. In most of these, I \u2018heard\u2019 everything that was said, but moments of genuine, rapt attention were rare. However, when I conducted meetings, my attention was undivided\u2014focused, consistent, and engaged. There is a distinct difference between \u2018attending\u2019 a meeting and \u2018conducting\u2019 one. A meeting, after all, is not merely a large public gathering; it can be as small as a one-on-one discussion.
\nIn the business world, spanning both government and corporate sectors, meetings are held almost every other hour. Even a brief conversation between a supervisor and a subordinate constitutes a meeting. However, in many of these exchanges, participants hear each other but fail to truly listen. This highlights a crucial distinction between \u2018hearing\u2019 and \u2018listening.\u2019
\nEffective listening is an underrated skill, both socially and professionally. Good communication is not just about speaking well; it also requires the ability to listen attentively.
\nHearing is not listening. Simply perceiving spoken words is not the same as understanding them. A dictum from the pre-BC era states, \u201cThe reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen more\u2026\u201d Listening is an acquired skill that demands attention, patience, and focus. It is about grasping the meaning of spoken words, not just registering their sound. As Emerson put it, \u201cThe hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue.\u201d Hearing is a passive, automatic process, whereas listening requires effort.
\nWe are constantly surrounded by sound\u2014music, traffic, running water\u2014yet these noises do not necessarily disturb us unless they reach an excessive volume. Listening, however, is an intentional act that demands effort and motivation to understand what is being said. Unless one listens with purpose, sound merely passes through the ears without meaning. Active listening involves concentrating fully on what is being said and absorbing it without preemptive judgment.
\nCommunication is central to all relationships\u2014whether with friends, family, colleagues, or acquaintances. Because these relationships are often sensitive, great care must be taken in how we communicate.
\nGood communication skills are not about oratory; they are rooted in good listening. Active listening means allowing the speaker to express themselves fully without interruption or premature questioning. One must listen to the entire message before formulating a response. The greatest obstacle to effective listening is the human tendency to begin crafting a reply before the speaker has even finished. As a result, much hearing takes place, but little listening.
\nAre listening skills innate, or can they be acquired? The answer lies in self-discipline. Those who can restrain their urge to speak often prove to be good listeners. In contrast, those who react impulsively tend to lose focus. Some individuals take pride in cutting to the core of a discussion, dismissing context and nuance\u2014an approach characteristic of an arrogant manager or leader. Such people hear but do not listen.
\nManagement experts agree that listening skills can be cultivated through focus and training. Active listening involves five key stages: receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and responding.
\nThe first step, receiving, involves hearing. In today\u2019s world, distractions are so pervasive that even getting someone to pay attention can be a challenge. In boardrooms, it is not uncommon to hear someone interject with, \u201cNo, first listen to me!\u201d\u2014a sign of the general disregard for attentive listening. To truly receive a message, one must actively filter out distractions.
\nSeveral common obstacles prevent effective listening. People may be lost in their own thoughts, distracted by external factors, preoccupied with formulating a response, or resistant to ideas that challenge their beliefs.
\nUnderstanding follows hearing. Listeners must focus on the subject rather than the speaker. As Hazrat Ali (RA) advised, \u201cListen to what is being said, not to who is saying it.\u201d This demands full engagement with the content of the message.
\nThe benefits of listening are immense. Knowledge is gained either through reading or listening. Focused listening strengthens relationships and fosters better friendships, academic performance, and workplace interactions. Good listening skills enable deeper understanding of issues and challenges.
\nThe rise of multimedia presentations has only increased the demand for better listening skills. These presentations rely on both visual and verbal elements, and if the audience does not absorb the spoken content, the purpose of the presentation is lost.
\nFrom experience, the best way to retain what is heard is through repetition. A compelling story\u2014one that conveys values, character, or lessons\u2014sticks in the mind when repeated, whether to oneself or others.
\nOnce information is received, processed, and retained, it must be evaluated. Listeners assess a message based on factors such as the speaker\u2019s credibility, linguistic biases, cultural inferences, and perceived intent. While judgment is inevitable, it should not be excessively positive or negative. Instead, an honest response should demonstrate that the message has been understood.
\nListening can be categorised into several styles. Some people listen with a focus on the speaker, engaging personally. Others listen for action-oriented cues, seeking to determine what the speaker expects of them. Content-oriented listeners prioritise the message itself, disregarding the speaker\u2019s identity. Finally, time-oriented listeners seek to grasp the essence of a message as quickly as possible. These styles reveal how individuals engage with communication.
\nNoise in communication can be physical, psychological, or semantic. The human attention span is a major challenge in refining listening skills. Training is required to block out distractions and focus on the message.
\nCritical listening, the highest form of listening, involves careful, systematic thinking and reasoning to assess whether a speaker\u2019s message aligns with factual evidence. Without this analytical approach, listeners may be misled by illogical arguments.
\nManagers and leaders should empower themselves by becoming ethical listeners\u2014those who give respectful attention to the ideas and viewpoints of others.<\/p>\n
The writer is a Senior Banker & Freelance Columnist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sirajuddin Aziz In almost four decades of my professional career, I must have attended countless hours of meetings. In most of these, I \u2018heard\u2019 everything that was said, but moments of genuine, rapt attention were rare. However, when I conducted meetings, my attention was undivided\u2014focused, consistent, and engaged. There is a distinct difference between \u2018attending\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13449],"class_list":{"0":"post-466358","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-sirajuddin-aziz"},"yoast_head":"\n