Are you listening? Are you sure?

Poor listening habits are the cause of more communication breakdowns than most of us realize, mainly because we don?t think of listening as a communication skill. But it is. The first thing to realize about listening is what it?s not. It?s not the same as hearing and it?s not waiting for your turn to speak.

Hearing involves only our ears, and we do it automatically. Sound hits the eardrum and resolves itself into words or musical notes we recognize. Since there are sounds all around us constantly, we have learned to filter out those we don?t want to hear?such as traffic in the street or the people at the next table in a restaurant.

Listening, on the other hand, is conscious act. To be an effective communicator, you must decide to listen each time you enter an important business discussion. The act of deciding to listen switches off the filter so that we can concentrate on what the other person is saying.

Why is listening so important in our jobs? Here are three reasons.

Listening keeps us informed. People who complain that nobody ever tells them anything would be well advised to consider their listening habits. If you feel you are always the last to know, or you are out of the loop, perhaps you are simply not listening.

Listening keeps us out of trouble. Many of us spend much of our workday taking and acting on instructions. Serious consequences can arise when instructions are misinterpreted, often because the person being instructed didn?t listen effectively.

Good listeners are valued. Have you ever had the experience of someone paying close, respectful attention as you spoke?hanging on your every word? Didn?t it make you feel special and valued, as if your opinion mattered? Everyone wants to feel that way, whether they are in positions of authority or not, so they appreciate people who truly listen to them.

Knowledge is power, and often the best way to get it is simply to listen.