DEFINATION OF COMMUNICATION

We are going to start this discussion by defining what communication is.

From communication perspective, communication is a process….and why
do we say so

 Communication is a process involving an exchange of facts,

viewpoints and ideas between the sender and the receiver to achieve
mutual understanding.
 Communication can also be defined as the process
of understanding and sharing meaning.
 Process because it involves a series of activities, an exchange of some
sort of behaviour. It starts long before the words begin to flow and
can last long after the words stop.
 Understanding the meaning of another person’s message occurs
when communicators have common meaning of words, phrases and
nonverbal cues.
 Meaning is shared when a message has been understood.

WHY STUDY COMMUNICATION

It improves the way we see ourselves:
Communication forms part of our self-concept and helps us understand
ourselves. Communication improves our perceptions of ourselves.
Understanding our perception can lead to our awareness, the ability to be
conscious of ourselves, events and stimuli.
It is vital to the development of the whole person: Communication is a
foundation of life. It helps a person to get ideas, adapt to the changing
world and convey messages to the rest of the world. Most of our
knowledge comes from communication experience. Intrapersonal
communication raises our confidence

It improves the way we see other people: Communication can help

better understand other people’s perspectives and needs. Our interactions
can be smoother and we can achieve our goals more easily as we manage
the expression or impression we make on others.

It improves how others see us: Communication improves the perceptions

others make of us.

Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting

information. People like communicating with those who can communicate
well. Communication increases what we know about human relationships.
In groups we learn how to relate with each other and about what type of
communication is appropriate for a given situation.

It teaches us important life skills such as; critical thinking, problem

solving, decision making, public speaking, interaction skills, relationship
skills, leadership skills etc.

Career development: There is a positive relationship between the ability to

communicate and career success. Employers seek to hire people who know
how to make communication work. If you develop the abilities to speak so
that others listen, listen when others speak, critically evaluate what you read
and hear, adopt to differences in cultural perspectives, handle conflicts and
solve problems and make sound decisions, then you will exhibit skills
valued by employees.

Description
The communication process begins with a sender who encodes a message
which is transmitted through a channel. The receiver decodes the message
and encodes feedback which is transmitted back to the sender who
decodes it.

NOTE: Feedback makes the communication process a two- way process.

That is, the act of responding by which the receiver sends feedback to the
source, shifts the role of the receiver to that of the source and the source to
that of the receiver.

Further note that noise occurs throughout the communication process

We talk of communication as a process and would include the following

elements:

1 Source/sender: This is the initiator of the communication process and

this person has a thought or idea which he or she would like to share with a
person, or people.

Sender is a person(s) who formulate, encode and transmit a message.

2Encoding: This is the act of putting an idea or a thought into verbal or

nonverbal form.

3Message: This is the verbal or nonverbal form of an idea, thought or

feeling that a person wishes to communicate with another person or with a
group of people. Message is the content of the communication act.

4Channel: This is the mode by which a message moves from the source to
the receiver. It can be through light waves, sound waves, audio or written.
Channels are the media we use to carry messages. Channels can be
classified according to:

(i) To our senses which carries or receives the message,

(ii) The delivery mode, whether the message is delivered verbally,

nonverbally or both.
(iii) The primary means of communication we use to deliver the message
ie. Whether we use face-to-face, text messaging, mass media or computer-
mediated communication (zoom, email, social media)

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

When choosing a suitable means of communication there are important factors that
need to be put into consideration:
a)Speed: How fast a channel delivers a message to the recipient. This is an important
factor when the message is urgent. In such a case, a mobile phone would be the most
suitable means of communication.

Figure 1: Mobile Communication

a)Cost: The expenses incurred in using a means of communication differ

from one means to another. Eg. It is cheaper to send messages by SMS
than ordinary mail.

b)Confidentiality: Certain messages are intended for particular persons

only. Face to face is the most confidential means of communication among
persons who decide to keep the information a secret.

c) Distance: This is geographical gap between the sender and the recipient.
It is important in determining the choice of a means of communication.
However, the myth of distance has disappeared with the introduction of the
internet/digital means of communication. Some means are suitable for long
distances while others are not.
 d)Evidence: It is an act of providing a record of the message conveyed. This
may be necessary for purposes of future reference. All means of written
communication provide evidence of message communicated.

e)Reliability: This is the assurance (certainty) that the message will reach
the intended recipient at the intended time, place and in the right form.
Face-to-face is the most reliable means of communication because one can
ask for clarity and get answers immediately.

f) Accuracy: This refers to the exactness of the message to be conveyed

by a means of communication. Written messages are generally more
accurate than other means of communication such as face-to-face
communication.

g)Desired impression: It is the desired image one intends to create upon

the recipient. Eg. The use of colorful and attractive letterheads would
convey a good image of business.

h)The degree of formality of the message: This is a standard procedure of

packaging and relaying messages through proper predefined channels and
routes. Formal messages conform to official rules process, system, formality
and chain of command.

NB: When choosing a means of communication, all or several of the above

factors may have to be considered. The choice is however dictated by the
means of communication available.

5 Decoding: This is assigning meaning to a verbal or nonverbal

message or, translation of ideas that have been received into the form the
receiver can understand.

6 Receiver: This is an individual, group or organization that

receives and decodes a coded message. Receiver is the target audience of
communication, who decode message symbols into interpreted meanings.

7 Feedback: This is the receiver’s either verbal or nonverbal

response to a message. Feedback is information returned to the message
source it can come back to us immediately or delayed. Feedback indicates
whether the receiver understands, misunderstands or disagrees with the
message. It encourages the source to continue or discontinue with the
communication. The act of responding by which the receiver sends
feedback to the source, actually shifts the role of the receiver to that of the
source.

Getting and giving feedback is one of the most crucial parts of good
communication. Like any other activity there are specific skills that enhance
feedback. They include:

1)Listen to the complete message: Be patient because it helps one to

provoke strong options or radically different points of view. In this situation
it is important not to prejudge the incoming message.

2)Work at listening skills: Good listening skills demonstrate alertness and

interest.

3)Judge the content, not the form of the message: Direct your attention to
the message, what is being said, and away from the distracting elements.

4)Eliminate distraction: Noise seriously impairs listening.

Characteristics of effective feedback

a)It is descriptive rather than evaluative: It is

important to focus on what the individual did rather than to translate

behavior into what he or she is. For example, we might say that a person
“talked more than anyone else in the meeting” rather than that he is a “loud
mouth’’

b)It is specific rather than general.

c) It is directed towards behavior that the receiver can do something about.

d)It is well-timed.

e)It involves the amount of information the receiver can use rather than the
amount we would like to give.
f) It involves sharing of information rather than giving advice: By giving
information, we leave people free to decide for themselves, in accordance
to their own goals and needs.

8 Noise: This is anything that reduces a communications clarity

and accuracy. Noise is anything that interferes with or distorts our ability to
send or receive messages.

Types of Noise

There are different types of noise in communication they include

i) Physical/ external/environmental noise: This is outside interference that

prevents the receiver from understanding the message. Eg loud music in an
adjacent room.

ii) Internal/ psychological noise: This is mental interference in the speaker or

listener. It comes via poor mental attitudes or emotional stress. Stress,
frustration, irritation, wandering thoughts, biases, sometimes cause us to
send or receive messages ineffectively.

iii) Physiological-impairment noise: A physical problem can prevent

the effective sending and receiving of a message. Eg. People who are deaf
or blind do not have specific sensory capabilities to receive a message in
the same way as people who can hear and see.

iv) Cultural noise: Results from preconceived, unyielding attitudes

derived from a group or society about how members of that culture should
act or in what they should or should not believe.

v) Linguistic noise: This refers to the communicator’s inability to use the

language of communication accurately and appropriately. Linguistic noise is
divided into

a) Semantic,

b) Syntactic and

c) Phonological noise.
Semantic noise Occurs when people have different meanings for different
words. Noise would occur because of difference in understanding. Eg.
wrong choice of words, use of unfamiliar words or use of familiar words in
unfamiliar ways.

Syntactic noise: Each language has a customary way of putting words

together in a grammatical form. Inappropriate grammatical usage can
interfere with clear communication. This type of noise occurs in faulty
sentence structure, misapplication of the rule of correct language use,
change of tense in the middle of a sentence etc.

Phonological noise: It occurs through poor pronunciation of words.

9 Context: This is the environment or situation in which the communication

process takes place. Martine and Nakayama (2010) also noted that context
is brought about by the physical and social aspects of the situation in which
communication takes place. According to DeVito (2010) there are four
aspects of communication contexts:

Physical context This is the environment in which messages are

exchanged, cultural context is the lifestyle, knowledge, beliefs, values,
behavior and norms of a group of people.

Socio-psychological context This is the relationship between the sender and

the receiver.

Temporal context it is appropriateness of a message in a situation and the

time of the day in which communication takes place.

The four aspects of context interact and affect each other. According to
Steinberg (2006) the communication process is affected by time, space,
physical properties of the place of information exchange, roles, status and
relationship of the communicating parties. Context also affects the
meaning, form and content of a message transmitted. This, therefore,
makes people communicate differently in different contexts.

10 Effect: For every communication, there is some consequence. There are

three types of effects.

Intellectual or cognitive effect: These are changes in your thinking.

Affective effects: These are the changes in your attitudes, values, beliefs and
emotions. Psychomotor effects: These are changes in behavio

LESSON 2.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNICATION

Characteristics of Communication
The essential features of an effective communication are as follows:

Communication is human: Humans have communicatory abilities other animals

do not. Communication is the heart of who we are. We communicate to interact,
exchange information and ideas etc.

Communication is symbolic: Communication involves shared message between

the sender and the receiver. Symbols are characters used to represent things, ideas
or events in ways that make communication possible.

Shared code: This is a common set or system of words, letters, figures or symbols.

Culturally linked: Communication is connected to the shared beliefs, values and

practices of a group of people.

Intentional: Communication is done with intention or on purpose. It is

communication that we are consciously aware of. This is the deliberate use of
words, actions and visual support in communication. One must exhibit a high level
of consciousness or purposefulness while encoding messages.

Mediated: Communication requires a medium- a “vehicle” to transport or carry

the symbols

Forms of Communication
Generally, communication is divided into various forms:

a) Intrapersonal Communication

b) Interpersonal Communication

c) Machine Assisted (Interpersonal) communication

d) Group Communication

e) Public Communication

f) Mass Communication
a) Intrapersonal communication
This is the process of understanding and sharing meaning with oneself. It is the
basis of all forms of communication. It occurs when we evaluate or examine the
interaction that occurs between ourselves and other people. It also includes
activities like: internal problem solving, planning for the future and understanding
relationships between ourselves and others. Three aspects of intrapersonal
communication are self- concept, perception and expectation.

i) Self-Concept

ii) Perception

iii) Expectation

Self-concept is the basis of intrapersonal communication because it determines

how a person sees him/herself and is oriented towards others. Self-concept also
known as self-awareness involves three factors: beliefs, values and attitudes.

Beliefs are basic personal orientation towards what is true or false, good or bad.
Values are deep-seated orientations and ideas generally based on and consistent
with beliefs about right and wrong ideas and actions. Attitudes are learned
predispositions towards or against a topic, ideals that stem from and generally are
consistent with values. Beliefs, values and attitudes all influence behavior, which
either spoken opinion or physical action.

Whereas self-concept focuses internally, perception looks outward. Perception of

the outside world also is rooted in beliefs, values and attitudes. Expectations are
future-oriented messages dealing with long-term roles, sometimes called life
scripts.

Intrapersonal communication may involve different levels of communication

activities:

 Internal disclosure involves thinking, concentrating, analysis, day dreaming,

prayer, meditation, contemplation.
 Solo vocal communication includes speaking aloud to oneself. This may be
done to clarify thinking, to rehearse a message intended for others or
simply to let off steam.
 Solo written communication deals with writing not intended for others. For
example, entry in a diary and personal journal.

THE PROCESS OF INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

The process of intrapersonal communication
It starts with a stimulus which could be internal, originating within us or external,
coming from an outside source. The stimuli are picked up by the sensory organs
and then sent to the brain. This process is called reception.

The sense organs pick-up stimulus and send it to the central nervous system. While
we receive all stimuli directed to us, we pay attention to only a few (selective
perception).

The next step is processing the stimuli. It occurs at three levels. Those levels are
cognitive (thinking), emotional (feeling) and physiological (bodily behaviors).

b) Interpersonal Communication

This is the process of understanding and sharing meaning with at least one other
person. The source and the receiver are in the same immediate and physical
presence of one another. The closer the emotional link, the more personal the
communication.

There are two types of interpersonal communication which are:

 Dyadic communication: refers to communication between two people

Image: 1 Dyadic communication: refers to

communication between two people

 Triadic communication: refers to communication among three people

 Image: 2 Triadic communication: refers to
communication among three people

c) Machine-assisted (interpersonal) communication

This is communication assisted by technology or machines. For example, e-mails,
mobile phones, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) etc.

Image 3: Machine Assisted Communication

d) Group communication
This is communication among three or more people interacting to achieve a shared
goal.
 Image 4: Group communication

e) Public communication
This is the process of understanding and sharing meaning with many people. One
person is identified as the speaker and the others as listeners. Mostly the purpose of
public communication is to persuade or inform.

f) Mass communication
It is communication to a large group of people that is heterogeneous and widely
scattered in a geographical area through a mass medium such as, newspapers,
magazines, books, television, radio etc.

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION

Functions of Communication
Communication performs various purposes in our lives. They include:

Education and instruction Communication provides knowledge, expertise and

skills for smooth functioning of people in the society. It creates awareness and
gives opportunity to people to actively participate in public life.

Information: Communication helps us to share our experiences, needs, feelings,

thoughts, facts, figures and advice. The quality of our life will be poor without
information. The more informed we are the more powerful we become.
Communication provides information about our surrounding.

Entertainment: Communication provides a form of activity that holds the

attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure or delight. To break the
routine of life and divert our attention from the stressful life we lead today,
entertainment is an essential part of everybody’s life.

Discussion: Communication aids or facilitates interaction among group members

who are sharing ideas. Discussion is the action or process of talking about
something in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas. This is the act of
talking about something with other people or telling them your ideas or opinions. It
is a detailed conversation about something considered important.

Debates
This is a formal discussion on a particular matter in a public meeting or legislative
assembly, in which opposing arguments are put forward and which usually ends
with a vote.

It is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a

moderator and audience.

Persuasion: Communication is used to influence the way someone thinks or

behaves. Persuasion is the act of presenting arguments to move, motivate or
change your audience. This is any message that is intended to shape, reinforce or
change the response of another or others. Communication is used to influence the
way someone thinks or behaves. We communicate to persuade others to think the
way we think or to change an attitude or behavior, as well as have them understand
what we are saying.

Cultural promotion: Communication aids in the dissemination of cultural and

artistic products for the purpose of preserving the heritage of the past.
Communication stimulates the dissemination of the complex collection of
knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs and
customs that link and give common identity to a particular group of people.
Communication provides an opportunity for the promotion and preservation of
culture and traditions. It makes people fulfill their creative urges.

Integration: Communication promote and facilitates peaceful co-existence of

persons of different cultural or ethnic and racial communities. Communication
enhances tolerance, respect, understanding and acceptance among people of
diverse cultural backgrounds. It is through communication that a large number of
people across countries come to know about each other’s traditions and appreciate
each other’s way of life. It develops integration and tolerance towards each other.

7 C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

7 C’s of Effective Communication

7 C’s of Effective Communication

There are seven words that begin with letter “C” that act as a checklist for ensuring
that communication is effective. The 7 C’s are applicable to both written as well as
oral communication. They are as follows:
  Completeness: It is the state or condition of having all the necessary or
appropriate parts.
 Communication should convey all facts required by the receiver(s). The
sender of the message should take into consideration the receiver’s mind
set and convey the message accordingly.
 Conciseness: Communicate what you want to convey in the least possible
words without forgetting the other C’s of communication. Concise
communication has the following features: time saving, cost saving,
underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and
needless words, provides short and essential message in limited words,
more appealing and comprehensible and non-repetitive in nature.
 Consideration: This implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective
communication must take the audience into consideration. That is, the
audience’s view points, background, mind-set, educational level etc.
Modify your words in the message to suit the audience’s needs while
making the message complete.
 Clarity: This means emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time,
rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity of communication
has the following features: makes understanding easier, enhances meaning
of message and makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words
 Concreteness: This implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and
general. Concrete messages have the following features: It is supported
with specific facts and figures, makes use of words that are clear and the
messages are not misinterpreted.
 Courtesy: This implies that the message should show the sender’s
expression as well as should respect the receiver. Courteous messages
have the following features: they should take into consideration the
viewpoints as well as the feelings of the receiver, message should be
positive and focused at the audience, should use terms showing respect to
the receiver and use appropriate and correct language. The message
should be polite, friendly, professional, open and honest.
 Correctness: This implies that there are no grammatical errors in the
communication.

Principles of Communication
Principles of Communication
These are the fundamental truths or propositions that serve as the foundation for
the communication process.They are:

Communication is inescapable: Communication is always occurring in human

life at various levels. For example, at intrapersonal level when you are thinking,
planning, mediating, observing, gathering information and making conclusions.
Communication is irreversible: You cannot take back something once it is
communicated. Even if you retract what you have said, what has been
communicated cannot be entirely erased. Traces of the effect of the communication
will always remain.

Communication is dynamic: Communication is an ever-evolving art and is the

ability to consciously interact and react thoughtfully. Communication requires
ongoing assessment of whether the message has been received accurately.
Communication is influenced by the mood and thinking of the sender and receiver.
Communication is always changing according to context and nature. All elements
of communication, like the setting, participants, their knowledge and their roles
affect communication as it progresses.

Every communication interaction has a content dimension and a relationship

dimension: The content dimension is the message or the information one wishes to
communicate. The relationship dimension is the social relationship between the
communicating parties, e.g. Employer and employee or student and teacher or
communication among peers like students.

Communication is contextual: Communication occurs in particular situations or

systems that influence what and how we communicate and what meanings we
attach to the messages.

The setting and environment help determine the words and actions you generate
and the meanings you give the symbols produced by other people.

Communication is complicated: Communication consists of many

interconnecting parts or elements. Communication is complicated in several ways:

 It involves choice about multiple aspects of message i.e we have to make

verbal or code choices and non-verbal aspects. We also have to make
channel choices
 Communication is also complicated because people have different
perspectives of what is communicated

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Barriers to Effective Communication

Barriers to Effective Communication

There are various problems and difficulties in the process of communication which
often result in the occurrence of the barriers to communication. Communication
barriers are interferences or obstacles which affects not only the transmission of
idea or information but also the understanding and acceptance of it. It has an effect
on entirely preventing communication, filtering part of it, or giving it an incorrect
meaning. The various barriers to the process of communication are given as
follows:

Language barrier: This is difficulty in communication experienced by people

who are unable to speak a common language in case of use of foreign language,
differences in dialects and regional accents. This may also be the inability of the
sender to use appropriate language and of the receiver to understand due to
differences in background knowledge and experiences

Poor listening: This is interfered concentration or not paying attention to the

speaker. The effectiveness of communication will depend on the willingness of the
recipient to listen keenly. Listening requires careful attention and concentration. It
may however be the task of the sender of the message to attempt to gain the
attention of the listener through his or her choice of words and expressions among
others.

Negative attitude: This is a disposition, feeling or manner that is not cooperative,

constructive or optimistic that one comes with in the communication encounters. It
is important that there exists a mutual feeling of trust and respect between the
parties concerned in order to avoid bias. If there is mistrust or prejudice, then there
may be deliberate or unintentional misunderstanding of the message involved.

Poor timing: This refers to communicating at the wrong time. That is,
communicating either too early or too late. For communication to be effective, the
message must be sent and received at the appropriate time. For example, A
message that is sent when one is in a hurry may not be properly delivered or
received. Similarly, a telephone call made at 2.00 am may not be appreciated.

Wrong medium: This is use of inappropriate channel to relay a message. The

means of communication used must be appropriate for the information being
conveyed otherwise a wrong choice of medium will be a barrier to effective
communication.

Emotional responses: This is a person’s attitude experience and corresponding

behavior to a message that has been relayed. Emotional reactions such as those
resulting from anger or excitement may lead to distortion of messages.

Noise: It is anything that interferes with communication process.

Unfamiliar nonverbal signals: Wordless messages have different meanings

among people of varying cultures around the world. These may be a barrier to
effective communication because they may be misinterpreted due to differences in
cultures and age groups among others.
LESSON 3 - LISTENING
Introduction

Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and

responding to spoken and/or nonverbal communication. Listening is key to
effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages
are easily misunderstood.

Difference between Listening and Hearing

Difference between Listening and Hearing

Difference between Listening and Hearing

Listening is different from hearing, as a communicator its therefore important to

know the difference between hearing and listening.

Hearing

 It is the process wherein sound waves strike the eardrum and cause
vibrations that are transmitted to the brain.
 Physical act: Requires only the reception of sound waves.
 Mental process: Vibrations of sounds waves hit the eardrum and brain of an
individual triggering the electrochemical pulses that make the person feel
the sensation of hearing the sound.
 Involuntary action: Happens even if we don’t want to.

Listening

 It occurs when the brain reconstructs these electrochemical impulses into a

representation of the original sound and then gives them meaning.
 Active process and conscious act: Requires concentration and effort.
 Mental and physical activity: We receive sounds that reach our eardrums
(physical activity) and we try to interpret, evaluate, react and respond to
them (mental activity).
 Helpful in decision making: Requires receiver to pay close attention and
make sense of what they hear.

Listening Process

Jump to...

Different listening styles

Content-Oriented Listening style

These listeners are most interested in the quality of messages they hear. They focus
on whether the message makes sense, what it means, and if it’s accurate. .They
want to seek details and are good at analyzing an issue from several perspectives.
They give weight to the messages of experts and other credible sources of
information. Content-oriented listeners often enjoy ideas for their own sake and
willing to spend time exploring them through exchanges of ideas.

Advantages

1. This approach is valuable when the goal is to evaluate the quality of ideas
and when there is value at looking at issues from a wide range of
perspectives.
2. It is especially valuable when the topic is a complicated one.

Disadvantages

1. This approach risks annoying people who don’t have the same sort of
analytical orientation.
2. This approach can take more time than others may be willing to give, and
challenge of ideas that come with it can be perceived as overly critical or
even hostile.

People-Oriented listening style

These listeners are especially concerned with creating and maintaining positive
relationships with the speaker. They listen to the message in order to learn how the
speaker thinks and how they feel about their message They tune into others’ mood,
they respond to the speaker’s feelings as well as their ideas. People-oriented
listeners are typically less judgmental about what others have to say: They are
more interested in understanding and supporting people than in evaluating them.

Advantage

1. It is easy to become overly involved with other’s feelings.

Disadvantages

1. They lose their detachment and ability to assess the quality of information
others are giving in an effort to be friendly and supportive.
2. Less personally oriented communicators can view them as overly expressive
and even intrusive.
Action-Oriented listening style -Video

Action-oriented listening is also known as task-oriented listening. These listeners

are more concerned about what needs to be done (what the speaker wants).
Consequently, they might have less patience for listening to the reasons behind the
task. These listeners are most concern with the task at hand. Their main concern is
to figure out what sort of response is required by the message. They want to get to
the heart of the matter quickly, and so they appreciate clear, concise messages and
often translate others’ remarks into well-organized mental outlines.

Advantage

1. It is the most appropriate when taking care of business as the primary

concern: such listeners keep focus on the job at hand and encourage others
to be organized and concise.

Disadvantages

1. Their no-nonsense approach isn’t always appreciated by speakers who lack

the skill or inclination to be clear and direct.
2. They seem to minimize emotional issues and concerns, which may be an
important part of business and personal transactions.

Time-oriented listening style

People using a time-oriented listening style are most concerned with efficiency
and prefer a message that gets to the point quickly. They view time as a scarce and
valuable commodity. Time-oriented listeners can become impatient with slow
delivery or lengthy explanations. These kind of listeners may be receptive for only
a brief amount of time and may become impatient, rude or hostile if they view the
speaker as wasting their time or if the speaker expects a longer focus of attention.
Time-oriented listeners convey their impatience through eye rolling, shifting about
in their seats, checking their cell phones, and other inappropriate behaviors.

Advantage

1. This approach can be an asset when deadlines and other pressures demand
fast action

Disadvantages

1. This listener can put off others when it seems to disregard their feelings.
 2. Also, an excessive focus on time can hamper the kind of thoughtful
deliberation that some jobs require.

NOTE: Choose a listening style that best suit the situation at hand. When your
relationship with the speaker needs attention, adopt the people-oriented approach.
When clarity is the issue, be an action-oriented listener. If analysis is called for, put
on your content-oriented persona. And when the clock is what matters most,
become a model of time-orientation. One can also boost their effectiveness by
assessing their listening preferences of your conversational partners and adopting
your style to them.

Additional content on Good listening skills

Jump to...
Jump to...