Overcoming Barriers to Active Listening

Communication isn’t just about speaking. It’s also about listening. A transfer of information can’t occur unless the receiver has the listening skills to understand and process that information. 96% of people believe they are good listeners, when in reality, people only retain about half of what others say.

Without the right listening skills, you miss out on what's going on – and the effects can be detrimental in the workplace. Think missing deadlines, conflict, lost productivity, and so on.

Active listening, makes sure you're really tuned into what the speaker is saying. But, it requires training and practice to master due to the challenges it presents. Learn how to overcome barriers to active listening and improve your communication!

What Is Active Listening?

We listen daily – TV, podcasts, conversations with peers or bosses, music, and more. You’d think we’d have the skill mastered, right?

Wrong!

Research suggests that we only recall 25-50% of what we hear. So, if you have a 20-minute conversation with your neighbor, they will only remember the first 10 minutes of what you said.

Active listening significantly changes how much we remember from what we hear. This is because it requires you to focus not only on the words spoken, but also on the message conveyed. You must consciously attend to the speaker. However, there are many barriers that make it difficult to give someone your full attention.

Barriers to Active Listening

Below are some of the barriers to active listening. These make it hard for the listener to pay attention and grasp the complete message of the speaker:

Internal Noise

The first barrier to active listening is internal noise – mental distractions, such as thoughts, that keep the listener from focusing on the speaker's message.

For instance, as the speaker talks, you might mentally form a counterargument to their point. Your thoughts might drift to the big presentation later, or you simply get bored and lose focus.

You can remove internal barriers to active listening by recognizing that it’s a problem you’ll likely encounter as you practice active listening. When your mind starts to drift, recognize your loss of attention and consciously realign your focus on the speaker. With practice, you’ll be able to expertly manage and diminish internal noise.

External Noise

External noise refers to anything outside the body that distracts. This may include people talking nearby, noisy traffic outside a window, background music, and more.

There are several ways to overcome external noise. If the listener has trouble hearing the speaker, the first option is to remove the noise source. The speaker can suggest moving to a quieter area, closing a noisy window, or otherwise eliminating the source.

If that isn't possible, the listener may ask the speaker to speak louder. Finally, by practicing active listening, the listener can learn to block out external noise and focus on the speaker.

Information Overload

When you get too much information at once, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and lose the message. This is information overload.

So how do you overcome this problem? Consider using the following tactics:

• Ask the speaker to slow down. This gives you more time to process what's being said.
• Ask questions. If you missed something, politely ask the speaker to repeat it.
• Write down important information. As the conversation progresses, jotting down key points to review later.

Over-Agreeing

Oftentimes, people simply agree with the speaker to wrap up the conversation. Think nodding yes repeatedly, giving casual “uh-huh’s” here and there, and simply checking out to move on to the next task of the day. When this occurs, you’re likely not hearing anything at all.

To address this, consider why you engaged in the conversation. There’s a reason you’re listening. Don’t cut it short. See it through to get more value from each talk.

What Can You Do?

Overcoming barriers to active listening is important for effective communication. If you’re ready to train your team in this important skill, get started with HRDQ today. Learning to Listen is a research-based self-assessment and training workshop that helps you uncover barriers to listening and develop the tools to overcome them. Get started today!