Effective Listening
...he was clearly not actively listening. He was engaging in uncritical and passive listening; however the situation required critical analysis and active feedback. Bob was short changing the communication process by nodding in agreement without even processing the information. Another flaw in the interaction dealt with the roles of the two people involved in the communication channel. Carol was designed to be the lead in the discussion, and had the role to make the final decision. However, she expected a two-way, open communication before she made the final decision. On the other hand, Bob was not prepared to provide input. He knew Carol would be making the final decision, so his preparation for the meeting was unsatisfactory. Hence, the conversation which was designed for both parties to be listeners and communicators became a process of one person speaking and the other person nodding in agreement. The key to effective listening is being prepared and being actively involved in the process. These positive attributes of listening were clearly not occurring in this interaction. Additionally, the limited preparation Bob did make became a hindrance in the communication process. Without listening to Carol, he inserted meanings and deleted critical message elements. In essence, he was not processing all of the content from Carol. In a summary session with the whole group after his encounter, Bob summarized the topics discussed in an inaccurate manner. Since his attention was elsewhere, his mind was preset and pre-programmed with ideas. He assumed certain statements were made by Carol. In reality, those topics were never discussed in the conversation. Unknowing...