Communication Strategies

Our ability to listen effectively is compromised by a number of internal factors. First, being emotional during a conversation negates ones ability to listen. It is commonly asserted that the receiver during a conversation must be aware of their emotions. For example, engaging in messages that are offensive to the listener threatens a potential breakdown of the communication process. The second factor hindering communication is failure to allow the sender to finish before giving a response. It is a common problem with poor listeners to be judgmental and conclusive during the communication process. This has the ultimate purpose of demoralizing the speaker with reactions. In addition, drawing early conclusions can lead to negative response from the speaker. It is worth noting that it is hard for an individual to speak and listen at the same time.

Another internal factor hindering has from listening is faking attention. It has been established that the behavior by some individuals to fake attention is quite detrimental to the listening and communication practice. On the other hand, the practice of faking attention is not only offensive but also hard to hide the speaker. This factor encompasses practices like being distracted or turning out during a conversation. The last factor compromising our listening ability is personal attitude or perception of the speaker. According to psychological evidence, speech acceptability by the audience factors much in defining their listening. Still, speech appreciation by the audience depends of their perception of the character of the speaker and the relevance of the speech in the community. Therefore, attitude and personal perception is a major internal factor hindering our listening.