The document discusses various barriers to effective listening and provides recommendations to overcome them. Some key barriers include physical and mental distractions, biases and prejudices, focusing on irrelevant details rather than main ideas, and drawing premature conclusions. To address these barriers, the document recommends that listeners focus on the speaker, resist distractions, assume an open mindset, and avoid judging before gathering all information. It also provides tips for speakers, such as removing potential distractions, making the message compelling, and considering listeners' potential biases or objections.

1. Barriers to Effective Listening
Jethro Dato
Ruby Joy Juan
Alpha Garcia
Franchesca Asis
2BES2

2. Barriers
• Impact of Technology on Listening
- Sensory Overload
• Ineffectiveness as a Listener

3. Distractions

4. Physical and Mental
• Physical
- Hearing Impairment, Noisy Environment
or Loud Music
• Mental
- Thinking about something else or Being
Emotional

5. Biases and Prejudice
• Biases and Prejudice against an individual will
invariably distort listening.
• This bias will distort incoming messages that
contradict this assuption.

6. Lack of Approriate Focus
• There are many influences that can lead you
astray.
• Anticipating how to respond prevents you
from hearing the message in full.

7. Premature Judgement
• Assuming that you already know what the
speaker is going to say
• Draw conclusions or judgements on
incomplete evidences.

8. Considering the Topic or
Speaker Uninteresting
• The effort we put into listening
depends on our interest and the
subject’s importance.
• A competent listener keeps an open
mind.

9. Criticizing the Speaker
Instead of the Message
• Speakers and listeners have responsibilities in
the communication process.
• The listener must stay involved in the
message.

10. Concentrating on Details,
Not Main Ideas
• Specific facts are needed in some
situations, but we focus too much
on details.
• This results to receiving disjointed
details.

11. Concentrating on Details,
Not Main Ideas (cont)
• All stages of the listening process
could be affected.
• Focus on the main ideas.

12. Avoiding Difficult
Listening Situations
• The vast amount and complexity of the
information confront us.
• We deal with situations by giving up and
ignorance.

13. Avoiding Difficult
Listening Situations (cont)
• Concentration and energy are needed.
• Ask questions.
• Making the effort to listen is your responsibility.
• Successful listening improves confidence and
ability.

14. Tolerating or Failing to
Adjust to Distractions
• Distractions constantly disrupt
concentration.
• Unable to eliminate distractions
• Failure to focus on the speaker’s
message

15. Tolerating or Failing to Adjust to
Distractions (cont)
• Listener must overcome distractions through
mental effort.
• Consciously focus on selecting the appropriate
messages.
• Filter out extraneous noise and other distractions.

16. Faking Attention
• Pretending to pay attention
• Appears to listen intently
• Agreeing without understanding the
message

17. Faking Attention (cont)
• May become a habit
• Can lead to misunderstanding
• Do not let the mind to wander.
• Pay attention.

18. Ineffective and Effective Listening Habits
Bad Listener Good Listener
Not interested on speaker Finds areas of interest
and topic
Focuses on speaker’s Concentrates on the
appearance content of presentation
Listens only for details Listens for ideas
Avoids difficult material Exercises the mind and
prepares to listen
Easily distracted Resists distractions
Fakes attention Pays attention

19. What to Do About
Listening Barriers

20. 1. Physical Barriers

21. For the Listener:
• Focus on the Speaker;
You can look at the
room and the audience
later.

22. For the Speaker:
• Try-- whenever
possible--to remove
potential distractions.

23. 2. Mental Distractions

24. For the Listener:
• Recognize that you can
think about you date
later; get back to
listening.

25. For the Speaker:
• Make what you say
compelling and so
relevant to the
listener.

26. 3. Close-mindedness

27. For the Listener:
• Assume that what
the speaker is saying
will be useful in
some ways.

28. For the Speaker:
• Anticipate close-
mindedness and ask for
openness.

29. 4. Biases and
Prejudices

30. For the Listener:
• Be willing to subject your
biases and prejudice to
contradictory information.

31. For the Speaker:
• When you feel that your
listener(s) may be biased,
ask for a suspension of bias.

32. 5. Rehearsing
Responses

33. For the Listeners:
• Make a mental note of
something and get back to
listening.

34. For the Speakers:
• When you feel that the
audience is preparing to
argue with you, tell them
you’ll return to this point
later.

35. 6. Dismissing the
Speaker

36. For the Listeners:
• Assume that everyone has
something of value to say
to you

37. For the Speakers:
• Stress the importance of
what you will say.

38. 7. Focusing on
Irrelevancies

39. For the Listeners:
• When encountering an
example, recall the point,
the main idea, that it refers
to.

40. For the Speakers:
• Repeat the main points and
connect them to your
examples and illustrations.

41. 8. Excessive self-focus

42. For the Listeners:
• Think about how this topic
relates to others or some
larger picture.

43. For the Speakers:
• Include all the listeners;
make what you say relevant
to everyone.

44. 9. Faulty Assumptions

45. For the Listeners:
• Let the speaker guide your
listening.

46. For the Speakers:
• Make it clear that what
you’re saying will be
unexpected.

47. 10. Drawing too-early
conclusions/judgements

48. For the Listeners:
• Avoid making judgements
before you gather all the
information; listen before
judging.

49. For the Speakers:
• Consider giving part of the
evidence before stating any
idea to which you
anticipate serious objection
from listeners.

50. Reference:
Seiler, W., & Beall, M. (2011). Communication: making
connections (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson.