BARRIERS TO GOOD LISTENING

BARRIERS TO GOOD LISTENING

Listening is rather very difficult. It is taken for granted by parents, schools, colleges and management institutes. Although the receivers are personally present throughout, most of them are poor listeners. What are the inherent problems in the process of listening and how to overcome these barriers? A few common barriers have been listed below:

(1) Environmental barriers

(i) Physical distractions
Environmental disturbances come in the way:
 Noisy surroundings
 Loud music
 The noise of machines, office equipment etc
 The noise of road traffic including horns of vehicles

(ii) Loud talking
In some cultures, people talk rather loudly. Talking loudly by persons nearby can distract a person from hearing others.

(iii) Visual distractions
A hoarding or poster on the wall may distract attention and may come in the way of catching an important point of the conversation. Similarly, speakers‟ clothes, accessories, make-up like eyeshadows etc may distract listeners‟ attention.