 Barriers to effective listening About 70% of an average person's waking hours are spent communicating. How much of that time do you think is spent listening? 45% What percentage of the information given in a 10-minute presentation does a listener retain? 50% What percentage of the information is remembered two days after the presentation? 25% The key to improving listening skills is to overcome the barriers to effective listening. The seven most common barriers to effective listening are content of the message, appeal of the speaker, external distractions, emotions, clarity of language, selective perception, inappropriate feedback. If you are listening to a message about which you know very much or very little, what can you do to overcome this barrier? Anticipate important message content. Look for areas of interest in the message. Remember that something of value can always be learned. If you are listening to a speaker who does not appeal to you for some reason, how can you overcome this barrier? Concentrate on the message itself and not on the person delivering the message. If you find yourself distracted by noise, lights, room temperature, orders, or other people talking when you are trying to listen, how can you listen better? Eliminate distractions if possible. Increase your concentration on the message. If you find yourself interpreting information in relation to your own mood rather than the message itself, how can you overcome this barrier? Try to identify interfering emotions before listening to the information. Take notes and interpret the information at another time. If you are listening to a message that is ambiguous or could have more than one meaning, how can you overcome this barrier? Realize that different words have different meanings to people. Evaluate the context in which the word is used. Look for clarification. When you find yourself focusing only on certain parts of the information in a message, such as that information that supports your own beliefs, how can you overcome this barrier? Identify the purpose of the message and look for supporting information. If you find yourself making emotional or premature comments when listening, how can you overcome this barrier? Allow the speaker to present his or her message before providing feedback. Sensor your feedback in appropriate emotions. The key to improving listening skills is to overcome the barriers to effective listening. You have completed Barriers to Effective Listening.