Listening
A college teacher wrote to tell me that she and her students were enjoying the “listening quiz” that’s posted on my website here.
In the intro to the quiz I stated, “80% (give or take 5%) of effective communication involves listening.” Because she’s an academic, she asked me where I got that statistic. What studies had I based that statement on? Sadly, I had to admit I made it up based on my experience.
I’m not going to die defending the 80% number, but I do firmly believe that effective communication depends much more on listening than on speaking.
And when it comes to promoting civil public discourse–as I’m trying to do in reaction all the very uncivil discourse out there–you can’t go wrong by listening. The various parties involved in what amounts to hate speech are always shouting at, talking over, or waving signs at other people. They never listen.
(You might want to check out the International Listening Association for its resources.)
Do you agree that listening is more important than speaking? What’s the percentage you’d assign to listening?
Image courtesy of Dave Fayram at Flickr.
Tags: effective communication, listening
January 24th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
As an active member of the International Listening Association (ILA), I’m so glad that you are making listening a topic of discussion. Indeed, listening is more important than most people give it credit. The ILA is a non-profit professional organization that is committed to advancing listeing globally.
From the studies that I’ve read, the average student spends up to 90 percent of his/her time listening. Another study I read said that in business, 80 percent of the average amount of time managers spend at work is in one of four communication modes: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Of that 80 percent, listening is used 45 percent of the time; speaking, 30 percent; reading, 16 percent; and writing, 9 percent. These percentages might have changed some with the advances in technology - e-mailing and instant messaging.
Dr. Ralph Nichols and Dr. Lyman K. “Manny” Steil of Minnesota have conducted many studies on listening that are still widely quoted today. We also have a growing number of individuals around the world who are committed to expanding listening research.
We encourage you to get involved with the ILA to learn more about this important life skill. If you are serious about learning more, you might consider getting listening certified. Details about the Certified Listening Professional (CLP) training program are available at ILA’s website.