IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING

Listening is an important aid to communication. Listening with understanding is not merely hearing with ears but really in the mind. It is a conscious effort by the receiver to perceive and understand the message, give meaning to those sounds and words uttered. The concept of listening can be understood by studying the importance of listening.

1)Helps to Solve Problems: Good listening skill helps to solve the problems in the organisation. Problems in the organisation can be solved when employees listen to each other. Proper listening helps to spot sensitive areas and find out solutions before they become explosive. As a leader, a businessman should always be attentive to what employees say.

2)Helps to Know the Organisation: Newly recruited employees must listen the seniors in orientation programme. They come to know plans, policies, activities, rules and regulations of the organisation. Proper listening results in positive and effective working of employees. As they listen carefully, they rarely face any problem.

3)Expands Capacity and Knowledge: Good listening skills make an employee more capable and knowledgeable. By listening effectively, an employee is able to grasp the correct information he needs in order to perform his task without mistakes. The more an employee can get information from meetings, instructions and reports, the more effective and successful he will be at completing his tasks.

4)Provides Motivation and Encouragement: Listening helps to provide motivation and encouragement to the speaker. It motivates the speaker to put his best in providing information or sharing ideas and experience.

5)Helps to frame Plans and Policies: In a meeting, listening to subordinates helps the management to frame plans and policies properly. After careful analysis of the suggestions from the subordinates, the management may be in better position to frame plans and policies of the organisation.

6)Strengthen Customer Relationships: Effective listening strengthens customer relationships and enables products and services improvement. By putting in place a system to gather customers’ feedback on the usage of a product or a service, the organisation allows the customers know that their opinion matters and gain their loyalty.

7)Helps to Develop Internal Relations: Listening helps to develop internal relations in the organisation. Employees may have certain grievances against the management. If the management listens to such grievances properly, hostile feelings about management may diminish in the minds of the employees. This can result into good and healthy relations in the organisation.  

8)Develops Respect and Trust: By listening to staff members or employees, a leader shows respect and care to them. Due to this, he gains the trust and respect of workers and achieves referent power. As an appreciated leader, he gets people to open up and able to gather important information about them and other things.