Describe three barriers to listening and provide examples. Which of these barriers do you find most challenging?

What will be an ideal response?

Students should provide three of the following five answers:
Physical Barriers—Physical barriers are the most elemental and involve something in our environment that prevents us from listening. For example, a noisy air conditioner unit, someone playing loud music near us, or traffic on a busy street that makes it difficult for us to hear another person when attempting to listen.

Physiological Barriers—Physiological barriers to listening involve biological factors that reduce our ability to sense/hear a message. For example, some people have less acute hearing or even require a hearing aid in order to listen to a message.

Psychological Barriers—A psychological barrier involves engaging in other mental tasks that reduce or filter our ability to listen (e.g., boredom, preoccupation, strong emotions). So, one can sense the message but might not understand or evaluate it appropriately. For example, if I am focused on an exam for the next class, I might not be able to listen to the lecture effectively because my mind is racing and going over other information.

Conflicting Objectives—A conflicting objective occurs when two individuals have different goals for an interaction that might change their listening evaluation, interpretation, and response. For example, if Terry is interested in revamping the employee review process and Alice is interested in getting a raise, they might listen to the same message and have very different interpretations of the interaction representing their conflicting objectives.

Poor Listening Habits—Sometimes individuals do not have the skills to engage in listening and have habits that reduce listening effectiveness. For example, some poor habits include interrupting the speaker, not looking at the speaker, not responding to the speaker's requests, and forgetting what was talked about previously. I have a friend who is constantly interrupting, making me feel like what I have to say is not important and that he does not listen at all.

Sample student application answer: The listening barrier I find most challenging is a psychological barrier. Often I have so many things going on and I am thinking about accomplishing a lot of tasks simultaneously, so I am sometimes distracted from what the speaker is saying. I have to quiet my mind and really focus on the speaker to be a better listener.