10 Irritating Listening Habits

Do you ever find yourself falling into any of these habits?
1. Interrupting the speaker.
2. Not looking at the speaker.
3. Rushing the speaker and making him feel that he's wasting the listener's time.
4. Showing interest in something other than the conversation.
5. Getting ahead of the speaker and finishing her thoughts.
6. Not responding to the speaker's requests.
7. Saying, "Yes, but . . .," as if the listener has made up his mind.
8. Topping the speaker's story with "That reminds me. . ." or "That's nothing, let me tell you about. . ."
9. Forgetting what was talked about previously.
10. Asking too many questions about details.

Larry Barker & Kittie Watson, Listen Up

10 Poor Listening Habits

Effective listeners do their best to avoid these habits

1. Calling the subject uninteresting
2. Criticizing the speaker &/or delivery
3. Getting over-stimulated
4. Listening only for facts (bottom line)
5. Not taking notes or outlining everything
6. Faking attention
7. Tolerating or creating distractions
8. Tuning out difficult material
9. Letting emotional words block the message

10. Wasting the time difference between speed of speech and speed of thought

Nichols, R. G. and L. A. Stevens (1957). Are you listening? New York, McGraw-Hill.