Identify listening barriers you have experienced, explain their effects, and determine appropriate listening and responding strategies.

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Listening Barrier 1: Lack of Focus – This type of listening barrier occurs when one’s attention is diverted, often due to boredom or fatigue. The effect of this can be that important information is missed and misunderstandings occur. An appropriate strategy for dealing with this would be to practice active listening techniques such as summarizing what has been said and asking questions to clarify any points that are unclear.

Listening Barrier 2: Emotional Reactivity – This type of listening barrier is when one’s emotions take over, preventing objective thought and understanding. The effect can be that conclusions are jumped to without considering all the facts or other perspectives. Appropriate strategies for dealing with this include taking a time-out to calm down before responding, focusing on understanding rather than reacting, and using reflective statements like “I understand how you feel” or “It sounds like this was hard for you” to validate the speaker’s feelings before offering solutions.

Listening Barrier 3: Interruptions – This type of listening barrier occurs when one person talks over another or does not allow their opinion to be heard in full. The effect can be that dialogue becomes stilted and points get lost in translation as conversations become strained between parties. A suitable strategy for addressing this issue would be to allow each person involved some uninterrupted speaking time and make sure everyone feels heard by paraphrasing back what they have said at appropriate junctures during the conversation.