Essay I receied a perfect score on. Plus its informative!

Effective Listening:
Overcoming Our Perceptual Filters

Introduction

An individual’s view of the world and the people in it is a unique perspective specific to that individual. This suggests that “the reason people react differently to the same situations is that each person comes from a different background and views the situation in terms of his own experiences” (DeRamus, B. 1990). This can cause complications in a lot of situations, especially when attempting to communicate. We can say something with an intended meaning but the listener perceives a completely different message then the one we wished to convey.

One way to over come this barrier to communication is through the use of effective listening. “Listening refers to a complex set of interrelated activities including: apparent attentiveness, non-verbal and verbal behavior, attitudes, memory, and behavioral responses” (Helms, M., Haynes, P. 1992). Effective listening is more then staying silent as another speaks, it is actively pursuing to understand what the speakers intended message is. In this essay, I will describe perceptual filters, and how we can use effective listening to overcome this barrier to communication.

Part 1: Perception and Perceptual Filters

Our individual perceptions lead us to come to conclusions on not only what people say, but on everything we see and hear. If we are in a crowd and that crowd witnesses a car accident in the street, we will all have a different opinion on who caused the accident and how it was caused. These distinctive opinions come from who we are as people, what we have experienced in our lives, how we were raised, our cultural backgrounds, gender, our moral and ethical beliefs, and in the case of the accident how we drive and perceive other drivers.

“Even though we detect our surroundings in the same way through eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue, our brains actively filter that incoming information so that it "makes sense" according to our individual values and beliefs” (“People's perceptual filters,” 2008). What this means is that if two or more people hear the same bit of information their brains will structure that message into something that makes sense to them. For example, when three people, a working man, a church leader, and a CEO of a health insurance company are told the pros and cons of a single payer system type of universal health care they filter this information to receive three very different messages. The working man might receive the message of no more medical bills, no more worrying about their family’s health care costs, higher taxes but no longer paying for health insurance, and even a possible future job helping to manage the government ran health care system. A church leader might hear tax dollars paying for “sinful” procedures such as abortions or gender reassignment surgery. An insurance company’s CEO would almost definitely hear loss of a job, the destruction of his company, his thousands of employees losing their jobs, the stockholders losing millions, and government meddling into the free market.

Our perceptions can also be manipulated. In advertising companies try to make us see their products or services as the highest quality available. The professionals in the field are called Brand Managers, and they tend to be very good at their jobs. “Brand managers are seeking out the help of those who understand the psychology of individuals and the psychology of the mass that constitutes contemporary society today” (“It’s Perception Management…,” 2003). What this means is that Brand Managers specialize in mass manipulation, specifically as it relates to the product or service they are attempting to sell. They want us to believe their product or service is the highest quality, has the lowest price, or even how a specific competitor’s product or service is inferior to theirs. They use soft, friendly, and positive language and imagery to sell you on their product or service. They use harsh or mocking language and imagery to attempt to make you think negatively of their competitors. For example, a popular paper towel commercial theme is to show how one paper towel can easily pick up a spill with the competitor’s product leaving some of the mess or even just pushing it around without soaking anything up. Trash bag commercials show their bag as strong and easy to carry, while showing the competitor’s bag tearing and awkward. This manipulation is made very evident in infomercials. These thirty minute or longer commercials like to show how inconvenient life is without their product by showing people attempting to do things without their products and failing miserably. They exaggerate how hard the simplest of tasks are without the use of their products to the point of ridiculousness. In some of these infomercials they are selling courses, and exaggerate how well you’ll do or how rich you’ll become by either hiring actors or obtaining testimonials from people who have done exceptionally well with their course. They never tell you the success rate of their students however, knowing that the successful student is rare.

Another popular form of perception manipulation in advertising is attempting to convince you that you are saving money by spending more. They use terms like “package” or “multi-policy discount.” What is done here is the company with package several of their products or services together, and then gives you a marginally discounted rate on the package as a whole. They want you to think you are saving money, but you are actually spending more, and typically on extra stuff you do not particularly need or desire. In fact, if you were to buy the same exact products or services from separate companies, buying what is cheapest, you are more likely to spend less money then you would on a company’s prepackaged deal.

As you can see, perception is a strong and influential part of how we view the world and how we receive information that is being communicated to us. It is influenced not only by our own ideas and beliefs, but can also be influenced by external sources. It is important to be able to overcome these influences and barriers to accurately understand the intended message someone is trying to send, as well as see the truth behind the external manipulation of our perception. One vital resource we have in this struggle is our listening skills. Through the use of effective listening, we can overcome these barriers.

Part 2: Effective Listening

When someone is talking to us, trying to share some kind of information they deem important enough to tell us, it is important that we listen to what they have to say. Our perceptual filters can hinder this, but also contributing to the lack of understanding are things like indifference to what the other person is saying and inattentiveness. Sometimes, in the heat of an argument, we even tune out what the other is saying, and are just waiting for our turn to speak instead of listening to them. Also, people do not always, and in fact rarely, say exactly what they mean. Combine all this with our perceptual filters and we can easily see why miscommunication is an all too common barrier to understanding.

The first key to understanding is effective listening. In an organization, “failure to listen can result in letters having to be retyped, orders returned, appointments rescheduled, timetables revised, and lost productivity and profits” (Helms, M., Haynes, P. 1992). In our personal lives, it can result in many things, such as arguments, being late for appointments, missing out on fun activities, and more. We must be able to effectively listen to the information being presented to us if we have any hope of understanding the intended message.

Effective listening is active listening. Active listening is more then eye contact and paying attention. It is participating in the transfer of information through verbal and nonverbal queues about the information. It is maintaining the proper receptive attitude. It is committing to memory what the speaker has presented. And it is responding with the proper behavior to show that you understood the intended message.

Active listening through the use of verbal and non-verbal queues is important because it does two things. First, it shows the speaker that you are actually listening to them. A nod of the head, an appropriately time smile or other facial expression, and even making sure your body language shows you are listening, such as not crossing your arms or looking away or at your watch. Second, it helps to make sure you understand what the speaker is trying to say. Verbal responses, such as questions or rephrasing what has been said as you understand it shows interest and that you are trying to understand. It also tells the speaker whether the intended message is received. For example, your boss tells you they want you to take care of an important client. By “take care of” the boss could be implying many different things, and it is up to you as the listener to make sure you know what he or she means. The boss could mean make sure they have a fun visit to your organization or make sure they get fed and are set up in a nice hotel. They could also mean to handle all of the client’s business needs they have with your organization, such as any questions they may have or orders they want to make.

A proper receptive attitude is just as important as asking questions and giving nonverbal signs you are listening. You cannot allow emotional states to influence how well you are listening. If you are maintaining eye contact and nodding, but allowing yourself to become angry with the speaker or a bad mood in general effect how much information you receive, you are not effectively listening. If your opinions differ from that of the speaker, you should not allow this to effect how well you listen either. As the listener you must be able to put aside these negative influences on how well you listen, so that you can receive the message, and give the verbal and nonverbal responses necessary to achieve understanding.

Even if you receive the message as it was intended, showed the proper verbal and nonverbal responses, and maintained a receptive attitude, if you fail to commit to memory what the speaker has said you have failed at your part in the transfer of information. Everyone remembers information differently, some use memory tricks, while others just have a good memory. What ever works for you as the listener, you must use to make sure you remember the message a speaker was trying to send. For example, if a neighbor asks you to walk his dog twice a week while he is on a business trip, and all the active and effective listening skills were used to identify what days, what times, where the leash is, and other details that pertain to this, if you agree to walk the dog but you forget to, or forget the time or day, or to give the dog water after the walk, you have failed in your part, and also jeopardized the friendship, or even the dog’s health.

Most messages we transfer to other people have an intended behavioral response we want from a listener. You ask someone what time it is, you intend for them to tell you the time. If you ask your child to clean their room, you intend for them to clean their room. Even if you are just telling a story about something funny that happened earlier in the day, you expect or intend the behavioral response to be the listener’s laughter. As the listener, you should be prepared to show a behavioral response to the information you have received and made sure you understood. For example, if your boss asks you to file some paperwork by a certain time, your behavioral response will be to file the paperwork. If a client mentions they are hungry and like a certain type of food, they are looking for you to take them to a restaurant that serves that kind of food, or at least want you to recommend one and provide directions.

Some of the effective listening skills discussed, we use and do without really thinking about it. The behavioral response is something we do not really have to think about doing, we naturally do it. Even the committing to memory of an intended message is usually something we do naturally, unless it is a lot of information that needs special attention to remember. However, verbal and nonverbal queues and maintaining a receptive attitude are things that require more effort on the listener’s part. It takes time and effort to simply get in the practice of doing them, and even more effort to do them and stay in the practice.

By effectively and actively listening, we do several things. We maintain the open lines of communication between us and a speaker. We show the speaker that we respect what they have to say. We overcome our perceptual filters to make sure we accurately understand what the speaker is intending to send. And we make sure that outside influences have little to no effect on how we perceive the truth behind a manipulative message.

Conclusion

Our perceptual filters that are created by our beliefs, values, cultural backgrounds, gender, and personal opinions, influence how we receive and interpret information. We use these filters to make sense of the informational stimuli we are constantly receiving from the world and the people around us. We witness an event from a perspective completely unique to ourselves, and would tell someone of that event different from the person standing next to us. We perceive what people say to us in a unique and personal way too. Two people receiving the same information interpret that information differently from one another, and have two different responses to that information.

Effective listening helps us overcome our perceptual filters when trying to receive a speaker’s intended message. It helps us understand when someone is trying to use our perceptual filters to manipulate us. By using verbal and nonverbal queues, have a receptive attitude, committing a message to memory, and showing the proper behavioral response, we show a speaker we want to receive an intended message, are prepared to receive it, value it, and will respond appropriately.

Using the knowledge of our own perceptual filters and how to overcome them in everyday life through effective listening will help us in the working world too. In any organization, communication is important. Stepping into a new company or new position within a company prepared with good communication skills that are founded in good listening skills; we are prepared to handle the new jobs ahead of us. Communication skills deeply rooted in good, effective listening skills helps us in life, and prepares us for success in any organization.










References
DeRamus, Betty. (1990, March 29). What We See Is a Reflection of Who We Are. Detroit News,p. B1. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from ProQuest.

Helms, Marilyn M, & Haynes, Paula J. (1992). Are you really listening? The benefit of effective intra-organizational listening. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 7(6), 17. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from ProQuest.

It's perception management!: Brand is a function of the mind. It is perceptions which shape its personality and evolution over time so brand management is, in essence, management of perceptions. (2003, April). Businessline,1. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from ProQuest.

People's perceptual filters shape view of world. (2008, August 28). Peninsula News Review,9. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from ProQuest.

Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2009). Fundamentals of organizational communication: knowledge, sensitivity, skills, values. Illinois: Pearson