John and His Poor Communication Skills

1. John and His PoorCommunicationSkills By Richard Crump

2. Whenever I talk to my boss (John), he never seems to be listening. His poor listening skills often discourage me from wanting to discuss issues with him. As a worker this issue makes me feel unvalued as well.

3. Bell and Smith would Recommend: Bell and Smith would Recommend: • - Attentive Listening – “In this form of listening, we consciously try to focus on what the speaker is saying.” (Bell, 149) • It is quite probable that John’s mind is distracted when he listens to me.

4. Bell and Smith would Recommend: • Interactive Listening – “In this form of listening, we are expected to react verbally and nonverbally to what we are hearing.” (149) • Quite often,John does not respond verbally when I speak to him.

5. Bell and Smith would Recommend: • Empathetic Listening – “In empathetic listening, the listener is not only reactive but is also participative.” (149) • John does not try to engage me in conversation when I discuss matters with him.

6. Possible Root Causes for John’s Inattentiveness: • - Ruth Carses in Is anybody listening? suggests “we hear the words that are consistent with what we expect and ignore anything that doesn't fit. This leads to a distorted message.” • - In The Art of Listening Jon Cook says that, “typically, we approach a conversation as if the other person is a blank canvas upon which we can write words that the person will receive and understand exactly as we intend. But are we addressing a blank canvas? Of course not.”

7. What I Learned • This analysis makes me suspect that John’s mind is often preoccupied with other matters – which in turn may be hindering communication between us. • Perhaps if I were to invite John out for a cup of coffee, I could present this analysis to him.