First Week AssignmentListening SkillsOften when a misunderstanding occurs at work, it is attributed to a lack of communication, which in most cases implies that whoever conveyed the message did not do a job effective. But what about the other party, the listener? Let me give you an example. Mark, a senior-level manager in a high-tech company, appeared to possess all the skills one might expect from someone who had reached his management level. When someone spoke to Mark, he generally gave the impression that he actually cared what was said. He looked the person straight in the eyes, nodded his head and occasionally said: yes, uh-hu. There was just one little problem: Joe wasn't really listening. The contrast between hearing and truly listening can be as different as night and day. And in a business environment, not listening effectively to customers, employees and colleagues can mean the difference between success and failure. One of the best ways to start improving your listening skills is to better understand some of the most common behaviors you and others demonstrate when you don't listen effectively. I did some research on the Internet and here are some basic rules and instructions on how to improve your listening skills. Evidence All your attention is paid to planning and preparing your next comment. You seem interested, but your mind is racing because you're thinking about what to say next. Some people try out entire chains of responses: I'll say, then he'll say, and so on. Judging Labeling people negatively can be extremely limiting. If you prejudge someone as incompetent or uninformed, you don't pay much attention to what that person says. A fundamental rule... in the center of the card... problem; how close people are to each other when speaking: all these and many more are rules of politeness that differ from culture to culture. And this also applies to the expression of feelings and emotions. Different cultures regulate the manifestation of emotions differently. Some cultures become very emotional when discussing an issue. They scream, cry, openly show their anger, fear, frustration and other feelings. Other cultures try to keep their emotions hidden, exhibiting or sharing only the "rational" or factual aspects of the situation. All these differences tend to lead to communication problems. If the people involved are not aware of the potential for such problems, they are even more likely to become victims of them, although it takes more than simple awareness to overcome these problems and communicate effectively across cultures..