It allows us to understand the other person's point of view and to respond with empathy. It helps us to ask questions so that we understand what is being said. It verifies the speakers and wants them to talk more.
Elements of Effective Listening
1. Hearing: To hear is to perform the physiological act of perceiving sounds as they reach our ears. It is essential to be an alert listener to be a good listener.
2. Filtering: The removal of unwanted stimuli is known as filtering. The stimuli may be internal as well as external. Internal stimuli can be the work deadlines, information needs for decision-making, headache, etc. The external stimuli can be spoken words or physical experiences that affect our senses, the things beyond our control, etc. Filtering enables a listener to listen only to important stimuli.
3. Interpreting: To interpret the message means to make understand the sense of the message being sent. It is significant for the listener to understand the sense of the message which is sent by the sender.
4. Evaluating: The listener must assess the message, i.e., he must evaluate what is the essence of the message, what is being said in the message, whether it is partly or fully right or wrong, respectful or disrespectful, intelligent or stupid, logical or illogical, etc.
5. Responding: Having listened to what the speaker has to say, the listener must respond to him to indicate that he has comprehended what was conveyed to him.