![]() The speaker may form a negative impression of you that can’t just be erased by you noting that you didn’t “mean to interrupt.” Interruptions can also be used as an attempt to dominate a conversation. So if you interrupt unintentionally, but because you were only half-listening, then the interruption is still evidence of bad listening. As we’ve already learned, intended meaning is not as important as the meaning that is generated in the interaction itself. Unintentional interruptions can still be considered bad listening if they result from mindless communication. ![]() ![]() All these interruptions are not typically thought of as evidence of bad listening unless they become distracting for the speaker or are unnecessary. We may also interrupt out of necessity if we’re engaged in a task with the other person and need to offer directions (e.g., “Turn left here.”), instructions (e.g., “Will you whisk the eggs?”), or warnings (e.g., “Look out behind you!”). Back-channel cues like “uh-huh,” as we learned earlier, also overlap with a speaker’s message. Sometimes interruptions are more like overlapping statements that show support (e.g., “I think so too.”) or excitement about the conversation (e.g., “That’s so cool!”). One of the most frequent glitches in the turn-taking process is interruption, but not all interruptions are considered “bad listening.” An interruption could be unintentional if we misread cues and think a person is done speaking only to have him or her start up again at the same time we do. In this sense, conversational turn taking has been likened to a dance where communicators try to avoid stepping on each other’s toes. These bad listening practices include interrupting, eavesdropping, aggressive listening, narcissistic listening, defensive listening, selective listening, insensitive listening, and pseudo-listening.Ĭonversations unfold as a series of turns, and turn taking is negotiated through a complex set of verbal and nonverbal signals that are consciously and subconsciously received. Other “bad listening” practices may be habitual, but they are easier to address with some concerted effort. Physical barriers, cognitive limitations, and perceptual biases exist within all of us, and it is more realistic to believe that we can become more conscious of and lessen them than it is to believe that we can eliminate them altogether. The previously discussed barriers to effective listening may be difficult to overcome because they are at least partially beyond our control.
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