From One Voice

Kim, Seri
Grade 9(5)

Inquiry and Analysis (due: week 4)

Design Problem

describe the problem for a client/target audience

justify why a solution is needed
identify the problem
identify the target audience
explain and justify the need for a solution

Listening is more than what we hear. Everyday, we communicate through language to understand,
educate, response, and to build stronger relationships of empathy with a variety people, objects, and
topics encountered on a daily basis. However, without the skill of Listening, our body would not be able
to respond nor hear to understand and perceive the world through language and emotion. Hence, the
importance of listening is immense, but do we use the skill that we have correctly? The majority of the
people, especially young adults(teenagers) today are most of the time 80% unaware of their surroundings,
and are easily distracted by the other events. For example, the distraction can be digital technology,
relationships with people, and grades or worries upon university/college. These kind of distraction keeps
them away from noticing the genuine skills that they have, which could greatly benefit and help with
most of the problems they encounter throughout their lives. The effective and ineffective listeners can be
differentiated, by their outcome of grades, work, relationship, confidence, and health, as it is said to be the
building blocks of success. According to the chart below that is based on the research of Alder, R.,
Rosenfeld, L., and Proctor, R. in 2001, representing the most engaging type of communication used by
adults in general, and 70% who communicate in these diverse ways use 45% of Listening than any other
type of communication. This not only supports the necessity and importance of listening, but it also
represents the genuine skills we possess that we are frequently unaware of.

Furthermore, not everyone is a good listener, however, there is a huge disparity between the
effective and the ineffective. Young adults who are effective listeners have the key to effective
communication, which not only brings optimism and success upon their academic work, but also creating
and maintaining all positive human relationship, self-esteem/confidence, decent health, along with many
other aspects within their life. They are the individuals that are exceptionally successful in their work,
organised, confident, and have a great number of people/friends that are supportive and caring. This is
because their attentiveness overpowers the amount that they speak. They are the patient individuals who
show great attention through non verbal-communication and avoids personal prejudice, listens to tone,
listens for ideas, are not distracted, and puts the speaker at ease; this creates a strong bond of empathy
between people and work. On the other hand, ineffective listeners do not have a successful outcome on
many aspects within their life, as they miss out on the most important information of the key to success.
Hence, as they lack the ability to listen, communication is easily misunderstood and this leads to
frustration as it breaks down their understanding towards their relationship between individuals and work.
They are not acumen, and they show the opposite behavior of the effective listeners. As a result, young
adults who are most easily distracted by their surroundings, have to first train and develop the basis of this
important skill to achieve a successful outcome on every aspect of their lives.

Listen. Pay attention. Treasure every

moment.

 Oprah Winfrey
("A Quote by Oprah Winfrey." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.)
According to Oprah Winfreys quote, it can be concluded that the results of careful listening which
devotes all ones attention, is the most successful and happiest as it opens to the most important aspects in
life, such as an increasingly amount of opportunities, benefits and new perspectives that make an
individual a well-being. This would lead to a healthier and happier life that one can treasure and heartily
enjoy every moment of.

Moreover, a great number of entrepreneurs and successful leaders acknowledge their success to
effective listening skills. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group that hold more than 200
companies over 30 different countries ("Richard Branson."), is said to frequently state that listening was
one of the main factors behind the success of Virgin. Therefore, developing effective listening skills
results in the building blocks of success. There should be many mistakes to avoid in order to be a good
listener, and firstly, this includes any interruption or finishing sentences when someone is speaking as it
makes them feel irritated and disrespected (Kavetha.). Instead, listening and saying short expressions to
show that you are following their thoughts would provide a stronger connection regarding my opinion or
the right/wrong answer. Secondly, constantly touching or being distracted by any other object or person
shows lack of interest and attention to the speaker, will only create a bad image for that poor listener.
Therefore, anything that could be a distraction should be out of sight or put away to show that you have
full interest to the speaker. Thirdly, the emotion behind the words being spoken should be considered,
rather than critiquing the words/opinion and thoughts of the speaker as it creates empathy. Hence, the
listener should place themselves in the speakers shoes and feel their emotion, with no right or wrong
sides to be taken. Fourthly, the listener should not make the speaker feel bad in any kind of way,
especially if they are very vulnerable or emotional upon an event and all they would need is the listeners
supportive loving care. This puts down the pressure and stress that the speaker is undergoing. Fifthly, not
asking clarifying questions that would further stress the speaker if they are too overwhelmed to speak;
instead asking carefully of their most emotion filled word when they are able to calm and controllable
again, to heal the wound that they have achieved. Other than that, silence should be shared when the
speaker has been overwhelmed by emotion, and most importantly, non-verbal communication of eyecontact, voice tone, facial expressions, and body language should all be used to communicate and show
focus to the speaker. According to researchers, 80-90% of all communication is nonverbal (Kavetha.), and
it can be effectively done by mimicking the speakers behaviours, as it helps feel their emotions as if they

were our own. Lastly, listeners should try not to be distracted with their own problems while listening to
someone, and should not listen with preconceived judgements.

("Listening-Take the Pen." Take the Pen. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.)

Bibliography
"Listening Skills." - The 10 Principles of Listening. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.
"A Quote by Oprah Winfrey." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.
Kavetha. "9 Mistakes That Make You a Bad Listener." Talkdoctorcom. N.p., 27 May 2013. Web. 31 Jan.
2015.

"Why You Are a Bad Listener and How to Fix It." Matt McWilliams. N.p., 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 31 Jan.
2015.
"Listening-Take the Pen." Take the Pen. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.
"Listening Skills." - The 10 Principles of Listening. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
"Richard Branson." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.