Survey results showed that listening skills were consistently ranked as the most important communication
skills for career competence [p. 28] In Academic Preparation for the World of Work the College Board
indicated listening and speaking as the primary form of communication in business and industry, “yet one
in which many students receive little or no instruction” [1984, p. 3].
Individuals from diverse occupations have praised listening. Lee Iacocca, in his autobiography, cannot say
enough about the value of good speaking. However, he also says:
I only wish I could find an institute that teaches people how to listen. After all, a good manager needs to
listen at least as much as he needs to talk. Too many people fail to realize that good communication goes
in both directions. [1984, p. 54]
Tom Peters, the recognized authority on quality service declared in his 1982 book, In Search of
Excellence, that “the excellent companies are not only better on service, quality, reliability, and finding a
niche. They are better listeners” [p. 196]. These companies are strong on service because they pay
attention to their customers; they listen. In his 1988 book Thriving on Chaos Peters devotes three major
sections of the book to listening: Customer Responsiveness, “becoming obsessed with listening;”
Empowering People, “listen, celebrate, recognize;” and Leadership, “pay attention! [more listening].”
Listening is one important ingredient to success in personal and professional life. Those who master the
art of listening will at the very least be regarded positively.
Merrill and Borisoff [1987] have written on the importance of listening in the legal profession. Davis
[1984] has written an excellent book, Listening and Responding, about listening in the helping
professions, and Arnold, in Crisis Communication, stresses that listening is vital to crisis intervention
[1980, p. 56]. In the book Communicating With Medical Patients, Weston and Lipkin state that “Skill in
communicating with patients is the single most important skill the student physician learns” [1989, p.
54]. Judging from the most important activities involved, such as taking a history and interviewing,
listening would be the most important communication skill. Similar sources could be cited for each of the
major professions. Clearly, the ability to listen effectively is a skill essential for professional success.
Not only is listening a valuable skill, it is also conducive to good health. Studies have shown that when we
talk our blood pressure goes up; when we listen it goes down [Lynch, 1985, p. 160]. Sometimes we talk to
control people and/or situations. Sometimes we talk so we will not have to listen to ourselves. Regardless,
when we talk to another person our whole system becomes more excited. When we listen we are more
relaxed. It would seem best, then, to balance our listening and talking.
From this it would follow that it is vital for hospital staff to listen to individual patients who are ill.
Additionally, Wahlers [1989] in a presentation on listening to the dying [as well as others in institutional
situations] has stressed the importance of good listening skills for hospice volunteers and medical
professionals working with the terminally ill.
As essential as our physical health is to each of us it is equally important to recognize how crucial good
communication is to the health of our interpersonal relationships. Maintaining good relationships leads to
a healthier and happier life. As Stewart says “The quality of your life is directly linked to the quality of
your communication” [1986, p. 7]. In personal life, as well as in the business and professional world we
can only benefit from the constructive role of effective listening.
Time Spe nt Liste ni ng
Among the basic skills we need for success in life, listening is primary. Developmentally, we listen before
we learn to speak, read, or write. Brown, one of the pioneers of listening research has noted that “Of
foremost importance is the role of listening in language acquisition, [itself] the basis of all subsequent
communication, the foundation of all life–long reading, writing, speaking and listening activities” [1987,
p. 5]. Heidegger, considered one of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers, recognized the primacy of
listening in creating meaning and in developing our relationships with one another [1962, p. 204].
Listening establishes us in our life situation and enables us to maintain meaningful relations with family,
friends, and professional associates.
Studies, beginning with Rankin’s famous work [1928] reporting the amount of time adults spent in
various forms of communication, have indicated that of the four basic communication skills [reading,
writing, speaking, listening] we use the skill of listening most. From 42 to 60% [or more] of our
communication time is spent listening, depending on whether we are students, managerial trainees,
doctors, counselors, lawyers, or nurses. Cotton [1986] found that attorneys spent more time listening than
any of the other skills, and that listening was especially important in legal interviewing and counseling,
and to a lesser degree in oral argument. A 1980 study found that college students spend 52.5% of their
time listening [Barker, Edwards, Gaines, Gladney, & Holley]. Studies of dieticians indicated they spent