Question

Q44

Edwin Gilmore is a busy man. No matter how fast he works, it seems he’s always behind. Consequently, when an employee brings Edwin a problem, he is not a good listener. He opens mail, answers the telephone, and constantly glances at his watch while the employee is talking. Because he does not listen well, Edwin keeps being blindsided by new problems that seem to get more and more serious. Questions:

(a) What can Edwin do to become a better listener? [2 Marks]

(b) How might Edwin’s poor listening skills be adding to his growing list of problems? [2 Marks]

DO NOT WRITE THE ANSWERS - USE WORD FORMAT.

NO PLAGIARISM PLEASE.

Answer 1

a) Edwin needs to work on his listening skills. He needs to become an active listener. Following are the steps which he can follow for becoming an active listener:

• Face the speaker and maintain an eye contact with him or her
• Keep an open mind and don’t make perceptions
• Try to analyze what the speaker is trying to say
• Ask questions for clarity, when the speaker has paused or stopped speaking
• Respond fairly to the speaker

b) Edwin’s poor listening skills is projecting him as a bad communicator. If his bad listening skills persist, following can happen:

• People will start resisting approaching him
• His time management skills will get affected
• Employees will not give him constructive feedback
• Employees will stop taking feedback from him