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Effective Listening Strategies

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Effective Listening Strategies Paper
Melinda Schimmel
BSHS/385
1/26/2015
Barbara Hughson

Effective Listening Strategies In the following paper, it is my intention to establish with the reader a link between effective listening skills and the importance they have when establishing relationships. These relationships could be with family, co-workers and most importantly, the clients that we do or will come in to contact with.
(Article I) Effective Interpersonal Listening and Personal Selling is the first article reviewed. This particular article is geared toward listening strategies in the sales world. However, the key points on effective listening are all the same when it comes to our clientele and showing them that we are actively listening to what they are telling us. Even sales people need to actively listen to their customers to truly know what it is they need and want. Without actively listening, the clients will end up unhappy and the salesman will end up with no sale.
Many people mix up the act of hearing with the act of listening, in reality, they are two different concepts. “Hearing is defined as the special sense by which noise and tones are received as stimulus" (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 1991, p. 559). Hearing is just one step in how we actually listen to people. While listening is the act of not just hearing what is being said, but also responding to the stimuli being heard. We can do this not only verbally, but non-verbally as well. We can show active and effective listening skills by our body language, facial expressions and gestures.
Clients know that we are paying attention to them by our non-verbal communication ad well as our verbal responses. Although this article was written to enhance the listening skills of salespeople in the sales world, the examples of displayed can be used in any type of business or profession.

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