Are You Listening

The ILA professional organization is dedicated to learning more about the impact that listening has on all human activity. Members come from professions of education, business, government, medicine, human resources, training and development, media and the arts.

There is a major difference between listening and hearing.

Hearing is the mechanical process of sounds entering your ears. A sound within hearing distance will enter your ear canal and stimulate the eardrum unless something is blocking the sound such as earmuffs or earplugs.

Listening relates to comprehending the meaning of what is heard. Hearing happens on the outside of the brain and listening happens on the inside of the brain. A person can not decide what sound hits their ear canal but yet they can sort out those sounds (inside the brain) and pick and choose which sounds they want to listen to.

Scientific research has been dedicated to trying to understand what people choose to listen to. Findings show we listen to what we want to hear (the enjoyable message) and tune out what we don't want to hear (the unenjoyable message) The next time you are talking to your child and they only get part of the message you now know why.

Take time to day not to just hear what someone is saying but listen to it as well