The mysteries of communication: What does it take to really listen?

When we think about communication skills, we most frequently focus on expressive skills—what does one say? How does one say it? However, in reality, communication is a two-part process with an expression component and a reception component. The unheard and unseen aspects of both parts are the assumptions that are made both by the communicator and the recipient. These assumptions can both facilitate or obstruct the clarity of the message. In this blog, we focus on the reception component of communication—listening—and how our assumptions can affect our interpretation of what we hear.