The Listenary

Communication is a process, not a momentary accomplishment.

The Communication Process includes four elements, the Sender, the Receiver, the Message, and Feedback. Please notice that by this theory, there is no communication process if there is no feedback.

The Sender Encodes the Message and the Receiver Decodes the Message. Please notice that there is always required encoding and decoding for any communication to happen.

The Sender Encodes the Message primarily into Writing or Speaking. The Receiver Decodes the Message primarily into Reading or Listening. Please notice that we pay much more formal attention in school to developing good skills in Reading, Writing, and Speaking, than we do to developing good Listening skills.

Nearly half of the average adult's waking hours are spent in Listening, while the other skills of Reading, Writing, and Speaking share the remianing half. Therefore, if the executive who makes $100,000 per year has poor listening skills, he may be wasting nearly $50,000 of his company's investment in him each year.

Blessings be on the teachers, and parents, who do informally require and train in good listening skills!