Is There an Art to Listening?

OXFORD, England, December 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

New research from GN Resound casts doubt on age old stereotype

Who make the better listeners, men or women? Do you listen more than you talk? New research from GN Resound, the digital hearing aid specialist, reveals that 47% of us feel we listen more than we talk, compared with just 15% who profess to being predominantly talkers. Perhaps controversially, a greater percentage of men classify themselves as listeners (54%) than women (43%).

Three or four times per day we reckon we don't hear clearly something said to us. This lack of clarity is a significant cause of rows. 70% of us say misunderstandings arise occasionally due to not hearing something clearly, with one in ten saying this happens frequently.

Over half of the 3,000 people surveyed admit to difficulties talking to an older relative, with the main challenge being that the older relative struggles to hear, making conversation difficult.

"It's not just about the quality of your hearing, or indeed your hearing device," says James Thomas, product manager at GN Resound. "There is an art of listening, and it's something we're not being taught. Confusions caused by an inability to listen well cause conflict at home, in the workplace and in the world of politics. If people placed greater emphasis on really listening well to what others have to say, rather than simply making their own point there would be far less conflict, and much more collaboration."

"As many as ten million people in the UK, one in six of the population, suffer from hearing loss. Action on Hearing Loss reckons that about four million people with hearing loss would benefit from hearing aids. But hearing well is also about listening well too."

GN Resound's Art of Listening Campaign focuses on three key elements:

PACE: most of us talk too quickly. It means we fail to communicate effectively. Try to speak more slowly, and pause more frequently if you want to make your point effectively

INTERRUPTIONS: too many people interrupt the person they're talking too. It leads to annoyance and confusion. Can you really not wait a few more moments?

EXPECTATIONS: often we think we know what the person we're talking to is saying, rather than really listening to what they're saying. This leads to confusion and misunderstandings

For further information please contact:
David Josephs, [phone]
[e-mail]