In general, the greater the organizational distance between the speaker and the listener, the greater the possibility of communications failure. Words often have different meanings, and some words have high emotional content. The meaning intended by the speaker often varies from the meaning accepted by the listener. People tend to interpret words in terms of their own experience and attitudes, thus affecting the meanings they associate with the words other people use as well as the words they use themselves. Inattention or failure to interpret oral communications accurately may be due to such permanent of temporary conditions as fatigue, emotional upheaval, pain or illness.
Extreme weariness makes concentration difficult.
Similarly, emotional disturbance, whether job-related to acquired off the job, even if temporary, can impair one's ability to focus on words. Illness or discomfort of any kind, from a simple headache to severe pain, can make concentration next to impossible. In the next issue of the Business Section of The Barnstable Patriot techniques of effective listening and guides to better listening will be discussed. The Anatomy of Listening Listening is much more than hearing. Hearing is a physiological function.