One reason that professionals value listening skills so much is that good listeners save time by acting quickly and accurately on information presented to them. You comprehend more when you listen well (Rubin, Hafer, & Arata, 2000), so if you actively listen to your instructor’s remarks about an upcoming exam, you can save time by studying more effectively.

Businesses lose millions of dollars each year because of listening mistakes alone (Rappaport, 2010). Repeated or duplicated tasks, missed opportunities, lost clients, botched orders, misunderstood instructions, and forgotten appointments can cost companies money—as can failing to listen to customers. A few years ago, the makers of Tropicana orange juice changed its product packaging, and loyal customers deluged the company with irate letters and e-mails. Company officials quickly responded and reverted to the recognizable label (an orange with a straw protruding from it), but they could have avoided the costly fiasco if they had listened to their customers in the first place (Wiesenfeld, Bush, & Sikdar, 2010).