Maybe you grew up watching and reading about Thomas the Train and his friends; maybe you’re a parent enjoying the gang’s antics with your preschooler right now. If so, then you know that Thomas and company often have a lot of trouble listening. Thomas gets overexcited about his assignments and ignores essential instructions in his attempts to prove himself independent and “really useful.” Gordon and Spencer tend to be overconfident and believe that giving orders makes them seem important, so they devalue the voices of their friends. And Toby is sometimes intimidated by the others (particularly Belle) and shrinks away quietly, before they’re even done talking.

Much like these fictional trains, we all fail to listen effectively at times—despite the established benefits of listening well. We may find ourselves unable to listen to someone or something that we find boring. We may have trouble focusing when we have a lot on our mind, are in a rush, or are coming down with a cold. We may want to be supportive, but we feel we have heard the same complaint a hundred times. In this section, we discuss listening barriers, factors that interfere with our ability to comprehend information and respond appropriately. We also offer advice for overcoming these barriers (Nichols, Brown, & Keller, 2006).