1. Your Dilemma
You’re attending a weekend seminar for a professional certificate. To obtain the certificate, you must pass a test, which involves listening to a presentation and answering questions. Once you pass this test and acquire the certificate, you will receive an immediate pay raise.
The test session is off to a smooth start: the presenter is great, and much of the material is familiar, so you breeze through the first set of questions. As the presenter continues speaking, you find time to text your family for updates on your sister Danielle’s softball game. Her team is playing in a tournament, and if they win, she’ll pitch in the finals that night. As you sit in the auditorium, Danielle’s team is up by one, but she loads the bases with no outs in the last inning. You’re freaking out when suddenly you hear the instructor call your name. Looking up, you see her staring at you. She snaps, “This content is essential for your certification. Please tell me you’re not sitting there texting while you’re supposed to be listening!”
2. The Research
One of the most important ways you can improve your listening is to limit the amount of time you spend multitasking—especially shifting your attention back and forth between different forms of technology, each of which feeds you unrelated streams of information (Ophir et al., 2012). Stanford psychologist Clifford Nass has found that multitaskers are extremely confident in their ability to perform well on the tasks they juggle (Glenn, 2010). Their confidence, however, is misplaced. Multitaskers perform substantially worse on tasks compared with individuals who focus their attention on only one task at a time (Ophir et al., 2012).
Why is limiting multitasking important for improving listening? Because multitasking erodes your capacity for sustaining focused attention (Jackson, 2008). Cognitive scientists discovered that our brains adapt to the tasks we regularly perform, an effect known as brain plasticity (Carr, 2010). In simple terms, we train our brains to be able to do certain things through how we live our daily lives. People who spend too much time shifting attention rapidly between multiple forms of technology train their brains to focus attention only in brief bursts. They lose the ability to focus attention for long periods of time on just one task (Jackson, 2008). Limiting your multitasking and spending at least some time each day focused on just one task (such as reading, listening to music, or engaging in prayer or meditation), with no technological distractions, helps train your brain to sustain attention— and you to listen more effectively.
3. Your Opportunity
Before you act, consider the facts of the situation and think about the multitasking research. Also, reflect on what you’ve learned so far about listening and multitasking listening functions, and feedback.