Active Listening

Active Listening

A conscious and engaged communication technique where the listener fully focuses on, understands, responds to, and remembers the speaker's message, including their tone and body language.

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

A check to ensure engagement and understanding by repeating what was heard in your own words to validate the information,.

Open-ended Questions

Questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no,” requiring the speaker to expand, explain, and provide more information,.

Technical Communication

A complex and nuanced form of communication in the IT profession involving technical terms (jargon) that must be interpreted for stakeholders to understand.

Linguistic Barriers

Obstacles to communication caused by differences in languages, accents, unclear speech, or the use of slang and jargons.

Psychological Barriers

Communication hurdles related to the mental state of the sender or receiver, such as stress, trauma, or mental health struggles,.

Emotional Barriers

Temporary or chronic emotional states, like fear or mistrust, that create “emotional noise” and distort how a message is interpreted.

Physical Barriers

Environmental factors such as walls, loud noises, or power failures that inhibit the smooth flow of communication,.

Cultural Barriers

Misunderstandings arising from differences in values, beliefs, customs, and social norms between people of different backgrounds.

Organizational Structure Barriers

Obstacles caused by a company’s hierarchy or strict reporting rules that prevent information from flowing between teams,.

Attitude Barriers

Personal character traits or settled behaviors that act as a fixed way of behaving toward others and prevent effective interaction.

Physiological Barriers

Obstacles related to a person’s biological or bodily conditions, such as being deaf, blind, or inarticulate,.

Technological Barriers

Interference in information exchange caused by limitations or failures in technology, such as unreliable internet or outdated hardware.

Socio-Religious Barriers

Invisible barriers where a person’s religious beliefs or social background influence how they react with others,.

Effective Negotiation

A skill that contributes to business success, builds better relationships, and helps determine the scope and limitations of a project to avoid future conflict.

Effective Consulting

The practice of using active listening to diagnose and solve a client’s problems and provide recommendations based on that diagnosis,

**Undivided Attention**

What element of **active listening** is being practiced when an IT professional **puts away their phone** and **maintains eye contact** while a stakeholder describes a system bug?

**Paraphrasing and Summarizing**

An analyst says, "**So, if I understand correctly, the backup fails every midnight.**" Which technique are they using to **validate their understanding**?

**Open-ended Questions**

Instead of asking a "yes" or "no" question, a developer asks, "**How does the application behave during peak hours?**" to encourage the speaker to **divulge more information**. What type of questions are these?

**Linguistic Barrier**

A programmer uses **heavy technical jargon** and **slang** that a non-technical manager cannot follow. What type of communication barrier is occurring?

**Psychological Barrier**

A team member is unable to effectively process a briefing because their **mind is preoccupied with personal stress or trauma**. What category of barrier does this fall under?

**Physical Barrier**

A **sudden power shutdown** or **loud environmental noise** prevents a team from hearing a speaker's presentation. What type of barrier is this?

**Cultural Barrier**

A misunderstanding occurs because one team member uses **specific honorifics** (like "Po and opo") while another from a different background is unfamiliar with these **social norms**. What barrier is this?

**Organizational Structure Barrier**

An employee has a solution for another department but cannot share it because of **strict reporting rules and a rigid company hierarchy**. What barrier is this?

**Technological Barrier**

A critical project file cannot be opened by a client due to **incompatible software systems** or **unreliable internet access**. What type of barrier is this?

**Effective Negotiation**

A project lead sits down with a client to **determine the scope and limitations** of a project to **avoid future problems and conflicts**. What skill are they applying?

**Effective Consulting**

A specialist performs a **diagnosis** of a client's technical problem and provides **specific recommendations** based on that analysis. What practice does this describe?

**Physiological Barrier**

Communication is disrupted during a meeting because a participant is **deaf or inarticulate**, representing a **biological or bodily condition**. What specific barrier is this?

**Emotional Barrier**

A message is misinterpreted because the receiver is in a state of **extreme mistrust**, which creates **"emotional noise"** that distorts the truth. What barrier is this?

**Socio-Religious Barrier**

An invisible barrier arises when a person is **close-minded** during a discussion because the topic conflicts with their **religious beliefs**. What is this called?

**Attitude Barrier**

A worker consistently displays a **fixed way of behaving toward others** that is not just a temporary mood but a **settled character trait** preventing effective interaction. What barrier is this?

**Technical Communication**

An IT professional must **convert jargon** into something **easy to understand** for a group of stakeholders. What complex and nuanced form of communication are they practicing