• Listening is receiving sounds through ears and identifying the speech sounds. Listening is the ability to pay attention and understand the communicated information and providing appropriate feedback.
• Listening plays an important role in the process of communication and is a vital skill needed in every walk of life.
• Active listening is where full concentration is paid to what the speaker is saying. Here there is a deep engagement with the speaker, and this is expressed through several verbal and non-verbal cues.
• Comprehensive listening, we pay attention to comprehend or understand the message delivered by the speaker.
• Discriminative Listening is the basic form of listening, where much attention is not paid in interpreting the words.
• Critical Listening is where the speaker listens, understands and evaluates the message by analysing it.
• Appreciative listening is listening for pleasure or enjoyment. This is where the listener is active to information or facts which he is interested in.
• Sympathetic listening is listening with sympathy, showing involvement and attempting to show understanding, compassion and support.
• Empathetic listening is where one tries to understand the problem of the other person by placing oneself in the shoes of the other.
• A physical barrier is the environmental condition that acts as a barrier in the process of listening. This includes noise in any form or distance.