Discuss the importance of effective listening in business and explain how a manager can improve listening skills.

1. 1 · Define and contrast. Hearing is physical; listening is the active process of receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating and responding.
2. 2 · Show the process. [Flow: receiving → understanding → remembering → evaluating → responding]
3. 3 · Why listening matters.
   • Fewer mistakes in instructions
   • Better customer service
   • Staff feel valued; morale rises
   • Better decisions from fuller information
   • Conflicts settled early
4. 4 · Types of listening. Informational, critical, empathic and appreciative, each with a workplace example.
5. 5 · Barriers. Distractions, prejudging, preparing a reply, emotions, pseudo-listening, interrupting.
6. 6 · How to improve.
   • Stop talking; remove distractions
   • Eye contact and nods
   • Do not interrupt
   • Take notes; ask questions
   • Paraphrase to check
   • Delay judgement; show empathy
7. 7 · Sri Lankan example. Call-centre staff paraphrase and confirm a customer's complaint before acting.
8. 8 · Close. Listening is the half of communication most people never train for, yet managers use it most.

Scoring tip: Start with the hearing vs listening contrast; it shows the examiner you understand the topic from the first line.