For this paper I would like to discuss the topic of, "Why we don't listen better." I will talk about my own experience with this topic. I am also guilty of not listening when I should have listened better. It happened on one of my dyadic encounter with my partner for my project. The book lists ten reasons why one does not pay attention when somebody is speaking and I can relate to five of the reasons that are mentioned in the book. One of reason is Message Overload. My partner, when he started to talk, he has so much knowledge of what he is saying, that he could not stop. After some time I stopped paying attention. Then came Preoccupation, when he kept going on and on, my mind started to wander. I started to think about my upcoming mid-term exams and how I have not started studying the material yet. I also thought that I could have been studying instead of sitting there and listening to this guy ramble on about things. After my thoughts had wandered about, I honestly tried putting in some Effort on listening to my partner.
             Listening to someone is a physically draining process, that is what the book says. Even though, I was not sweating or exhausted, I was putting in considerable amount of effort into listening to this person because my grade on this project depends on how well I listen and observe my partner's ability to communicate. Another reason why I could not listen as better as I could have was because of some External Noise. I was hungry and the smell of different foods from the cafeteria had the juices in my stomach churning. My taste buds were begging me to excuse myself from the conversation to go have some of that sweet, salty fries. That was really hindering my ability to listen. The final and last reason for me to not listen was because of the Lack of Training. I had no knowledge on how to be a good listener before reading this book, Looking Out Looking In. But after reading this book, I was able
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