This is irritating and rude. I spill my guts to my mother and after I ramble on for 10 minutes she asks me a question completly different from what I was even talking about.This happens every time we talk.

People listen to you so why not listen to them.

This has punishment that fits the crime. A bad listener soon gets no one listening to him. However I think this "bad listener" thing is selective - depending on whether the topic is interesting to him. So a bad listener could just be bad actor - you can tell if he's not interested. And getting accurate feedback is a good thing.

Not only rude, but VERY irritating...

Ok, that is rude, inconsiderate, and very disrespectful.

If I'm talking I do want someone to listen to what I'm saying and not be distracted by something else.

I tell you what if your a bad listener good luck on finding a girl! Thats what a girl wants someone that they can talk to. and a guy that actually listens. The fact of the matter is it's rude and if it's something you struggle with its important that you work on it because it's only going to be a matter of time before no one will want to talk to you. One thing personally that I struggle with is when I meet someone for the first time and introduce myself and then get there name. See I'm so nervous about introducing myself when they tell me there name it goes in one ear and out the other. It's something that I'm working on and getting better at.

everyone wants to feel that they are being heard. It is annoying when someone is trying to talk to another person and it is obvious that they are not paying attention. LIke they are going yeah, yeah, or they are easily distracted by other things. or they only want to be the one talking.it is like saying you are not important enough to listen too It is not the worst habit to me.ON the other hand sometimes it is hard when the person talking goes on and on and never seems to have an end to what they are saying.or they say the same things over and over.or they insist on being the center of attenton and demands that people listen to them every minute of the day.so as a whole I give being a bad listener a 2.5.

like the person who wont let you get a word in edgewise and when you finally do they'll interrupt half way through and if you ask what you just said they couldnt tell you cuz all they were thinking about is what they wanted to say next

What can be worse then listening to someone for about an hour until your ears are ready to fall off, and then as soon as you want to talk, they lose interest in the conversation, or something you said reminds them of something, and they take over the conversation all over again. More than iritating.

It always irritates me when I start talking to someone and halfway through what I'm saying they give me a dumbfounded look and ask What did you say?!

The point of communication is to express an idea and recieve another persons view on it.If you don't listen,you're missing out on the most important half of the conversation.You already know what you think,but when you listen to other people is when you learn something.

I've ended friendships over this one. Listening is a vital skill.

yea, my dad does this. i hate it. so qhy dont you listen? fuc*ers.

Very, very annoying. My Aunt has this problem and it annoys my every time I try to talk to her on the phone. I'll be telling her something important on the phone, and every other minute, she's talking to somebody else while she's on the phone with me.... "Matt, where are your shoes...." BLAH BLAH BLAH. I finally just give up and don't tell her anything unless I'm with her in person.

It's just plain selfish.

My friends do this all the time and it drives me absolutely insane. It's nearly impossible to have a discussion about anything when we have a party because everyone talks at once and no one is heard. AryanDan is absolutely right; discussion/debate simply becomes an exercise in futility when everyone refuses to listen to anyone else. I don't know what else to say except that being a bad listener and/or cutting people off in mid-sentence is easily the most irritating habit I can think of simply because I encounter it so frequently.

Bad listeners suck.

Well, I have a very short attention span if someone just keeps going on about the same thing. I don't know if it's me with the bad habit, or the one that won't shuttup. Either way, if someone asks you a question, they usually expect an answer, and if you don't give it to them, then you're the one who looks bad.

Listening to an other person's ideas is a skill that requires effort to master. Unfortunately it's an art that is too often ignored. Some people will hear only what they want to hear, and no matter what has been said, it will fall on deaf ears. When this occurs, debate, conversation, and dialogue is reduced to a meaningless endeavor. The person who does not listen when they are being spoken to are often under the mistaken impression that they already know what the other is saying. They assume they understand the gist of the conversation, and consequently, they will project their own meaning onto the other, and the real idea is trampled on by a type of arrogant ignorance. I personally have been victim of people who refuse to listen because of long held stereotypes and presumptions concerning the nature of the topics being discussed. Even the name I use, AryanDan, causes people to close up and shut down, thereby making any useful exchange of ideas impossible. The best way to challenge a point of view you disagree with is to carefully listen to the arguments being made and directly address all points of contention. This will show that one understands the issues and can tackle the subject at hand in order that the debate may proceed to the next level. To do otherwise will only serve to prove that nobody has really even hear another.

being a bad listener isnt a bad habit. that person is stuck w/ it. they dont CHOSE not to listen so therefore, do not say that it is terrible...think in that persons shoes...and besides...smoking is worse so this should be higher on the list.

Sorry what was the question again?

Being a bad listener is one of the most disrespectful things. If you don't listen and have interest in what a friend or even another person is saying, then how much respect could you really have for him/her??? I know, some people can just yak and yak on and on for ever about the same topics, but at least show some deference to them. The free exchange of ideas through communication is one of the greatest rights we Americans have been granted. We should listen to each others ideas so we could learn and grow more as citizens.