Communication is the process of exchanging or expressing information between two or more people. Information can be conveyed using words, sounds, signs or behaviors to make it more effective for the recipient. One of the most common ways of sending information is through conversation, speech or announcement, or verbal communication. Through this act, in order for the information to be effectively perceived by the public, the latter must have good listening skills. Listening is different from hearing because listening involves attention on a sound or in the case of communication on information sent by the speaker verbally. In contrast, hearing is the ability to perceive sound involuntarily and is done unconsciously by the hearing organ or human ear. Humans are lucky enough to have two ears but only one mouth. This explains why listening is twice as difficult as speaking. Scholars in the field of communication have identified many types of human listening styles. This essay will discuss listening styles and how those styles contribute to effective communication strategies and planning when humans convey information verbally. The styles that will be discussed are: emphatic, objective, non-judgmental, critical, superficial, deep, active and passive listening. Emphatic listening is also known as reflective listening. It is the act of listening with the intention of understanding what the speaker feels, understanding the content of the information conveyed by the speaker and also the speaker's intention. The listener will need to approach the speaker by showing empathy towards him or her by asking sensitively to encourage self-disclosure on the part of the speaker. The effective way to accomplish this type of listening style is to r...... middle of the paper ...... and not actually listen to what is being said to avoid further conflict. From the elaboration of the above styles, non-judgmental and critical listening tends to contribute more to effective communication strategies and planning. It contributes to effective communication by ensuring that the listener listens to the speaker with an open mind before judging. What matters is the message the speaker wants to convey, not the physical self who conveyed the message. After getting the full message and taking note of the key points of the message by listening critically, the listener can have an opinion about the situation. This will make the communication process more effective. In short, whatever style you choose for effective communication, you need to listen with content. This will allow you to fully understand the message and take the appropriate action based on the situation.