The 21st century brings with it any number of challenges to the world order. Against the overwhelming tide of today's seemingly dysfunctional world, people are embracing new ways to connect through modern technology, through religious organizations, and through renewed attention to personal and professional relationships. Never has it been so apparent that the world needs listeners. Yet listening is all too often seen as a passive, simple act, rather than as the complex and active part of human communication it is.

Bringing together top listening scholars from various scholarly disciplines and applied, real-world perspectives, Listening and Human Communication in the 21st Century offers a state-of-the-art overview of what we know and think about listening behaviour. From historical perspectives to present theory, to teaching and performing listening in the classroom, in health care, and in corporate settings, this book provides a much-needed introduction to the core issues of listening.