To minimize the chance of collision and, therefore, increase the performance, the CSMA
method was developed. The chance of collision can be reduced if a station senses the
medium before trying to use it. Carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) requires that each
station first listen to the medium (or check the state of the medium) before sending. In other
words, CSMA is based on the principle "sense before transmit" or "listen before talk."