Not concentrating is a cause of poor listening. The brain is incredibly efficient. Although we talk at a rate of 120 to 150 words a minute, the brain can process 400 to 800 words a minute. This would seem to make listening very easy, but actu- ally it has the opposite effect. Because we can take in a speaker's words and still have. plenty of spare"brain time we are tempted to interrupt our listening by thinking about other things, And thinking about other things is just what we do.