Two studies compared strategies used to improve listening skills in business communication settings. The first study analyzed the effect of discussion length and incentive level on the ability of 347 business communication students placed in differing discussion and incentive groups to identify main points in 22 short, recorded dialogs. Results indicated that both class discussion and high incentive increased scores on a listening test. The second study analyzed the effect of lecture type or demonstration on the ability of 72 business communication students divided into a control group, a group receiving a 45-minute lecture on listening, and a group receiving the lecture plus a 30-minute videotaped demonstration of listening skills to ask questions, take notes, and summarize material; it also examined the relationship between listener apprehension and the frequency of asking questions. Results revealed that students exposed to a lecture plus a videotape asked more questions than the other students and that the quality of the student summaries was higher and notes were taken more frequently by students exposed to a lecture than by students not exposed to it. There was no significant relationship between listening apprehension questionnaire scores and the number of questions asked. (JL)