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Chapter 7Listening

Inter-Act, 13th Edition

Chapter ObjectivesDiscuss the three challenges that make it

difficult for us to effectively listenList and describe the five steps in the active

listening processDiscuss the guidelines and skills that can

help you improve your ability to listen

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Discussion Question:Based on your work and life experience, what

are some of the reasons why you and others have listened poorly?

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Listening

Listening makes up 42-60% of our communication.

WritingSpeaking Reading

Class ActivityA common complaint from women is that men

don’t listen well…

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Challenges to effective listening

Personal and cultural styles of listeningListening ApprehensionDual processes in listening

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Personal & Cultural Styles of ListeningContent-oriented: prefer to focus on facts and

evidence People-oriented: prefer to focus on conversational partners

and their feelingsAction-oriented: prefer to focus on point

speaker is trying to make Time-oriented: prefer brief and swift

conversations

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Listening Apprehension

Fear of misinterpretation

Fear of the psychological affect of the message

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Dual Processes in Listening Passive listening: effortless, thoughtless, and habitual

process

Active listening: skillful, intentional, deliberate, and conscious process

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The Active Listening Process

AttendingUnderstandingRememberingCritically EvaluatingResponding

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The process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages

AttendingThe process of willfully striving to perceive selected sounds that are being heardGet physically and mentally ready to listen.Make the shift from speaker to listener a

complete one.Resist tuning out.Avoid interrupting.

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UnderstandingProcess of accurately decoding a message so that you share its meaning with the speakerIdentify the speaker’s purpose and key points.Observe nonverbal cues.Ask clarifying questions.Paraphrase what you heard.

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Paraphrase the following statements to reflect both the thoughts and feelings of the person speaking:

1. “I really like communication, but what could I do with a major in this field?”

2. “I don’t know if Pat and I are getting too serious too fast.”

3. “You can borrow my car, if you really need to, but please be careful with it. I can’t afford any repairs and if you have an accident, I won’t be able to drive to D.C. this weekend.”

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Remembering

Reasons we fail to remember

Using repetition to remember

We filter out messagesWe listen anxiously or

passivelyWe remember “easy” or

“desirable” messages We forget the middle

Primacy effectRecency effect

Repeat two, three, four times

Create mnemonicsTake notes

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Process of moving information from short-term memory to long-term memory

Mnemonics

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Any artificial technique used as a memory aid

For example: take the first letter of a list you are trying to remember and create a word

HOMES (the five Great Lakes) Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior

Note Taking

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Take notes when you are listening to complex information. Brief outline:Overall ideaMain pointsKey developmental material

Critically Evaluating InformationSeparate facts from inferences

Fact – a verifiable statementInference – a conclusion drawn from facts

Probe for information

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RespondingProcess of providing feedback to your partner’s message

Back-channel cues: verbal and nonverbal signals demonstrating listener response to the speaker

Reply when message is completeRespond to the previous message before

changing the subject

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Class Activity

Scenarios?Form groups of 3

ListenerStory TellerObserver

Takes notes on verbal/nonverbal messages, examples of paraphrasing/questioning

What factors led to listening difficulties? What behaviors demonstrated effective listening?

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Digital Communication LiteracyExtra effort is required to understand digital

messages.Critically evaluate social media messages to

separate facts from inferences.Recognize underlying motives, values,

ideologies.Digital messages should not completely

replace face-to-face communication.

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HomeworkCreate a communication improvement plan

for developing/improving on a particular listening skill (questioning or paraphrasing) or an aspect of the listening process (attending, understanding, remembering, critically evaluating, and responding).

Be sure to also incorporate your class activity to illustrate your current assessment of your listening skills.

Check your assignment rubric and past assignment evaluations for additional support.

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