THE ART OF LISTENING

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LISTENER?

“There is only one rule for being a good talker – learn to listen.” –Christopher Morley

HEARING VS. LISTENING

Hearing: being able to detect sounds

- ex. You hear a dog bark

Listening: getting meaning from the sounds that are heard

- ex. You are getting meaning out of the sounds, or words,

that I am using

A GOOD LISTENER

Is attentive and receptive

Actively seeks out information

Evaluates what they hear

Responds to it

Good listening requires concentration and effort

FACTORS THAT AFFECT L ISTENING

1. Physical & Mental State: your listening skills are affected when you are tired or hungry or are thinking about something else.

2. The Speaker: a poor or boring speaker can affect how well you listen. If someone speaks in a monotone and drones on using technical jargon then you will most likely not be as good of a lister as you would if the speaker was dynamic and exciting.

FACTO RS THAT AFFECT L IS TENIN G CO NT.

3. Personal Prejudices: your listening may be affected when someone is speaking about something that you already have fixed ideas about.

4. The Environment: the environment that you are in can also affect your listening, if it is too hot or cold, too loud, if the light is very dim, or if you are crammed in a very small uncomfortable room.

CRITICAL LISTENINGN O T O N L Y C O M P R E H E N D I N G W H A T S B E I N G S A I D B U T A L S O

T E S T I N G T H E S T R E N G T H O F T H E I D E A S .

1. Identify the Speaker’s goal: the reason why the speaker is giving a speech. As a critical listener you are able to identify the goal and decide if they achieved that goal.

2. Main ideas: being able to identify the speaker’s most important points

3. Supporting details: these are statistics, facts, examples, reasons, ect that the speaker uses to back up their main ideas

4. Context clues: providing meaning clues for words or technical terms

-This is important with jargon and slang

PEER EVALUATIONS