1. Listening and Feedback

2. Listening n What is the difference between listening and hearing? n 3 sets of skills involved in listening: –cognitive –motivational –social

3. Why is Listening Important? n Amount of time devoted to it: –80% of each day engaged communicating –50% of our communication time in a listening role –for students, time spent listening in class is 90% n A critical factor in the accomplishment of personal and professional goals.

4. Importance of Listening, cont. n In structured and public contexts, effective listening is essential: –Effective listeners hold higher positions and are promoted more often. –Business managers rank listening as the communication skill most crucial to their jobs. –Students with the highest grades are usually those with the strongest listening skills.

5. Reasons for poor listening: n physical environment n message n source n listener –unintentional barriers (fatigue, stress, lack of time) –intentional barriers (tuning out, wanting to be entertained, avoiding the difficult, criticizing the superficial, letting emotions take over)

6. 7 types of NONLISTENING: n Pseudolistening n Stage hogging n Selective listening n Insulated listening n Defensive listening n Ambushing n Insensitive Listening

7. To improve listening skills: n Take it seriously (practice and increase self- discipline) n Control or eliminate distractions n Dont be diverted by appearance and delivery n Suspend judgment until hearing the full message n Focus your listening on the speakers main points & the quality of a speakers evidence

8. Feedback n Praise and criticism are provided: –during the speech (nonverbally) –after the speech (applause, explicit discussion, and written comments by the instructor and peers) n Criticizing the speech is not criticizing the person. n You are responsible and accountable for the praise and criticism you provide.

9. Guidelines for Providing Feedback n Praise first, provide suggested improvements, praise last. n When correcting, think in terms of options & solutions. n Limit change feedback to 1 or 2 specific points the speaker can focus on. n Be specific, descriptive and avoid generalities.