 On a sheet of paper (this can be your notes), tell me the difference between listening and hearing. Bell Ringer

“ The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”

Listening Process (Part 1) Ch. 4

Listening vs. Hearing “Lend me your ear.” -Shakespeare

 Passive listeners-  Active listener-

 Passive listeners- let the speaker do all of the work while the listener is just along for the ride  Ex. Putting up with distractions, paying more attention to someone’s appearance than their message, and failing to respond to message  Active listener- plays an active role by guiding the talker toward common interests  Ex. Being engaged in the conversation, giving verbal cues that show you’re paying attention Passive Vs. Active

 Hearing- sound waves that set off vibrations in our ears; automatic reaction of the senses and nervous system  Listening- conscious effort to hear; voluntary act in which we use our higher mental processes. Listening is more than Hearing

Listening Process  How does this really happen? Here's the process:  Hearing - sound enters the eardrums and travels to the brain  Attending - our brain receives the sound and decides what to pay attention to  Understanding - take what is meaningful and apply it to the social context  Remembering - storing the information for use at a later time

Reading Activity  Harry Potter  Twilight Zone  Football

 We only remember about 25% of what we hear  You must train yourself to listen.  Most people speak at words per minute.  Our brains work faster than that which is why we tend to wander off. (continued)

 Appreciative Listening- listening for leisure or enjoyment  Discriminative Listening- when we want to single out one particular sound from a noisy environment (ex: friend’s voice in a crowded room)  Empathic Listening- encourages people to talk freely without fear or embarrassment. (ex: counselors, psychiatrists, and good friends)  Critical Listening- evaluating what you hear and deciding if the message is logical, worthwhile, or has value 4 Ways to Listen

 Emperor’s New Groove 

 Tuning out dull topics  Cure?  Listen for something that you can use; an idea, quote, or story.  Can almost always find something of value  Faking Attention  Cure?  Translate the speaker’s thoughts into your own words  Repeat key points to yourself throughout the conversation Roadblocks to Good Listening

 Yielding to Distractions  Cure?  Giving our attention to a distraction rather than the speaker  Almost any distraction can be blocked out with concentration  Criticizing delivery or physical appearance  Cure?  Don’t use poor physical appearance or poor delivery skills as a reason not to listen  Overlook their imperfections and listen to the message Roadblocks to Good Listening

 Jumping to Conclusions  Cure?  Avoid personal biases  Don’t judge the message just by observations  Overreacting to Emotional Words  Cure?  Avoid strong emotional reactions  Don’t let your emotions act as filters  Interrupting  Cure?  Don’t get caught up in thinking about what you want to say rather than listening  Shows you don’t care about what the other person is saying Roadblocks to Good Listening

Filters that Distort  Education  Biases  Attitude  Age  Experience  Religion  Family  Physical Condition  Morals  Emotions

 Refrain from judging the speaker  Focus attention on the message  Search for areas of agreement  Keep an open mind Avoiding Filters

Listening Process (Pt. 2) Ch. 4

 The Beginning  May be the most interesting but is usually not the most important  Often to get caught up in the entertainment of the speech and to miss the key point  Shortly after the beginning, the main idea will be presented  If you miss the main idea, you don’t know what to listen for Listening to a Speech

 Be a critical listener  Understand the message  Test the strength of the message  Question the support they use to back up their points  What are their examples?  Evaluate for accuracy and fairness The Middle

 Be on guard for emotional appeals and propaganda  Listen for the repeated statement of the main idea, summary of the important support, or “in conclusion”  Try and recognize if the speaker is trying to mislead you  Be aware of “rhetorical devices” or tricks of language The End

 Explore- What does this person want me to believe? Listen to see if you guessed right.  Analyze- Are the reasons, examples, and facts convincing?  Review- mentally run over the points that have already been made  Search- listen between the lines. Are there hidden meanings in the message? E.A.R.S.

 Being introduced to others  Repeat their name two or three times in conversation  Relate their name to something familiar  Develop a determination to remember Listening in the Workplace

 Be “coachable”  2 obstacles that make criticism hard to take:  Threatens to distract us  Don’t dwell on the past  Be proactive and make things better for the future  It hurts  Try not to take it personally  Try to separate your behaviors from your ego Accepting Criticism

 Ask for explanations if you don’t understand  Paraphrase the message in your own words  Summarize the message  Take notes  Always have something to write with  Don’t worry about neatness  Don’t use complete sentences Tips to Remember