Unit 2 Chapter 7 Projects In Professional Communication Listening Unit 2 Chapter 7 Projects In Professional Communication

Listening We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. ~ Epictetus

Listening vs Hearing What’s the difference between listening and hearing? Hearing is passive; it requires only that you receive sound waves and implies no intention. While listening is an intentional act and an active process. Active listening is the process of concentrating on what is heard, attaching meaning, and reacting to it.

Components of the Listening Process This step allows you to offer feedback, advice or a similar reaction. How you evaluate the message determines in large part how you will respond to it. Responding Turning listening into a two way process. At this stage you make sense out of the words for your own understanding. Evaluating Before you can listen, the speaker must have your attention so you are able to hear and receive the message. Judging what the message is about in context. Interpreting Deriving meaning from the words. Sensing Hearing the words. Four Stages of the Listening Process

Appreciative Critical Listening is divided into four types depending on the amount of concentration and effort needed. Types of Listening Deliberative Empathic

Types of Listening Appreciative listening: process of listening for enjoyment that requires very little active involvement or concentration. Examples: watching television or listening to music. The stakes are low. If you miss a joke or space out during a song, the only thing you miss is a moment of amusement. This can also happen during social situations like listening to your parents talk about a shared memory or listening to your friend play guitar. The listening is polite and communicates to others that you consider them to be important.

Types of Listening Critical listening: retaining, recalling, and using information for a purpose. Requires more concentration than appreciative listening. You use this level of listening during lectures and class discussions, when your purpose is to learn and understand so you can demonstrate your understanding on a test. Listening to instructions or directions are also examples of critical listening.

Types of Listening Deliberative listening: analyzing and evaluating information to further communication. This type of listening is an even more active process that requires a high level of involvement and concentration. Your goal is to retain information, but at this level you are also questioning the information and testing what you hear against other information. It’s listening to evaluate what you hear.

Types of Listening Empathic listening: using concentration, retention, judgment, and empathy while listening. This type of listening is the most difficult to master. Using empathy requires the ability to share and understand the speaker’s feelings. Empathic listening requires qualities that don’t always come easily: you must be able to suspend your own judgement and put yourself in the speaker’s shoes to imagine what it would feel like to be experiencing what the speaker is sharing.

Overcoming Barriers to Effective Listening Listening barriers: physical, mental, and cultural forms of interference. Physical interference could be background noise or a mumbling speaker. Mental interference could be lacking basic background knowledge of the topic or having a closed mind. Cultural interference could include an unfamiliar language or traditions. These all reduce the likelihood of a message being understood. Actively working to reduce listening barriers helps understanding. Both speakers and listeners share the responsibility.

Physical Barriers to Listening The most common physical barrier to listening is the inability to hear. For the many people who are deaf or have other hearing impairments, understanding messages is not associated with listening. Sign language, lip-reading, or a combination of both facilitate communication. As in any communication, people who sign or lip-read expect your attention, concentration, and understanding. Be sure you have their attention before speaking. Speak slowly and clearly. Raise your volume without shouting. Maintain eye contact, and use meaningful facial expressions and gestures to help convey your meaning. Don’t cover your mouth, eat, drink, or chew gum while speaking.

Mental Barriers to Listening The most common mental barrier to listening is a lack of concentration. The brain processes words at the rate of more than 500 per minute. Yet most speakers communicate at 125-250 words per minute. In other words, you think faster than a speaker talks. Listening actively will help you stay focused on the speaker. The more you focus, the better you will become at filling that listening spare time with judgement, analysis and understanding.

Mental Barriers to Listening Your state of mind can be another mental barrier to listening. Your attitudes about yourself, other people, ideas, and events influence how well you listen. The tendency to actively plan what you want to say while someone else is speaking is another common barrier to listening. Remind yourself to concentrate, listen and not speak unnecessarily. Another common mental barrier goes up when you engage in selective listening, or blocking out messages you don’t want to hear.

Cultural Barriers to Listening Cultural barriers to listening can include language, vocabulary, accents, and customs. When people from different cultures try to communicate, both parties need to pay special attention. While Australians and Americans both speak English, they may face barriers because the use different vocabulary. Sometime accents make listening difficult, but in increasing multicultural societies, listeners must concentrate and make the effort to understand speakers with a variety of accents. One strategy to find common ground is to listen for overall content and key words.

Listening Strategies Using good listening skills will help you communicate effectively with everyone. Strategies for critical or deliberative listening: Concentrate – look at the speaker and stay focused Practice – listening exercises, such as listening to something while tuning out background noises Prepare – position yourself so you can hear properly Note Key Words – listen for key words like “however,” and “for example” which are usually followed by something important

Listening Strategies, continued Strategies for critical or deliberative listening: Write It Down – studies show that the act of writing down important points helps people remember information, even when they never refer to the notes again. Paraphrase or Summarize – good listeners often find that they can retain a speaker’s information when they paraphrase, or restate, the speaker’s words, or summarize the content (use a few words to communicate a main idea) which can show the speaker you understand, as well as reinforce the message in your own mind.

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