Toward Effective Listening Mrs. Dobbins

Understanding the listening process Listening is your most used communication skill. Breakdown of communication within one day Writing consumed 9% Reading consumed 16% Talking consumed 30% Listening consumed 45% Because we spend so much time listening it is important to be effective at it. Listening: a physical and psychological process that involves acquiring, assigning, meaning, and responding to symbolic messages from others.

The importance of listening To acquire oral messages from others School: a major factor in you success in school depends on your listening skills Relationships: good listeners are valued as friends, and sought out as leaders. Social groups: people who listen effectively tend to make better decisions and are more likely to influence the outcome of individual groups. Public dialogue: being a good listener to public speeches. Workplace: vital in your success in a job. Faulty listening causes American businesses 6 billion dollars per year. This in turn causes higher prices for the consumer.

Misconceptions about Listening The four active steps that build upon one another. Acquiring Attending Understanding Responding to messages from others

Misconceptions about listening Acquiring: The act of picking up some type of stimulus through the senses Hearing: physical process of receiving sound. Not everyone hears the same. We all distinguish sounds differently. Loud noises, chronic ear infections, and high fevers can damage hearing.

Misconceptions about Listening Attending: The act of choosing consciously and subconsciously to focus your attention on verbal or non-verbal stimuli. What things affect your choice to listen?????

Misconceptions of Listening Understanding: A complex mental process that involves decoding the symbolic message received from others and then interpreting and assigning a personal meaning to that message. Decoding: assigning meaning to a senders message (verbal or non-verbal) Interpreting: when you personalize the senders message to determine meaning for you. “ the message lies within the receiver.”

Misconceptions of listening Responding: listener’s internal emotional and intellectual reaction to a message. Steps in responding to a message: Respond emotionally to the message Respond intellectually Analyze and evaluate your response You encode choices about what to say or do in response to your understanding

Factors that affect the Listening Process Imagine your friend walks up to you and says “ you will not believe what Tommy did in English class today!” what type of reaction would you have? What factors cause you to listen poorly? Noise Barriers Memory

Noise Internal and external distractions that interfere with listening and concentration. Noise can exist in every type of listening. (hearing, acquiring, attending, and responding) When you are thinking about what you are going to eat for lunch during 5th period is what type of noise? ( internal or external)

barriers Barriers to listening are just like carriers to other aspects, and can prevent or block communication. External barriers are harder to eliminate than noise because they involve more complex or long-term problems. Examples of barriers: Anger Unfamiliar language Hearing impairment Stress Fatigue

Memory Process of retaining or recalling information. Without memory their would be no knowledge or learning. Three types of memory: Immediate: recalling information for a brief period of time Short term: recalling information for carrying out a routine of daily task Long term: recalling information from past experiences

Developing listening skills Listening is listening….right???? You might have be able to recall what your friend said about the movie she saw but were you really listening? How you interact during conversations shows how you listen. Active listening: the listener participates fully in the communication process. Listen attentively Provide feedback Strive to understand and remember messages

Passive Listening The listener does not actively participate in interactions. Passive listeners think they can absorb information even when they do not contribute to the interaction. Also known as “lazy” listening.

Impatient listening Short bursts of active listening are interrupted by noise and other distractions. They intend to pay attention but in the end let their mind wonder. Types of impatient listening: Anticipatory: the listener anticipates what the speaker will say. Defensive: listeners main goal in listening is to argue or disagree. Combative: listeners main goal is to “win” or put down speaker. Distracted: listener pays attention to the first part of the speech and then assumes what the speaker will continue to say, then stops listening and thinks about something else.

Kinds of Listening Depending on your goal and context of communication, you may choose a different kind of listening. Types of listening: Critical Deliberative Empathetic Appreciative

Critical Listening Listening to comprehend ideas and information in order to achieve a specific purpose or goal. Comprehend or understand the senders message Example: when you listen to a lecture in class, listening to announcements during school, or listening to directions to a specific place.

Deliberative Listening Listening to understand, analyze, an evaluate messages, so you can accept or reject a point of view, make a decision, or take action. Also known as “evaluative listening” Example: A friend says “ I need you help!” to a customers request or complaint.

Empathetic Listening Listening to understand, participate in, and enhance a relationship. Used between two people or a small group Example: when a friend tells a story and you completely understand or relate. Thus causing you to have empathy for him/ her.

Appreciative Listening Listening to enjoy, or appreciate a speakers message or a performance on an artistic measure. Mostly used in social situations Example: going to a concert

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