Chapter 4: Are you Listening?
What is listening?
Hearing vs Listening Hearing – Process in which sound waves strike the eardrum and cause vibrations that are then transmitted to the brain Listening- Process which occurs when the brain reconstructs these impulses and gives them meaning
What do we need to know about listening?
Listening is an Active Process Listening occupies more of our communication time than speaking, writing, or reading not a natural process Is a learned skill Requires effort
Four Parts of the Listening Process Attending Understanding Responding = verbally or nonverbally Remembering Serial Communication
We only remember 50% of the information we listen to immediately after we hear it. We only remember 35% after 8 hours. We only remember 25% of this information after 2 ½ months. Residual Messages
What causes poor listening?
General Listening Errors Hearing Problem Lack of effort Message overload Rapid Thought – mental spare time Noise (physical, psychological, physiological) Cultural Influences – Things such as media have programmed us to listen in brief soundbites
Faulty Listening Behaviors Pseudolisteners- Make appropriate gestures but not really listening Selective listeners Only hear what they are interested in Defensive listeners Take innocent comments as personal attacks
Faulty Listening Behaviors Insensitive listeners Don’t look beyond the words Stage Hogs Turn the conversation back to themselves
How can we listen more effectively? Listen mentally Listen physically Know your goal
Listen Mentally Concentrate on the meaning of what is being said rather than the precise words or mechanics (accent, grammar, etc.) Work with the speech-thought differential wpm is the average speech rate wpm is the average thinking rate Use the time to summarize and paraphrase
Listen Physically Face the person Adopt an open posture Maintain comfortable eye contact Lean slightly towards person Listen to only one person at a time
Know Your Goal Informational Understanding and retaining information Critical Analyzing and evaluating content Supportive Helping others
Informational Listening Paraphrase- Put ideas in your own words Look for key ideas Take notes Be opportunistic FIND SOMETHING to learn
Critical Listening Listen BEFORE evaluating Evaluate the speaker’s Credibility (Ethos) Evidence and Reasoning (logos) Emotional Appeals (pathos)
Supportive Listening Also known as Active Listening Feedback is the most important aspect.
Types of Feedback Non-evaluative Questioning/ probing (ask for more questions) Supporting = show the person you care Prompting = use silence or brief statements to draw the person out Paraphrasing Put message into your own words Repeat the message making statement more general of specific
Evaluative – advising/judging Positive = Is it accurate and appropriate? Negative= Is it constructive, wanted? What are your motives? Formative = Is it the best time to give negative feedback?