Chapter 3: “Becoming a Better Listener”

I. Poor listening skills create problems for groups and individuals, but better listening is a teachable and learnable skill.

A. Why are people poor listeners?1. They have little training in listening.2. It is assumed that they know how to listen by nature.3. They may undervalue listening.4. US society may view listening as passive, not active;

other cultures value listening more highly.B. What do effective listeners do?

1. Seek meaning.2. Consider motivations.3. Evaluate reasoning and evidence.4. Calculate value/risk of recommendations.5. Integrate new ideas into existing knowledge.

C. There is a difference between hearing and listening.1. Hearing is the involuntary, automatic process in which

sound waves stimulate nerve endings in the brain.2. The ladder of listening (see fig. 3.1) gives you a visual

for good listening.a. The discriminative phase (or step up the ladder)

is when you detect the sound of spoken communication.

b. The comprehensive phase is when you voluntarily decide to:

ii. focus.iii. understand.iv. interpret.

c. The empathic phase is when you suspend disbelief and let the speaker be heard.

d. The appreciative phase is when you respond to the beauty in a message.

e. The Critical listening phase is when you analyze and evaluate the content of the message.

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f. The Constructive listening phase is when you add to a message, finding applications and extending the message; listeners create a dialog with the message and speaker (see p. 59).

D. Effective listening benefits listeners and speakers.1. Listeners benefit from good listening skills.

a. Successful transactions can be emotionally and intellectually rewarding.

b. Good listeners can resist persuasive exploiters.c. Good listeners can earn better grades in

classes.d. Good listeners can learn which speaking

techniques work best and which mistakes to avoid.

2. Speakers gain confidence when heard by good listeners who offer feedback.

b. Good listeners show respect by taking notes.c. Good listeners encourage by nodding or eye

contact.

II. Overcoming barriers to effective listening is possible with effort and practice.

A. External sources of interference may arise from several common sources.

1. Environmental problems include noise inside or outside the room.

2. Message problems include poor organization or unfamiliar vocabulary.

3. Presentation problems include speakers who talk too fast, too slow, or have distracting habits.

B. Internal sources of interference may arise from several factors.

1. Listeners may react to words.a. Trigger words can create emotional reactions.b. Chance associations with words can distract.

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2. Personal concerns may cause listeners to be inattentive.

a. Physical problems like hunger or fatigue.b. Emotions or moods like anger or worry.c. Boredom from listening.d. Stress.

3. Strong positive or negative attitudes (biases) toward a speaker or topic can diminish your listening skills.

a. Filtering means you hear what you want to hear, not the entire message.

b. Assimilation means you see positions close to yours as being closer than they actually are.

c. A contrast effect occurs when you see differing positions as more distant than they actually are.

4. Many listening problems are simply the result of bad habits that can be overcome through active listening

a. You may be used to fast, entertaining messages, like television.

b. You may avoid dull or difficult material.c. You may jump to conclusions.

5. Listening apprehension (or receiver apprehension) is the counterpart to communication apprehension.

a. You may fear being judged on your response.b. You may be anxious because the message is

important to you.c. You may be anxious when the message

challenges your ability to understand.

III. Developing critical thinking and listening skills is a vital part of this course.

A. Critical thinking and listening are integrated processes of examining information, ideas, and proposals.

1. Question what you hear.2. Develop your position by examining competing ideas.3. Be receptive to new thoughts and new perspectives.

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4. Evaluate evidence and reasoning.5. Discuss the meaning of events with others.

B. Evaluating evidence and reasoning is accomplished when listeners ask themselves questions.

1. Are ideas supported by sufficient evidence?2. Are the materials/sources:

a. appropriate?b. relevant?c. recent?d. representative?e. reliable?f. credible?

3. Is the difference between facts, inferences, and opinions clear?

4. Is the language concrete and understandable?5. Is the message logical and well reasoned?6. Does the message ignore interpretation of facts and

figures?7. Does the message promise too much?8. Is the message consistent with your past knowledge?9. What other perspectives should be considered?

IV. To offer constructive feedback--evaluate a speech— you need a set of standards.

A. Overall considerations for evaluating a speech.1. Is the speaker committed? Commitment is the feeling

that the speaker cares about the subject.2. Does the speaker adapt to the audience during the

speech? Adaptation is when the speaker weighs techniques and supporting material for its appropriateness for a particular audience.

3. Is the specific purpose of the speech clear? Purpose is what the speaker wishes to accomplish aside from the basic speech requirement of an informative or persuasive piece.

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4. Does the speaker offer listeners a fresh approach? This means innovative topic or a new approach to an overused topic.

5. Is the speech ethical? Does it show respect for the audience?

B. A well-supported, worthwhile speech has substance: strong, reliable evidence.

1. Facts and figures give focus.2. Testimony adds authority.3. Examples clarify ideas.4. Narratives engage listeners.

C. An orderly progression of ideas offers structure to a speech.

1. Introduction. 2. Body organization. 3. Conclusion.4. Transitions do several things:

a. bridge ideas.b. aid understanding.c. signal something different is coming.d. enhance flow.

D. An effective speech is presented well.1. Words must be immediately understood.

a. Use simple, direct sentences.b. Use concrete words.

2. Non-verbal communication must be understood.a. Be sure to be loud enough.b. Use tone of voice to communicate.c. Use natural gestures.

V. Listeners have ethical responsibilities.A. Listeners should be open to ideas.B. Listeners should give ideas fair consideration.C. Listeners should not be open to everything as some ideas are

faulty or risky.D. Listeners need to remember the impact they have on others.

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VI. Summary

VII. TermsA. HearingB. Discriminative phaseC. Comprehensive phaseD. Empathic phaseE. Appreciative phaseF. Critical listeningG. Environmental problemsH. Message problemsI. Presentation problemsJ. Trigger wordsK. FilteringL. AssimilationM. Contrast effectN. Receiver apprehensionO. DemagoguesP. CritiqueQ. CommitmentR. AdaptationS. General purposeT. Informative speechU. Persuasive speechV. Ceremonial speechW. IdentificationX. SubstanceY. Extemporaneous presentation

VIII. Notes

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