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Listening. By Prof. Patterson. Listening is an important skill. Hearing and listening are different processes Hearing is a physiological process Listening is a mental process. Most people are poor listeners Research shows most people understand only half of what they hear
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Listening By Prof. Patterson
Hearing and listening are different processes • Hearing is a physiological process • Listening is a mental process
Most people are poor listeners • Research shows most people understand only half of what they hear • After 24 hours, most people remember only 10 percent of what they originally heard
Listening is an important job skill • Effective listeners hold higher job positions, promoted more often than poor listeners • Business managers rank listening as the communication skill most crucial to their jobs • Survey of Fortune 500 countries revealed
Listening is an excellent way to improve one’s speaking skills • Speakers get many of their ideas by listening to lectures, TV, radio, etc. • Listening attentively to good speeches is an excellent way to improve your own speaking skills
Four types of listening • Appreciative listening • Empathic listening • Comprehensive listening • Critical listening
Appreciative listening • Listening for pleasure or enjoyment • Examples: listening to music or comedy routines • Empathic listening • Listening to provide emotional support for the speaker • Examples: counselors and friends practice empathic listening when they discuss something with a person in distress
Comprehensive listening • Focuses on understanding the speaker’s message • Examples: listening to classroom lectures; getting directions to a friend’s house • Critical listening • Involves evaluating a message either to accept it or reject it • Example: listening to a sales pitch or a campaign speech are opportunities to listen critically
Comprehensive and critical listening are most important for public speaking
Critical thinking skills central to Comprehensive Listening • Ability to summarize information • Ability to recall facts • Ability to distinguish between main points and minor points
Critical thinking skills important to Critical listening • Separating fact from opinion • Spotting weaknesses in reasoning • Judging the quality of evidence
Four Cause of Poor Listening • Not concentrating • Listening too hard • Jumping to conclusions • Focusing on delivery and personal appearance instead of listening to a speaker’s message
Ways to Improve Listening Skills • First, take listening seriously • Second, become an active listener • Third, resist distractions • Fourth, don’t be diverted by appearance or delivery • Fifth, suspend judgment until hearing a speaker’s full message • Sixth, focus your listening • Seventh, develop strong note-taking skills