Enhancing Listening Skills for Effective Communication

1. Listening Chapter 4

2. Definitions • Hearing-The vibration of sound waves on the eardrums and the firing of electrochemical impulses in the brain. (Biological activity) • Listening-Paying close attention to, and making sense of, what we hear. (Process)

3. Time Spent Listening • Worker • 40% listening • 9% writing • 16% reading • 35% talking • Student • 50% listening • 8% writing • 6% reading • 20% talking

4. Why do we listen? • Academic success • Employment achievement • Personal happiness

5. Good Listeners • Patient • Suspend judgment • Analyze what is said • Engage actively

6. Spare Brain Time • The difference between the rate at which we speak and the rate at which we think. • Rate of speaking-120 to 180 words per minute • Rate of thinking-400 to 800 words per minute

7. Avoiding Spare Brain Time • Take notes • Force yourself to paraphrase-summarize & restate the ideas you have just heard in your own words • Refocus

8. Influences on Listening • Speaker • Message • Channel • Time

9. Influences on Listening • Noise-internal or external • Physical state-general or psychological • Experience-background, life history, training • Attitudes • Memory • Expectations

10. Types of Listening • Appreciative listening-listening for pleasure or enjoyment. Music, comedy routine • Therapeutic (Empathic)-listening to provide emotional support. Listening to a friend in distress

11. Types of Listening • Comprehensive listening-listening to understand the message of a speaker. Attending a classroom lecture • Critical listening-listening to a message for purposes of accepting or rejecting it. Closing arguments of an attorney in a jury trial

12. Factors to take into Account • The personal appeal of the speaker • The speaker’s arguments and evidence • The speaker’s motivational appeals • Assumptions the speaker makes • What the speaker is NOT saying

13. Listening Apprehension • The fear of misinterpreting, inadequately processing, or not being able to adjust psychologically when listening. • Caused by: • Previous experience • Negative evaluation by others • Emotional reactions

14. Listening Apprehension • Long-term disability • Makes it hard to understand, process, and remember a message • You become less able to interact effectively • You are less willing to communicate • You become less confident about communication

15. Reducing Listener Apprehension • Force yourself to participate • Accept you are doing the best job you can • Take notes • Paraphrase • Prepare questions in advance • Review material to be discussed • Do research • Prepare any notes for discussion

16. Improving Your Listening • Recognize both speaker and listener share responsibilities for effective communication • Suspend judgment • Be patient • Avoid Egospeak-boosting your own ego by only talking about what you want to talk about & not caring about what the other person is speaking about

17. Improving Your Listening • Paraphrase • Be careful with emotional responses to words • Be aware that posture affects your listening • Control distractions • Tune in to speaker’s cues • Monitor nonverbals • Visualize

18. Monday • Demonstration Speeches continue • Read Chapters 5 (Intrapersonal Communication) & 15 (Informative Public Speaking)