Listening
Introduction to Speech
Listening
•This skill begins with a decision.
•Hearing comes naturally, but listening is alearned social skill.
•You have to decide to do it!
5 Steps to ListeningProcess:
Step 1
•Hearing – You hear sounds.
•Barriers to hearing: noise, hearing impairment,fatigue, distraction and sender deficiency.
Step 2
•Interpreting – Decoding the signals andunderstanding the sensory input. You relatewhat you hear to what you already know.
Step 3
•Evaluating – Distinguishing facts from opinionsand identifying possible biases. You figure outthe speakers’ intent after you fully understandhis or her point of view.
Step 4
•Remembering – You remember what youunderstand of what you said. You consciouslycommit some things to memory because youneed the information or because theexperience is important to you.
Step 5
•Responding – Reacting to a speaker bysending cues.
•Example: nodding and saying “I see” or smilingat a speaker.
What to listen for:
•Information – This is what you do most of thetime in school.
•Emotion – The speaker sets out to establish arelationship. Sometimes people talk due toinsecurity or nervousness.
•Attitude – Distinguish fact from opinion.Speakers may talk about something they’veobserved. How they say it will convey howthey feel about it.
Continued…
•Goals and Hidden Agendas – Sometimes alistener can pick up on a strong theme thatmay not be expressed directly.
•Thoughts, Ideas, Opinions – Pay attention towhat the speaker leaves out. People talkabout things that interest them and omitthings that don’t.
4 Barriers to Listening
•As a listener, your job is to duplicate in yourmind the speaker’s exact message and intent.
Barrier 1
•External Barriers: begin outside the speakerand listener, usually in the surroundingenvironment.
•Examples- Noise, Physical Distraction,Information Overload
Barrier 2
•Listener Barriers: internal or psychological.They begin with the listener.
•Examples – Boredom, Laziness, Waiting toSpeak, “Opinionatedness”, Prejudice, Lack ofInterest
Barrier 3
•Speaker Barriers: They begin with the speaker.
•Five Examples –
•Appearance (clothes, age, sex, etc.)
•Manner (how he/she behaves, moves, talks)
•Power (too much or lack of)
•Credibility (degree to which people can believe thespeaker)
•Message (Awe or Yawn)
Barrier 4
•Cultural Barriers: Prejudice, Speaking Styles,Source Credibility, Nonverbal Communication,Accents
3 Types of Listening
Type 1
•Active Listening – You engage your mind andlisten for the speaker’s meaning.
•Empathetic Listening – When you use the stepsof active listening to seek emotional rather thanintellectual understanding of the speaker.(Sharing the speaker’s mood)
•Creative Listening – When you listen and useyour imagination simultaneously. This is usefulin generating ideas in a brainstorm session.
Type 2
•Informational Listening – You listen mainly forcontent, attempting to identify the speaker’spurpose, main ideas and supporting details.
Type 3
•Critical Listening – You analyze, evaluate, anddraw conclusions about the speaker’s ideas.Used in formal situations, especially whenlistening for persuasive messages.
Propaganda
•This is a form of persuasion that discourageslisteners from making an independent choice.Propagandists state their positions or opinionsas though these are accepted truths, withoutevidence to back their claims.
•Examples: jumping on the bandwagon, name-calling, emotional appeals, stereotypes, andcreating drama.