COM 102 Chapter 7

Listening

the learned process of receiving, interpreting, recalling, evaluating, and responding to verbal and nonverbal messages.

Listening Characteristics

Listening is a process and as such doesn't have a defined start and finish. Listening has cognitive, behavioral, and relational elements and doesn't unfold in a linear, step-by-step fashion.

Listening Steps/ How to Listen

Step One: Hearing and Receiving the Message

Step Two: Organization and Interpretation of the Message

Step Three: Understanding the Message

Step Four: Evaluating the Message

Step Five: Responding to the Message

Step Six: Recalling the Message

Step One: Hearing and Receiving the Message

Hearing is taking in stimuli through our senses during this physiological or physical step. Environmental noise such as other people talking, the sounds of traffic, and music interfere with hearing. Psychological noise like stress and anger and physiological noise (like a headache, sleep deprivation, an upset stomach, etc.) interfere primarily with the cognitive processes of listening.

Step Two: Organization and Interpretation of the Message

We combine the visual and auditory information we receive and try to make meaning out of that information using schemata. We engage in cognitive and relational processing as we take in environmental, informational, contextual, and relational cues and try to connect them in meaningful ways to previous experiences.

Step Three: Understanding the Message

We attach meaning by connecting information to previous experiences. Through the process of comparing new information with old information, we may also update or revise particular schemata if we find the new information relevant and credible.

Step Four: Evaluating the Message

We make judgments about its credibility, completeness, and worth.

Step Four: Evaluating the Message (Credibility)

In terms of credibility, we try to determine the degree to which we believe a speaker's statements are correct and/or true.

Step Four: Evaluating the Message (Completeness)

In terms of completeness, we try to "read between the lines" and evaluate the message in relation to what we know about the topic or situation being discussed.

Step Five: Responding to the Message

Responding entails sending verbal and nonverbal messages that indicate attentiveness and understanding or a lack thereof.

Back-channel cues

Back-channel cues are the verbal and nonverbal signals we send while someone is talking and can consist of verbal cues like "uh-huh," "oh," and "right," and/or nonverbal cues like direct eye contact, head nods, and leaning forward.

Step Six: Recalling the Message

Our memory consists of multiple "storage units," including sensory storage, short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory. Recall is an important part of the listening process.

Step Six: Recalling the Message (facts)

We forget about half of what we hear immediately after hearing it, recall 35 percent after eight hours, and recall 20 percent after a day. People can memorize and later recall a set of faces and names with near 100 percent recall when sitting in a quiet lab and asked to do so. But throw in external noise, more visual stimuli, and multiple contextual influences, and we can't remember the name of the person we were just introduced to one minute earlier.

Types of Listening

-Discriminative listening

-Informational listening

-Critical listening

-Empathetic listening

Discriminative listening

is a focused and usually instrumental type of listening that is primarily physiological and occurs mostly at the receiving stage of the listening process. Here we engage in listening to scan and monitor our surroundings in order to isolate particular auditory or visual stimuli.

Informational listening

listening with the goal of comprehending and retaining information. This type of listening is not evaluative and is common in teaching and learning contexts ranging from a student listening to an informative speech to an out-of-towner listening to directions to the nearest gas station.

Critical listening

listening with the goal of analyzing or evaluating a message based on information presented verbally and information that can be inferred from context.

A critical listener....

A critical listener evaluates a message and accepts it, rejects it, or decides to withhold judgment and seek more information. Involves evaluating the credibility, completeness, and worth of a speaker's message.

Empathetic listening

most challenging form of listening and occurs when we try to understand or experience what a speaker is thinking or feeling. It is key for dialogue and helps maintain interpersonal relationships.

Different styles of listening.

-People-oriented

-Action-oriented

-Content-oriented

-Time-oriented listeners

People-oriented listeners

Concerned about the needs and feelings of others and may get distracted from a specific task or the content of a message in order to address feelings.

Action-oriented listeners

well-organized, precise, and accurate information. They can become frustrated when they perceive communication to be unorganized or inconsistent, or a speaker to be "long-winded."

Content-oriented listeners

analytic and enjoy processing complex messages. They like in-depth information and like to learn about multiple sides of a topic or hear multiple perspectives on an issue. Their thoroughness can be difficult to manage if there are time constraints.

Time-oriented listeners

concerned with completing tasks and achieving goals. They do not like information perceived as irrelevant and like to stick to a timeline. They may cut people off and make quick decisions (taking short cuts or cutting corners) when they think they have enough information.

Barriers to Effective Listening

-Environmental factors

-The difference between speech and thought rate

-Lack of listening preparation.

-Bad messages and/or speakers

-Prejudiced listening

Environmental Factors

Such as lighting, temperature, and furniture affect our ability to listen

Cognitive & Personal Barriers

Can interfere with listening. Whether you call it multitasking, daydreaming, glazing over, or drifting off, we all cognitively process other things while receiving messages

Difference Between Speech / Thought Rate

Explains how people speak at a rate of 125 to 175 words per minute, we can process between 400 and 800 words per minute

Lack of Listening Preparation

Unfortunately, most people have never received any formal training or instruction related to listening

Bad Messages and/or Speakers

Also present a barrier to effective listening. Sometimes our trouble listening originates in the sender

Prejudiced Listening

Unfortunately, some of our default ways of processing information and perceiving others lead us to rigid ways of thinking. When we engage in prejudiced listening, we are usually trying to preserve our ways of thinking and avoid being convinced of something different

Bad Listening Practices

-Interrupting

-Distorted listening

-Eavesdropping

-Aggressive listening

-Narcissistic listening

-Pseudo-listening.

Interrupting

one of the most frequent glitches in the turn-taking process of conversation, but not all interruptions are considered "bad listening." An interruption could be unintentional. Sometimes interruptions are more like overlapping statements. Back-channel cues, also overlap with a speaker's message. We may also interrupt out of necessity if we're engaged in a task with the other person and need to offer directions

Distorted listening

Occurs in many ways. Sometimes we just get the order of information wrong, which can have relatively little negative effects if we are casually recounting a story, annoying effects if we forget the order of turns

Rationalization

another form of distorted listening through which we adapt, edit, or skew incoming information to fit our existing schemata.

Passing along distorted information

can lead to negative consequences ranging from starting a false rumor about someone to passing along incorrect medical instructions from one health-care provider to the next.

Eavesdropping

bad listening practice that involves a calculated and planned attempt to secretly listen to a conversation. There is a difference between eavesdropping on and overhearing a conversation.

Eavesdrop for a variety of reasons

People might think another person is talking about them behind their back or that someone is engaged in illegal or unethical behavior.

Consequences for eavesdropping

include an angry reaction if caught, damage to interpersonal relationships, or being perceived as dishonest and sneaky.

Aggressive listening

bad listening practice in which people pay attention in order to attack something that a speaker says. Aggressive listeners like to ambush speakers in order to critique their ideas, personality, or other characteristics. Such behavior often results from built-up frustration within an interpersonal relationship.

Narcissistic listening

form of self-centered and self-absorbed listening in which listeners try to make the interaction about them. Narcissistic listeners redirect the focus of the conversation to them by interrupting or changing the topic. When the focus is taken off them, narcissistic listeners may give negative feedback by pouting, providing negative criticism of the speaker or topic, or ignoring the speaker.

Pseudo-listening

behaving as if you're paying attention to a speaker when you're actually not.

Outwardly visible signals of attentiveness

Outwardly visible signals of attentiveness are an important part of the listening process, but when they are just an "act," the pseudo-listener is engaging in bad listening behaviors.

Improve listening at the receiving stage

-prepare yourself to listen

-discern between intentional messages and noise

-concentrate on stimuli most relevant to your listening purpose(s) or goal(s)

-be mindful of the selection and attention process as much as possible

-pay attention to turn-taking signals so you can follow the conversational flow

-avoid interrupting someone while they are speaking in order to maintain your ability to receive stimuli and listen

Improve listening at the organization and interpreting stage

-identify main points and supporting points

use contextual clues from the person or environment to discern additional meaning

-be aware of how a relational, cultural, or situational context can influence meaning

-be aware of the different meanings of silence

-note differences in tone of voice and other paralinguistic cues that influence meaning

improve listening at the evaluating stage

-separate facts, inferences, and judgments

-be familiar with and able to identify persuasive strategies and fallacies of reasoning

-assess the credibility of the speaker and the message

-be aware of your own biases and how your perceptual filters can create barriers to effective listening

improve listening at the recalling stage

-use multiple sensory channels to decode messages and make more complete memories

-repeat, rephrase, and reorganize information to fit your cognitive preferences

-use mnemonic devices as a gimmick to help with recall

improve listening at the responding stage

-ask appropriate clarifying and follow-up questions and paraphrase information to check understanding

-give feedback that is relevant to the speaker's purpose/motivation for speaking

-adapt your response to the speaker and the context

-do not let the preparation and rehearsal of your response diminish earlier stages of listening

Active listening

to the process of pairing outwardly visible positive listening behaviors with positive cognitive listening practices. Active listeners make strategic choices and take action in order to set up ideal listening conditions. Physical and environmental noises can often be managed by moving locations

Eye contact

key sign of active listening. Speakers usually interpret a listener's eye contact as a signal of attentiveness

Active Listening Behaviors

-Eye contact

-Reference a past statement

-Summarize

-Asking probing questions

-Ask questions that seek clarification

-Present complex information at a slower speaking rate

-Nonverbal feedback

-Paraphrased messages and clarifying questions.

-Resist the urge to take a conversational turn.

-Note-taking

Critical listening Skills

-Distinguishing between facts and inferences

-Evaluating supporting evidence

-Discovering your own biases

-Listening beyond the message.

Tips to Help You Become a Better Critical Listener

-Ask questions to help get more information and increase your critical awareness when you get answers

-Be especially critical of speakers who set up "either/or" options

-Evaluate the speaker's message instead of his or her appearance, personality, or other characteristics

-Be aware that critical evaluation isn't always quick or easy

-Avoid mind reading, which is assuming you know what the other person is going to say or that you know why they reached the conclusion they did.

Empathetic Listening (quote)

Is to be respectful of the dignity of others. Empathetic

listening is caring, a love of the wisdom to be found in

others whoever they may be." This quote conveys that

empathetic listening is more philosophical than the other

types of listening. It requires that we are open to

subjectivity and that we engage in it because we

genuinely see it as worthwhile

Giving Feedback to Others

-Be specific

-Be descriptive

-Be positive

-Be constructive

-Be relevant