Key Listening Concepts

1.    Listening is not just hearing. 

•  Hearing is a physiological process of capturing sound conducted by ears and brains

•  Listening is the psychological process of making sense out of sounds, and involves paying attention to the external world

 

2.    Forms of Listening

1. There are three listening purposes

   1. Listening for appreciation (enjoyment)

   2. Listening to comprehend (classroom or news broadcast)

   3.  Listening to criticize, so the audience can make an informed decision about the message and is fundamental to a democracy and should not be seen as a negative

2. Critical and comprehensive listening requires active listening

   1. Active listening occurs when the audience has high cognitive involvement with the message

   2.   Active listening is processing, storing. and evaluating the message

   3.   Active listening requires feedback so the speaker knows the audience is paying close attention

   4.  There is also the factor that the brain processes information about four times faster than the speaker speaks and this is “spare brain time”

3. Passive listening is when the audience does not react

 

3.  There are three types of listening  (not mentioned in your text)

a.    informational – listening with a purpose to gain knowledge

b.    relational or empathic – listening to understand the other’s viewpoint (“the mind of the other”)

c.    critical – analyzing and judging the accuracy and validity of messages

 

 4.  Overcoming Three Types of Distractions

1. Biological reactions can affect both speakers and audience members

   1. The room temperature may to too hot or too cold

   2.  Speakers or audience members may be ill or hungry

2. There may be environmental occurrences

   1. Airplanes overhead or traffic nearby

   2. Audience members making noise

   3. Weather phenomena such as wind or thunder and lightning

3. Hecklers interrupt a presentation as they want to interject their own viewpoints

   1. Speakers can try to ignore hecklers or acknowledge and ask them to be quiet

   2. Audiences members can either ignore the hecklers or confront them

           

       5.  Types of Nonlistening

• Use these methods to promote better listening:  Take a positive view of the listening situation, focus on the message, understand viewpoints of others, reinforce the message, give feedback, withhold judgment.

 

• Paraphrase the speaker for accuracy and comprehension

• Parasupport the speaker (support the worth of their feelings)

• Ask questions

• Use memory aids (take notes, use mnemonic