Listening and Responding
A Closer Look at Listening
The International Listening Association
http://www.listen.org/
The Ship That Couldn't Be Sunk
Wait a minute! Say that again,
Doris! . . . you know the part about,
'If only we had some means of
climbing down.'
One of the greatest tragedies in the history of sea
travel occurred on the night of April 14, 1912,
when the crew of the Titanic refused to listen to
repeated warnings of icebergs. The crew had
been led to believe that this brand-new passenger liner was "unsinkable." Even after the
ship struck an iceberg and was slowly sinking,
some of the passengers ignored the captain's
orders to get into the lifeboats.
When the ship finally began tilting
dangerously, it was too late. There weren't
enough lifeboats for all the passengers and
worse still, the Californian, the only other ship
in the area (about 10 miles away) made no
attempt to reach the wreck. Her radio operator
had gone off duty. He, too, wasn't listening. As a
result, more than a thousand people needlessly
lost their lives.
Listening facts
• Employees of major North American corporations
spend 60% of time listening
• Of North American executives, 80% believe listening
is one of the most important skills needed in the
corporate environment.
• In committed relationships, listening in everyday
conversations is ingredient of satisfaction
• The ideal manager has ability to listen effectively,
according to 1000 human resource executives
• Fewer than 2% of us have had any formal listening
training (page 88)
• Students are in listening situations 65%-90% of the
time.
http://74.6.239.185/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=average+time+listening+student+90%25&fr=yfp-t701&u=http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=average+time+listening+student+90%25&d=4609848658364003&mkt=en-US&setlang=enUS&w=dfbf78a9,a855f805&icp=1&.intl=us&sig=NHJx5H8lcShoDeVIui.73w--
Listening and Hearing are NOT the same thing
•Hearing is a physiological process (passive and physical)
•Listening is a cognitive process (active and mental)
Types of Listening
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Appreciate listening
Discriminative listening
Comprehensive listening
Empathic listening
Critical listening
Listening Process:
1. Attending – paying attention to a signal / focusing on what a
speaker is saying
2. Understanding – making sense of a message / decoding the
message
3. Remembering – retaining the information and recalling it
Unfortunately, research suggests people only remember 50%
immediately after hearing it, only 35% within eight hours and
within 2 days only remember 20% of the original message
(page 88)
4. Evaluating – critically analyzing the message
5. Responding – providing feedback
Reasons for Poor Listening
• Effort – heart rate quickens, respiration
increases, body temperature rises
• Rapid thought – we are capable of
understanding speech at rates between 400800 wpm, the average person only speaks
between 120-150 wpm (page 91)
• Message overload
Reasons for Poor Listening cont.
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Psychological noise
Physical noise
Hearing problems
Faulty assumptions – heard it all before,
information is too simple or complex,
information is unimportant
• Selective Listening
• Pseudolistening (fake listening)
Reasons for Poor Listening cont.
• Talking has more apparent advantages – talking
allows us to gain more (admiration, respect,
liking). One study revealed that men interrupt
more than women. Men interrupt to dominate or
control conversation. Women interrupt to agree,
elaborate on speaker’s idea, or participate in
topic.
• Media Influences – programming consists of
short segments
• Short attention spans – A 1999 study revealed
the average attention span for adults is 20
minutes or less. (page 91)
Improve Your Listening
• Get physically and mentally ready to listen
(Effective listeners
are likely to sit uprights, lean forward, cease unnecessary movement, look directly at
instructor, page 91)
• Resist mental distractions
• Don’t argue, interrupt, or judge prematurely – Hear the
speaker out! (We typically stop listening before they have finished if we
think we know what they are going to say, page 92)
• Observe nonverbal cues – gestures, voice, facial
expressions
• Adjust to the listening goals of the situation
• Identify the benefits of the message – Be opportunist
Improve Your Listening
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Ask questions to gain additional information
Paraphrase
Look for key ideas
Repeat the information – if information is not reinforced it
will be held in short-term memory for as little as 20 seconds (page 97)
• Construct mnemonics - AURER
• Take GOOD notes