Teacher’s Facilitation Notes
Chapter 5 – Listening & Responding thoughtfully Discussion Circle
1.) What are the other communication principles we’ve discussed in class so far?
2.) According to your understanding what are we going to talk about today?
3.) According to the book (p104), what is the essence of being a good
conversationalist?
a. Anybody give a positive personal example of a listening event in your life.
b. Anybody give a negative personal example of a listening event in your life.
4.) So today, we are going to talk about:
a. the principle of listening and responding
b. how we listen
c. listening goals
d. listening barriers
e. listening skills
f. responding skills, and
g. responding with empathy
5.) If we are typical, what do we spend the least amount of our communication time
doing, but yet get the most training on?
6.) What do we spend most of our communication time doing, but get the least
training on?
7.) Good listening skills increase sensitivity to others. What does sensitivity to
others include?
a. Anybody, describe a listening event wherein these skills actually improved
a situation for you, or one in which you wished you had been more
sensitive.
8.) (p. 105) What is the difference between hearing and listening?
9.) What does it mean to be “interpersonally inert?”
a. Describe an experience you have had with “interpersonally inertness.”
10.) (p 106) Describe the following listening terms according to the textbook:
a. Selecting:
b. Attending:
11.) Anybody: What kinds of listening events hold your attention?
12.) Anybody: What kinds of listening events bore you so bad you just want to leave?
13.) Describe the following listening terms according to the textbook:
a. Understanding
b. Remembering
c. Responding
14.) (p 107) What are the major listening habit differences in gender?
15.) (p 108) Describe a listening event wherein the listener failed to respond to you
and how you felt about it.
16.) Describe three kinds of Self-Barrier type listening barriers:
a. (p 109) Self-Focus:
b. (p 110) Emotional Noise:
c. (p 110) Criticism:
17.) Describe three kinds of Information Processing type listening barriers:
a. (111) Processing Rate:
b. (111) Information Overload:
c. (112) Receiver Apprehension:
18.) Describe two types of Context Barrier type listening barriers:
a. (p 113) Barriers of Time and Place.
b. (p 114) Noise.
19.) (P 114) Regarding context barriers, what are some tips we could use to help us
focus on the speaker?
20.) (p 114) What are the three steps to good listening skills?
21.) (p 115) What does decentering mean?
22.) (p 115) What does it mean to listen with your eyes?
23.) Give an example from your own life when listening with your eyes really paid
off.
24.) (p 116-117) What do these five additional listening strategies mean:
a. Identify your listening goal.
b. Mentally summarize the details of the message.
c. Link message details with the major idea of the message.
d. Practice by listening to difficult or challenging material.
e. Transform listening barriers into listening goals.
25.)
(p 118) According to the textbook, what do these five responding skills
mean:
a. Be Descriptive.
b. Be Timely.
c. Be Brief.
d. Be Useful.
e. Be Active.
26.) (p 119) What does the word “empathy” mean?
27.) What are some ways that empathy improves relationships?
28.) What is the quote by Antoine De Saint-Exupery?
29.) What do you think is meant by this quote?