 THEUNITEDSTATESOFAMERICA

THEUNITEDSTATESOFAMERICA
 THUNITDSTATSOFAMRICA
We have two ears and one mouth so that we
can listen twice as much as we speak. ~
Epictetus
•Of the time spent communicating each day, 45% is
devoted to listening.
•Usually a person only remembers about 50% of what is said
to them.
•After eight hours they forget another 1/2 to 1/3 of what
was originally grasped.

?
So that means you typically forget about 75%
of what you hear.
Why is listening important?

Listening will help you in…

•School
•Relationships
•Social groups & organizations
•Making informed decisions
•On the job
 FACT or FICTION??

Listening and hearing are the same thing.

Hearing is the first step but doesn’t mean you

understand what you hear.

Listening is easy.

Listening is a complex process that requires

energy, effort, and skills.

The speaker is primarily responsible for the message sent.

Speaker and listener share the responsibility. A

listener may have to make up for a sender’s lack
of ability.
 You first respond
Steps in the listening process emotionally, then
intellectually. Then you
decide how to respond.
Your knowledge,
attitudes, values,
beliefs and self-concept
influences your
perception. Respondin
Your own needs,
g
Your reaction to
interests, attitudes, and the message. It
knowledge affects your
choice to pay attention. can be emotional
Understanding and intellectual.
Deciding what the
Not everyone hears the
same way. Men message means
actually prefer certain to you.
frequencies. Choosing
The act of
choosing to focus
attention on the
Hearing message.
The reception of Definition of listening:
sound.
It is a physical and psychological
process that involves choosing to listen,
understanding, and responding to
symbolic messages from others.
 Noise – Internal and external distractions
◦ Examples: outside sounds, distracting thoughts
 Barriers – Blocks listening/understanding.
◦ Unfamiliar language, anger, attitudes, biases, needs,
beliefs, fear, hearing problems, tuning out, stress,
ignorance, prejudices, tired.
 Memory – 3 types
◦ Immediate – Recalling information for a brief period of
time.
◦ Short term – Recalling information for carrying out a
routine or daily task.
◦ Long term – Recalling information from past experience.
 The average person speaks at a rate of
about 150 words per minute.
 Listeners, however, can understand

messages presented at a rate of 380 words

per minute.
 Often that “lag” time causes listeners to let

their minds wander.

 You have to learn to focus your attention on

the message.
 Active listener – The listener participates fully in
the communication process. You listen
attentively, provide feedback, and strive to
understand and remember messages.
 Passive listener – The listener does not actively
participate in interactions. They think they can
absorb information even when they do not
contribute to the interaction. They place the
responsibility for successful communication on
the speaker.
 Impatient listener – Short bursts of active
listening are interrupted by noise and other
distractions. They intend to pay attention, but
allow their minds to wander.
 Apply what you hear to yourself.
◦ Relate the information to your personal experience.
◦ Use your own knowledge to understand new information.
◦ Imagine using the information in the future.
 Think as you listen
◦ Summarize and review throughout a presentation.
 Use associations
◦ Picture things in your mind – “see it”
◦ Use mnemonic devices – rhyme, acronym, etc.
 Take notes
◦ Do not write every word – paraphrase; focus on key phrases.
◦ Use the same method for taking notes.
 Give feedback
◦ Show others you are listening with body language and eye
contact and ask questions.
 Listening for fun. Used when listening to lecture
in class.
Ap
Used in social situations like concerts, pr
plays or sporting events. ec l
Used when listening to announcements
ia ic a or getting directions.
tiv it
Goal is enjoyment and helps a person
to relax.
e Cr Used when you need to remember
something important.

Listening to enjoy or appreciate a Listening to comprehend ideas and information in order to

speaker’s message or performance. achieve a specific purpose or goal.

Kinds of Listening
Listening to understand, participate and
Listening to understand, analyze, and
enhance a relationship.
evaluate messages.
Usually used in interactions between
two people or a small group. Used when receiving and evaluating
persuasive messages.
De
hic
Goal is to develop understanding and appreciation of
the meanings & feelings of sender.
t li be
pa ra Use when you must make decisions.
You try to put yourself in another
person’s place, but not necessarily Em tiv
e
agree with them. It should make you think.
 1. Tuning out dull topics.
◦ Many listeners decide early on that a topic is simply not interesting.
However, it has been said that there are no uninteresting subjects, only
uninterested people. Don’t be a lazy listener!
◦ Remedy – Listen for something you want or need. You can always find
something of value in what another person is saying.
 2. Faking attention.
◦ It’s no sin to be courteous, but sometimes we take manners to an
unfortunate extreme. When we find someone’s conversation boring, but
are too polite (or afraid) to risk offending the person, we pretend to pay
attention, though our minds are a thousand miles away.
◦ Remedy – Sincerely pay attention. Lean forward, maintain good eye
contact, react in a natural way with smiles or nods, ask questions. Good
listening is not passive – it takes energy to listen!
 3. Yielding to distractions.
◦ Outside noises or movements often affect our concentration. A
window drops shut, someone sneezes, a book falls to the floor.
All too often, we give our attention to the hubbub of activity
around us instead of the speaker in front of us.
◦ Remedy – Choose a suitable environment to have conversations.
Learn to ignore the distractions and don’t become a distraction.
 4. Criticizing delivery or physical appearance.
◦ Many people abandon their good listening habits when they
become overly critical of the speaker’s physical appearance or
delivery. Regardless of who the speaker is, the content of his/her
message is always far more important than the form of his/her
delivery.
◦ Remedy – Pay attention to what is said, not how. Be generous
enough to overlook difficulties the speaker is having.
 5. Jumping to conclusions.
◦ Be patient. We often think that we know what a person is going
to say before they have even finished speaking. Occasionally, we
are biased toward a speaker and so we close our minds to the
speaker’s message before we have heard it in its entirety.
◦ Remedy – Don’t judge before you have heard the whole
message. Hear the speaker out. Understand their point of view
fully before accepting or rejecting it.
 6. Interrupting.
◦ Do you spend most of your listening time actually listening or do
you spend it thinking about what you want to say? Interrupting
someone is an almost certain sign that you don’t know or care
about what the other person is saying.
◦ Remedy – Take time to think about what is being said before
responding. Wait for an opening. Put yourself in their shoes.
 7. Overreacting to emotional words.
◦ We will react from time to time to certain words or phrases that
push our “hot buttons.” At such times, we might experience a
strong emotional reaction that blocks out your ability to listen.
We might let our thoughts wander on to other subjects, blocking
the speaker’s message from our minds, or we might start to lay
plans to trap the speaker in some way.
◦ Remedy – Stay calm. Finish listening. Don’t let a mere symbol
for something stand between you and learning. Think before
responding.