Proposal

Hanna Vance
Salt Lake Community College
Communications 1010
March 28th, 2019
Overview
I have a hard time listening to my friends and family when they are trying to tell me things.
Now they stop telling me about important events or feelings because they think I am not
interested. There are a lot of specific ways to become a better listener. Instead of just hearing the
person, you are actually listening to them. If I start to take action and become a better listener in
my daily life then slowly my friends and family will start to open up and tell me more.

Description
I know that when I am in situations listening to my friends and family I begin to really get
distracted. Sometimes I get lost in my own thoughts or I will be thinking of what to say in
response to what they are telling me. External noises are very distracting, for example when I am
driving in the car and having a conversation I could be focusing on the road and what is going on
outside of the car. External noises also include the background music of the radio. It’s not only
just what I hear what I see as well. My eyes will see something and I think about that instead of
focusing on what is being said. I can also be on my phone and completely zone out and not hear
anything else going on around me. These are also referred to as stational distractions.
(Edwards.107) I struggle listening to them while they are speaking to me. In response, they have
been more reserved and they don’t open up about certain events going on in their lives. They
may think that I am not interested or that I just won’t be giving them my full attention. I know
my body language might be conveying that or by not making direct eye contact and focusing on
something else.

Resources
Some of the resources I could use to help me with my listening struggles can be found in some
of the following sources such as my Communications 1010 Class notes, The Communication
Age book, and possibly some online articles on listening. If I read through and take my own
personal notes of important information I can start to slowly apply the principles to my own
listening problem. I would have to find a specific time weekly to really absorb the information. It
would have to be days where I am not at work or school, possibly Sundays would work.

Recommendations
How I will improve my weaknesses is start by breaking the big picture down. I hope that by
applying the following steps that I will be able to become a better listener. The problems that are
really holding me back from becoming a better listener are stational distractions and not being
able to focus. Some of the main distractions for me is background noise, my phone, and things
that are going on around me. In the book, it says that in order to be able to limit those kinds of
distractions is to stash away non-communicational technologies, focus your attention, and be
mindful. (Edwards.118) By putting your phone away it becomes less of a temptation to check.
Being mindful helps the mind wander less and focus on the source of what you are listening to.
Eye contact is also important because it can help maintain interest and show the other person that
you care. When I am communicating with my friends and family three things will also help me
strengthen my weaknesses which are to interpret, evaluate, and respond. (Edwards.120) When
you interpret in a conversation you are trying to ask questions, use context, and consider where
or how you having the conversation. It might be more appropriate to talk to your friend who just
had a break up in a more private place where you can really try to focus on them. Then you
evaluate the things they are telling you and consider their feelings. The last thing you can do is to
respond non verbally or reply by paraphrasing. When you follow those steps it can really tell the
other person you are communicating with that you are giving them your attention and listening to
them.

Summary
In summary, I am overall not the best at listening to my family or my friends. There are a few
things such as putting distractions away, absorb and remember the context, and really focus on
the person talking. If I start to implement these steps and rules into my listening habits, I will be
able to listen with more ease to my family and peers. This proposal helps me to break down the
main issue into subcategories and each part is necessary in order for the communication to work.
I am hopeful for the outcome of being a better listener. It won't happen overnight, but if I put in a
lot of hard work and effort to apply this knowledge I will slowly start to see improvement.
Works Cited

Edwards, Autumn, et al. The Communication Age: Connecting and Engaging. SAGE
Publications, Inc., 2020.
Professor Nicholas Pond. Communication Cycle. 19 February, 2019. Elements of
Effective Communications Packet.