Essentials of Human Communication: Ninth Edition

Essentials of Human Communication
Ninth Edition
Chapter 3
Listening in Human
Communication
Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives
3.1 Define listening and its five stages and describe the
way you can increase listening accuracy at each stage
3.2 Describe the four major barriers to effective listening
and describe how you can improve effectiveness in your
own listening
3.3 Define four styles of listening and explain how each
may be used effectively
3.4 Explain the major cultural and gender differences found
in listening and their influence on listening
Stages of Listening
3.1 Define listening and its five stages and describe the
ways you can increase listening accuracy at each of these
stages
The Stages of Listening (1 of 7)
•  Listening is a collection of Figure 3.1 A Five-Stage Model
skills involving: of the Listening Process
–  attention and
concentration (receiving)
–  learning (understanding)
–  memory (remembering)
–  critical thinking
(evaluating)
–  feedback (responding)
•  Receiving
–  Hearing auditory stimuli
–  More effective if you:
§  Note not only what is said, but what is omitted
§  Focus on both verbal and nonverbal messages
§  Maintain role as listener by not interrupting
§  Avoid assuming you understand something before
the speaker is finished speaking
•  Understanding
–  Decoding the speaker’s messages
–  Grasping the thoughts and the accompanying
emotional tone
§  Relate the speaker’s information to what you
already know
§  See the speaker’s messages from the speaker’s
point of view
§  Rephrase (paraphrase) speaker’s ideas to facilitate
mutual understanding
•  Remembering
–  Effective listening requires remembering
§  Focus attention on central ideas
§  Organize what you hear
§  Unite new information with old information
§  Repeat names and key concepts to yourself (or
aloud, if appropriate)
•  Evaluating
–  Judging messages you hear
§  Resist evaluation until you fully understand the
speaker’s points
§  Assume the speaker is a person of goodwill
§  Distinguish facts from opinions and personal
interpretations
•  Responding
–  Responding occurs in two phases:
§  Responses while the speaker is talking
(backchanneling cues)
§  Responses after the speaker has stopped talking
–  Improve responding by:
§  Expressing support for the speaker
§  Using a variety of backchanneling cues
§  Taking ownership of responses by using “I”
messages
§  Avoiding common problem-causing listening
responses, such as appearing preoccupied
Listening Barriers (1 of 6)
3.2 Describe the four major barriers to effective listening
and describe how you can improve effectiveness in your
own listening
•  Both speaker and listener are responsible for effective
listening
•  Common barriers to listening:
–  Physical and mental distractions
–  Biases and prejudices
–  Lack of appropriate focus
–  Premature judgment
•  Distractions: Physical and Mental
–  Physical barriers might include:
§  Hearing impairment
§  A noisy environment, such as loud music
–  Mental barriers might include:
§  Thinking about other things
§  Becoming too emotional to think (and listen) clearly
•  Biases and Prejudices
–  Barrier occurs when you hear what the speaker is
saying through stereotypes
–  You may listen differently to a person due to
characteristics that are irrelevant to the message,
such as his or her:
§  race
§  affectional orientation
§  age or gender
•  Lack of Appropriate Focus
–  Focusing on what a person is saying is essential for
effective listening
–  Many influences can lead you astray:
§  Listeners can get lost because they focus on
irrelevancies
§  May get detoured from the main idea
§  May try to anticipate what is going to be said
•  Premature Judgment
–  Assuming you know what the speaker is going to say
–  Drawing conclusions or judgments on incomplete
evidence
Four Listening Styles (1 of 7)
3.3 Define the four styles of listening and explain how each
may be used effectively
•  Listening is situational
–  The way you listen depends on situation
•  Four styles of listening:
–  Empathic
–  Polite
–  Critical
–  Active
•  Empathic Listening
–  To understand what a person feels, listen with
empathy
–  Empathic listening involves seeing the world as others
see it
–  Feel what the other is feeling, but don’t lose your own
feelings
•  Polite Listening
–  Express politeness through your listening behavior
§  Avoid interrupting
§  Give supportive listening cues
§  Show empathy with the speaker
§  Maintain eye contact
§  Give positive feedback
•  Critical Listening
–  In many situations, you will need to be logical and
dispassionate while listening
§  Keep an open mind
§  Avoid filtering
§  Recognize own biases
§  Combat tendency to sharpen
§  Focus on both verbal and nonverbal messages
•  Active Listening
–  Process of sending back to the speaker what you
think he or she meant in both content and feeling
–  Functions of active listening:
§  Check your understanding
§  Acknowledge and accept speaker’s feelings
§  Stimulate speaker to explore thoughts and feelings
–  Techniques
§  Paraphrase speaker’s meanings
§  Express understanding of speaker’s feelings
§  Ask questions
Listening Differences: Culture and Gender (1 of 4)
3.4 Explain the major cultural and gender differences found

in listening and their influence on listening
•  Listening is a difficult process

–  No two communicators have the same frame of
reference
–  Effective listening may be improved by understanding
cultural or gender differences
•  Culture
–  Three cultural influences on listening:
§  Language and speech
§  Nonverbal behaviors
§  Feedback
•  Gender and Listening

–  Men and women learn different styles of listening
–  This includes:
§  Rapport and Report
§  Listening Cues
§  Amount and Purposes of Listening
Summary of Concepts and Skills (1 of 3)
•  Listening is crucial to success
•  Listening is “the process of receiving, constructing
meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or
nonverbal messages”
•  Listening serves a variety of purposes
•  Listening is a five-step process
•  Both listener and speaker share in the responsibility for
effective listening
•  There are many obstacles to effective listening
•  Effective listening involves a process of making
adjustments
•  Culture influences listening in a variety of ways
•  Men and women listen differently
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Essentials of Human Communication: Ninth Edition

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3.4 Explain the major cultural and gender differences found

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• Gender and Listening

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•  Listening is a difficult process

•  Gender and Listening