THE LISTENING PROCESS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Extrapolate the importance of the listening
and the Listening Process.

• Identify the barriers to e ective listening and

the seven (7) steps toward Skillful Listening;
and

• Know how to become a good listener.

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THE LISTENING PROCESS

WHAT IS LISTENING?
It is a sub-process of communication that involves receiving
sound, constructing meaning from, and responding to verbal
and non-verbal messages.
THE LISTENING PROCESS

1. Receiving: Physically hearing the message

and taking note of it. Physical reception may
be blocked by noise, impaired or inattention.

2. Interpreting: Assigning meaning to sounds

according to your own values, beliefs, ideas,
expectations, roles, needs and personal
history.
THE LISTENING PROCESS

3. Remembering: Storing a message for future

reference. As you listen, you retain what you
hear by taking notes or by making a mental
outline of the speaker's key points.

4. Evaluating: Applying critical thinking skills to

weigh the speaker's remarks and the ability to
separate facts from opinions and evaluate the
quality of the evidence.
THE LISTENING PROCESS

5. Responding: Reacting to the speaker's

message. If you are communicating one on
one or in a small group, the initial response
generally takes the form of verbal feedback. If
you're one of many in an audience, your initial
response may take the form of applause,
laughter or silence.
 HEARING
Hearing is a natural process
Every normal human being can
hear at birth
Hearing (reception of sounds) is
only the irst component of
listening in which sounds are
sorted out and sent to the brain
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LISTENING
Listening is a skill to be enhanced
One develops listening through
adequate knowledge, e ort and
practice
Listening makes the individual
distinguish one sound from
another; it makes the individual
attach meaning to the sound
 PARAMOUNT OF LISTENING
• To obtain and exchange basic information and gain
knowledge
• To make intellectual judgments and fair criticism, and
evaluate ideas
• To be polite
• To show interest or concern
• To share feelings
• To nd out how to do something
• To be able to make decisions
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BARRIERS TO LISTENING
1. Faking Attention
2. Listening only for facts
3. Avoiding dif cult materials
4. Avoiding the uninteresting
5. Criticizing the speaker
6. Yielding to distractions
7. Defensive listening
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BARRIERS TO LISTENING
1. Faking Attention: Listener may have learnt to
fake attention so as not to appear
discourteous or to avoid being labeled as
impolite.
2. Listening only for facts: Listener may fail to
make good decisions or sound conclusions
because of seeking only speci c information
or getting only "on the bottom" of the issue.
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BARRIERS TO LISTENING
3. Avoiding dif cult materials: Listener decides
only on listening to familiar, easy to understand
messages. Listening is seldom practiced on
situations that may demand concentration or
further learning of new or extended concepts.
4. Avoiding the uninteresting: Not all fun
experiences or ideas may be valuable nor all
interesting topics are important. Good listening
doesn't discriminate information.
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BARRIERS TO LISTENING
5. Criticizing the speaker: Biased listening
affects how an individual is able to accept the
message. This attitude tends to look at the
speaker based on physique, manner of
speaking, rather than focusing on what is
being said.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING
6. Yielding to distractions
A. Mental distractions - Listeners may opt to involve in
daydreams and be absorbed in their own thoughts
rather than focusing on the speaker.
B. Semantic distractions - Listeners would have different
meanings or interpretations on the same word or
concept.
C. Physical distractions - Listeners may be distracted on
the physical layout of the area, e.g. room
temperature, noises, discomfort, odor and so on.
BARRIERS TO LISTENING
7. Defensive listening: Listening that makes
use of prejudices. Attitudes found in this type
of listener are usually deep-seated and have
developed over a long period of time. Listener
selects only the negative aspects of what is
being said and fails to listen to what else the
speaker is discussing.
BASIC LISTENING EXPERIENCES
1. Informative listening. It involves listening
only for facts; listener may look at the main
idea - the central thought that runs through the
passage and supporting details - the materials
that reinforce the main points.
2. Evaluative listening. It involves determining
the speaker's motives, validating the key
ideas, distinguishing facts and opinions and
assessing self for personal biases.
 BASIC LISTENING EXPERIENCES
3. Re ective listening. It involves listening done
in interpersonal level, and it often has the
purpose of helping the speaker to cope with
his/her feelings and problems.
4. Enjoyment listening. It involves listening that
we choose to. Sometimes these are the things
that entertain us.
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BECOMING A GOOD
LISTENER
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 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 1: Take Notes 📝

Good listeners are note takers. They realize that

minds are imprecise and memory is imperfect.
Note-taking will help you locate the key points, and
identify the supporting data.
Carry a small notepad and a pen at all times or any
recorder. Write clearly; answer the 5 Ws and 1H.
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 2: Listen Now, Report Later 🗣

One can improve listening signi cantly by

planning to report what has been heard to
someone later. Think of a co-worker or a friend
who would bene t from or enjoy the information
you're listening to and plan to tell him or her you
have learned.
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 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 3: Want to Listen 👂

To be a good listener, you must be willing to give

up a preoccupation with yourself - you must want
to listen. The following memory device describes
the skills and attitudes we need to insure listening
success: Desire, Interest, Self-discipline &
Concentration.
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 4: Be Present 👩🤝👨

Like it or not, listening is a choice. Only when you

choose to "be present" are you focused on the
speaker and the message. On this note,
Daydreaming is what takes place when you
choose not to listen. To be an effective listener
you must recognize your mental vacations.
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 5: Anticipate Excellence 🤩

Expectations play a powerful role in our lives. By giving others

a chance to speak intelligently by anticipating excellence from
them, you can help them become successful. As a listener, you
may:
• Ask questions
• Show interest
• Express concern
• Pay attention
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 6: Become a 'Whole Body' Listener 👀🫀🧠

Not only are our ears turned in but so are our eyes, mind,
body, heart and intuition. A good listener can give both non-
verbal and verbal signal that he/she is listening.
• Conveying a positive encouraging attitude
• Sitting in an attentive posture
• Nodding for acknowledgment
• Making good eye contact
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 7: Build Rapport by Pacing the Speaker

Pacing is a method listeners used to build a

positive relationship with a speaker by imitating or
mirroring his/her verbal and non-verbal cues.
These gestures include breathing, voice rate,
vocabulary, phrases and facial expressions.
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 8: Control Your Emotional 'Hot-Buttons'

Emotional hot-buttons are intense feelings that

affect everyone. Words, issues, situations and/or
personalities that trigger us emotionally. If you
cannot eliminate emotional hot-buttons, the best
alternative is to develop acceptable responses.
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 9: Control Distractions 🤨

Life and work are full of distractions. Part of your

professional ability is to manage our working
environment. To be a good listener, you must
control your responses to distractions otherwise
distractions control you. Do not use distractions
as a convenient excuse for not listening.
 TEN (10) TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LISTENER

Tip 10: Listening is a gift, give generously

We all have the capacity to listen and we must

use it to effectively communicate with other
people.