Listening Skills

“Was I paying attention?”

OVERVIEW
 The Difference between Hearing and Listening
 The Listening Process

 The Main Purposes of Listening

 Listening Types

 Listening Styles

 Obstacles to Effective Listening

 8 Commandments of Effective Listening

 8 Keys to Effective Listening

 Do you think there is a
difference between HEARING
and LISTENING?
 HEARING vs LISTENING
HEARING LISTENING
Hearing is simply the act Listening is something you consciously choose
of perceiving sound by the to do. Listening requires concentration so that
ear. If you are not your brain processes meaning from words and
hearing-impaired, hearing sentences or mental process that requires
simply happens. concentrating on sound, deriving meaning from
it, and reacting to it.
Sense that allows you to Learned process of receiving, interpreting,
perceive sound. recalling, evaluating, and responding to verbal
and nonverbal messages.
LISTENING PROCESS

Receiving Interpreting

Recalling (Remembering)

Evaluating Responding
1. Receiving
 Process incoming feedback and new messages (which include
cognitive and relational elements)
 Take in information needed for listening through auditory and
visual channels
 Visual cues as a part of listening (they influence how we
interpret messages)
 Noise as a factor that influences how we receive messages.
◦ Environmental noise: other people talking, the sounds of traffic, and
music interfere with the physiological aspects of hearing.
◦ Psychological noise: stress and anger interfere primarily with the
cognitive processes of listening.
2. Interpreting
 We combine the visual and auditory information we receive
and try to make meaning out of that information using
schemata.
 The interpreting stage engages cognitive and relational
processing as we take in informational, contextual, and
relational cues and try to connect them in meaningful ways to
previous experiences.
3. Recalling (Remembering)
 Our ability to recall information is dependent on some of the
physiological limits of how memory works.
 Short-term memory is a mental storage capability that can
retain stimuli for twenty seconds to one minute.
 Long-term memory is a mental storage capability to which
stimuli in short-term memory can be transferred if they are
connected to existing schema and in which information can be
stored indefinitely.
4. Evaluating
 When we evaluate something, we make judgments about its
credibility, completeness, and worth.
◦ Credibility: determine the degree to which we believe a
speaker’s statements are correct and/or true.
◦ Completeness: evaluate the message in relation to what we
know about the topic or situation being discussed.
◦ Worth: make a value judgment about whether we think the
message or idea is good/bad, right/wrong, or
desirable/undesirable.
5. Responding
 Sending verbal and nonverbal messages that indicate
attentiveness and understanding or a lack thereof.
1. Back-channel cues are the verbal and nonverbal signals we send and
consist of:
o Positive Feedback:
o Verbal cues like “uh-huh”, “oh”, and “right”
o Nonverbal cues like direct eye contact, head nods, and leaning
forward
o Negative Feedback:
o Looking away, fidgeting, texting, or turned away
2. Paraphrasing shows that you understand what was communicated in
which you paraphrase information or
3. rephrase the message into your own words.
PURPOSES OF LISTENING
 to focus on messages sent by other
people or noises coming from our surroundings
 to improve our understanding of other people’s communication

 to critically evaluate other people’s messages

 to monitor nonverbal signals

 to indicate that we are interested or paying attention

 to empathize with others and show we care for them

 to engage in negotiation, dialogue, or other exchanges that result

in shared understanding of or agreement on an issue

LISTENING TYPES

1. Discriminative 2. Informational
Listening Listening

4. Empathic Listening
3. Critical Listening
LISTENING TYPES
1. Discriminative listening
◦ A focused and usually instrumental type of listening that is primarily
physiological and occurs mostly at the receiving stage of the listening
process.
2. Informational listening
◦ Listening with the goal of comprehending and retaining information.
◦ Common in teaching and learning contexts ranging from a student
listening to an informative speech to a person listening to directions
to the nearest petrol station.
◦ When we listen to news reports, voice mail, and briefings at work.
LISTENING TYPES
3. Critical listening
◦ Listening with the goal of analysing or evaluating a message based on
information presented verbally and information that can be inferred
from context.
◦ A critical listener evaluates a message and accepts it, rejects it, or
decides to withhold judgment and seek more information.
4. Empathic listening
◦ The most challenging form of listening
◦ When we try to understand/experience what a speaker is
thinking/feeling.
LISTENING STYLES
1. People-oriented listeners are concerned about the needs
and feelings of others and may get distracted from a specific
task or the content of a message in order to address feelings.
2. Action-oriented listeners prefer well-organised, precise,
and accurate information. They can become frustrated with
a communication that is not organised or inconsistent, or a
speaker to be “long-winded”.
LISTENING STYLES
3. Content-oriented listeners are analytic and enjoy
processing complex messages. They like in-depth
information and like to learn about multiple sides of a topic
or hear multiple perspectives on an issue. Their
thoroughness can be difficult to manage if there are time
constraints.
4. Time-oriented listeners are concerned with completing
tasks and achieving goals. They do not like information
perceived as irrelevant and like to stick to a timeline. They
may cut people off and make quick decisions when they
think they have enough information.
OBSTACLES TO
EFFECTIVE LISTENING

Physical distractions

Physiological
distractions

Psychological
distractions
Semantic distractions

Factual distractions
8 COMMANDMENTS OF EFFECTIVE
LISTENING
1. Stop talking! Consciously focus your attention on the
speaker.
2. Put the speaker at ease: Relax, smile, look at the speaker
and help that person feel free to talk. Look and act
interested.
3. Remove distractions: Turn off the TV; close the door;
stop what you are doing, and pay attention.
4. Listen for what is not said. Ask questions to clarify the
meaning of words and the feelings involved, or ask the
speaker to enlarge on the statement.
8 COMMANDMENTS OF EFFECTIVE
LISTENING
4. Be aware of "tune out" words. Avoid arguing mentally.
Listen to understand, not to oppose.
5. Be patient. Don't interrupt the speaker.
6. Hold your temper! Try to keep your own emotions from
interfering with your listening efficiency.
7. Empathize with the speaker. Try to feel what that person is
feeling and understand the point of view the speaker is
trying to convey.
8 KEYS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING
1. Find areas of interest - Seize opportunities:
"What's in it for me?"
2. Judge content, not delivery - Judges content, skips over
delivery errors.
3. Hold your fire - Don't judge until comprehension is
complete.
4. Listen for ideas - Listen for central theme.
8 KEYS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING
5. Be a flexible note taker - Adjust to topic and organizational
pattern.
6. Resist distractions - Fight/avoid distractions; tolerate bad
habits in others; know how to concentrate.
7. Keep your mind open - Interpret emotional words; do not
get hung up on them.
8. Thought is faster than speech; use it - Challenge,
anticipate, mentally summarize, weight the evidence, listen
between the lines to tone
and voice.