LISTENING

By:
Mary Jane A. Obispo
What is listening?
 Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning
from, and responding to a spoken and/ or non-verbal
message (International Reading Association)

 It is an active process by which we make sense of, assess,

and respond to what we hear.

 Hearing is the physiological process of attending to sound

within one’s environment; listening, however, is a focused,
concentrated approach to understanding the message a
source is sending.
Hearing vs. Listening
IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING
 First, effective listening can help you become a better student.

 Second, effective listening can help you become more effective in

your interpersonal relationships.

 Third, effective listening can lead others to perceive you as more

intelligent.

 Lastly, effective listening can help you become a stronger public

speaker
Features of Spoken Text
 variation in speed - but it is generally faster than writing
 Loudness or quietness
 Gestures - body language
 Intonation
 Stress
 Rhythm
 Pitch range
 Pausing and phrasing
Factors that Affect Listening
 1. Noise 
It is one of the biggest factors to interfere with listening; it can be defined as
anything that interferes with your ability to attend to and understand a message.

Kinds of Noise
1. Physical noise consists of various sounds in an environment that interfere with a
source’s ability to hear. 
2. Psychological noise exists within a listener’s own mind and prevents him or her
from attending to a speaker’s message.
3. Physiological noise exists because a listener’s body is feeling some sensation that
prevents him or her from attending to a speaker’s message. 
4. Semantic noise is caused by a listener’s confusion over the meanings of words
used by a speaker.
Kinds of Noise
 2. Attention Span.
A person can only maintain focused attention for a finite length of time.
The limits of the human attention span can interfere with listening, but
listeners and speakers can use strategies to prevent this interference.
 3. Receiver Biases
Good listening involves keeping an open mind and withholding judgment
until the speaker has completed the message.

The first type of bias listeners can have is related to the speaker. Often a
speaker stands up and an audience member simply doesn’t like the speaker,
so the audience member may not listen to the speaker’s message.
The second type of bias listeners can have is related to the topic or
content of the speech
 4. Listening or Receiver Apprehension

the fear that a listener might be unable to understand the

message, process the information correctly, or adapt thinking to
include new information coherently. Speakers need to make sure
their messages are appropriate to the audience’s knowledge
level and clearly define and explain all terms that could lead to
increased anxiety.
Stages of Listening
 The receiving stage of listening is the basic stage where an
individual hears a message being sent by a speaker.

 The understanding stage of listening occurs when a receiver of

a message attempts to figure out the meaning of the message.

 The remembering stage of listening is when a listener either

places information into long-term memory or forgets the
information presented.
 The evaluating stage of listening occurs when a listener
judges the content of the message or the character of the
speaker.

 The responding stage of listening occurs when a listener

provides verbal or nonverbal feedback about the speaker or
message.
 During the responding stage of listening, listeners can
provide speakers with two types of feedback designed to
help a speaker know whether a listener is understanding
and what the listener thinks of a message.

 Formative feedback is given while the speaker is engaged

in the act of speech making.

 Summative feedback is given at the conclusion of a

speech.
Three Basic Listening Models:
 1. Competitive or combative listening: 

This is the type of listening that is done when people want to push their own
type of view or opinion rather than listen to someone else's. With this type of
listening, we mostly are waiting to jump in and say something or point out
flaws in what the other person is saying. We pretend that we are listening,
when really we are formulating our own ideas and just waiting for the person
to break so we can blurt them out. The downside is that we fail to actually
take in what the other person is saying and have closed our minds, which is a
barrier to good listening.
 2. Passive, attentive listening:

In this type of listening, we are genuinely interested in what

the person is saying. At this point, we are not yet at the point
of responding and being involved, but we understand the points
that the speaker is trying to make. We may agree with what is
being said, but we are doing so in a passive manner, rather
than in a reflective one.
 3. Active, reflective listening: 

This is the type of listening model that you want to use. In this
model, you actively listen and understand what the other
person is saying. Here, we listen to what the other person has
to say before we try to interject what we would like to share.
In this model, you restate or share back information with the
speaker, showing that you are paying attention and actively
involved.
LISTENING STYLE

Listening style is a general manner in which an individual attends to the

messages of another person.

 1. The people-oriented listener is interested in the speaker. People-oriented

listeners listen to the message in order to learn how the speaker thinks and
how they feel about their message.
 2. Action-oriented listeners are primarily interested in finding out what the
speaker wants.
Action-oriented listening is sometimes called task-oriented listening. In it, the
listener seeks a clear message about what needs to be done, and might have less
patience for listening to the reasons behind the task.
 3. Content-oriented listeners are interested in the message itself, whether it
makes sense, what it means, and whether it’s accurate.
Content-oriented listeners are interested in learning from you.
You therefore have an obligation to represent the truth in the fullest way you
can.
You can emphasize an idea, but if you exaggerate, you could lose credibility in
the minds of your content-oriented audience.

 4. Time-oriented listeners are people who prefer a message that gets to the
point quickly. Time-oriented listeners can become impatient with slow
delivery or lengthy explanations. This kind of listener may be receptive for
only a brief amount of time and may become rude or even hostile if the
speaker expects a longer focus of attention.
Types of Listening
 Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby the
difference between difference sounds is identified. If you cannot hear
differences, then you cannot make sense of the meaning that is expressed by
such differences.

 We learn to discriminate between sounds within our own language early, and
later are unable to discriminate between the phonemes of other languages.
This is one reason why a person from one country finds it difficult to speak
another language perfectly, as they are unable distinguish the subtle sounds
that are required in that language.
 2. Comprehension listening is listening to comprehend the meaning
requires first having a lexicon of words at our fingertips and also all
rules of grammar and syntax by which we can understand what others
are saying. It is listening to derive information, facts, ideas, and
principles
 Comprehension listening is also known as content listening,
informative listening and full listening.

 3. Critical listening is listening in order to evaluate and judge,

forming opinion about what is being said. Judgment includes assessing
strengths and weaknesses, agreement and approval.
 This form of listening requires significant real-time cognitive effort as
the listener analyzes what is being said, relating it to existing
knowledge and rules, whilst simultaneously listening to the ongoing
words from the speaker.
 4. Biased listening happens when the person hears only what they want to
hear, typically misinterpreting what the other person says based on the
stereotypes and other biases that they have. Such biased listening is often
very evaluative in nature.

 5. Evaluative listening, or critical listening, we make judgments about what

the other person is saying. We seek to assess the truth of what is being said.
We also judge what they say against our values, assessing them as good or
bad, worthy or unworthy.
 Evaluative listening is particularly pertinent when the other person is trying
to persuade us, perhaps to change our behavior and maybe even to change
our beliefs. Within this, we also discriminate between subtleties of language
and comprehend the inner meaning of what is said. Typically also we weigh
up the pros and cons of an argument, determining whether it makes sense
logically as well as whether it is helpful to us.
 Evaluative listening is also called critical, judgmental or interpretive
listening.
 6. Appreciative listening, we seek certain information which will appreciate, for
example that which helps meet our needs and goals. We use appreciative
listening when we are listening to good music, poetry or maybe even the stirring
words of a great leader.

 7. In therapeutic listening, the listener has a purpose of not only empathizing

with the speaker but also to use this deep connection in order to help the
speaker understand, change or develop in some way.
 This not only happens when you go to see a therapist but also in many social
situations, where friends and family seek to both diagnose problems from
listening and also to help the speaker cure themselves, perhaps by some
cathartic process. This also happens in work situations, where managers, HR
people, trainers and coaches seek to help employees learn and develop.
 8. Sympathetic listening we care about the other person and show this
concern in the way we pay close attention and express our sorrow for their
ills and happiness at their joys.

 9. Empathetic listening, when we listen empathetically, we go beyond

sympathy to seek a truer understand how others are feeling. This requires
excellent discrimination and close attention to the nuances of emotional
signals. When we are being truly empathetic, we actually feel what they are
feeling.
 In order to get others to expose these deep parts of themselves to us, we also
need to demonstrate our empathy in our demeanor towards them, asking
sensitively and in a way that encourages self-disclosure.
 10. Dialogic listening. The word 'dialogue' stems from the Greek words 'dia',
meaning 'through' and 'logos' meaning 'words'. Thus dialogic listening mean
learning through conversation and an engaged interchange of ideas and
information in which we actively seek to learn more about the person and how
they think.
 Dialogic listening is sometimes known as 'relational listening'.

 11. Relationship listening. Sometimes the most important factor in listening is in

order to develop or sustain a relationship. This is why lovers talk for hours and
attend closely to what each other has to say when the same words from someone
else would seem to be rather boring.
 Relationship listening is also important in areas such as negotiation and sales,
where it is helpful if the other person likes you and trusts you
Critical Listening

 It is the process a listener goes through using careful,

systematic thinking and reasoning to see whether a speaker’s
message makes sense in light of factual evidence. When
listeners are not critical of the messages they are attending
to, they are more likely to be persuaded by illogical
arguments based on opinions and not facts.
Six Ways to Improve Your Critical Listening

 1. Recognizing the Difference between Facts and Opinions

 2. Uncovering Assumptions
Assumptions are gaps in a logical sequence that listeners passively fill with their
own ideas and opinions and may or may not be accurate. When listening to a
public speech, you may find yourself being asked to assume something is a fact
when in reality many people question that fact.
 3. Be Open to New Ideas
 4. Rely on Reason and Common Sense
 5. Relate New Ideas to Old Ones
 6. Take Useful Notes
References:
 Ang
, J. (2009). Oral Communication: A content –based and learning –centered tex
t manual in speech communication
 https://
courses.lumenlearning.com/boundlesscommunications/chapter/stages-of-list
ening/
 https://
saylordotorg.github.io/text_stand-up-speak-out-the-practice-and-ethics-of-pu
blic-speaking/s07-the-importance-of-listening.html
 www.uefap.com/speaking/feature/complex.htm
 https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-types.html
 http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/kline-listen/b10ch4.htm
 https://
study.com/academy/lesson/types-of-listening-pseudo-appreciative-empathic-
comprehensive-critical.html
 https://www.slideshare.net/feueacmrq/types-of-listening-23635247
 Thank you and have a
blessed day everyone…