What Is Listening?

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MC109/COMM100: LISTENING

SULAY JALLOH

LISTENING

WHAT IS LISTENING?

Listening is not a process of transferring an idea from the mind of a speaker to the mind of a listener.

Listening is a process of speaker and listener working together to achieve a common understanding.

THE PROCESS OF LISTENING

Figure 4.2

The process of listening can be described as a series of FIVE steps:

a)Receiving,

b)Understanding,

c)Remembering,

d)Evaluating,

e)Responding.

The process of listening is a circular one. The responses of Person A serve as the stimuli for Person B, whose responses in turn serve as the stimuli for Person A, and so on.

1) RECEIVING

Unlike listening, hearing is something that just happens when you open your ears or when you get within earshot of some auditory stimuli.

Listening begins (but does not end) with receiving messages the speaker sends. Verbally and the nonverbally.

For improved reception:

a)Focus attention on the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal messages, on what is said and on what is not said.

b)Look for both feedback to previous messages as well as feedforward, which can reveal how the speaker would like his or her message viewed

c)Avoid distractions in the environment and focus attention on the speaker rather than on what you’ll say next

d)Maintain your role as listener and avoid interrupting the speaker until he or she is finished

2) UNDERSTANDING

Understanding is the stage at which you learn what the speaker means. This understanding must take into consideration both the thoughts that are expressed as well as the emotional tone that accompanies these thoughts.

For improved understanding:

a)Relate new information to what you already know

b)see the speaker’s messages from the speaker’s point of view, avoid judging the message until you’ve fully understood it as the speaker intended it.

c)ask questions to clarify or to secure additional details or examples if necessary

d)rephrase (paraphrase) the speaker’s ideas in your own words

3)REMEMBERING

Messages that you receive and understand need to be retained for at least some period of time. E.g: Note taking in class.

Memory can be improved by:

a)Identifying the central ideas in a message and the major support advanced for them

b)Summarizing the message in a more easily retained form but being careful not to ignore crucial details or qualifications

c)Repeating names and key concepts to yourself or, if appropriate, aloud

NOTE:

REMEMBERING IS NOT REPRODUCTIVE, BUT RECONSTRUCTIVE.

4) EVALUATING

Evaluating consists of judging the messages in some way.

At times you may try to evaluate the speaker’s underlying intent. Often this evaluation process goes on without much conscious thought. E.g: Nadia tells you that she is planing to release an album for the kids.

if you know the person well, you’ll be able to identify the intention and therefore be able to respond appropriately.

In other situations, the evaluation is more in the nature of critical analysis. E.g: Listening to Mr. Sulay’s lecturer

In evaluating, try to:

a)Resist evaluation until you fully understand the speaker’s point of view

b)Assume that the speaker is a person of goodwill and give the speaker the benefit of any doubt by asking for clarification on issues that you feel you must object to.

c)Distinguish facts from inferences, opinions, and personal interpretations by the speaker.

d)Identify any biases, self-interests, or prejudices that may lead the speaker to slant unfairly what is presented.

5) RESPONDING (Feedback)

Responding occurs in two phases:

1. Responses you make while the speaker is talking.
2. Responses you make after the speaker has stopped talking.

I. Responses made while the speaker is talking:

a)should be supportive

b)should acknowledge that you’re listening to the speaker. These include what nonverbal researchers call BACKCHANNELING CUES such as "I see," "yes," "uh-huh," and similar signals.

II. Responses made after the speaker has stopped talking are generally more elaborate and might include:

a)Expressing empathy. E.g: ‘I know how you must feel’.

b)Asking for clarification E.g: ‘Do you mean that Malaysia won the FIFA world cup or the Thomson cup.

c)Challenging. E.g: disagree with your evidence.

d)Agreeing. E.g: You’re absolutely right.

In responding, try to:

a)Be supportive of the speaker throughout the speaker’s talk by using and varying backchanneling cues appropriately.

b)Express support for the speaker in your final responses.

c)Be honest; the speaker has a right to expect honest responses, even if these express anger or disagreement.

d)State your thoughts and feelings as your own: use I-MESSAGES.

LISTENING, CULTURE, AND GENDER

Listening is difficult, in part, because of the inevitable differences in the communication systems between speaker and listener. Because each person has had a unique set of experiences, each person’s communication and meaning system is going to be different from each other.

Some areas of difference that may arise as a result of cross cultural communication:

a)language and Speech

b)Non-verbal behavioral differences

c)Direct and indirect style

d)The balance of story versus Evidence

e)Credibility

f)Feedback

Gender differences:

a)Men lecture and women listen.

b)The goal of a man in conversation is to be accorded respect, and so he seeks to display his knowledge and expertise even if he has to change the topic to one he knows a great deal about.

c)The goal of a women in conversation is to be liked and so they express agreement, rarely interrupt a man to take their turn as speaker, and give lots of cues (verbally and nonverbally) to indicate that they are listening.

There’s no evidence to show that these differences represent any negative motives, Rather, it is largely the result of the way in which men and women have been socialized.

LISTENING EFFECTIVELY

Because you listen for different reasons and toward different ends, there are five dimensions of listening:

a)Participatory and passive listening: Refer to the degree to which the listener actively CONTRIBUTE the communication act.

b)Empathic and objective listening: Refer to the degree to which the listener FOCUSES on feeling what the speaker is feeling versus understanding the objective message.

c)Nonjudgmental and critical listening: Refer to the degree to which the listener EVALUATES what is said.

d)Surface and depth listening: Refer to the EXTENT to which the listener focuses on the obvious or literal meaning versus the less obvious or hidden messages

e)Active and inactive listening: Refer to the EXTENT to which the listener REFLECTS BACK AND EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR THE SPEAKER.

ETHICS OF LISTENING

Listening is like speaking. It comes with two ethical responsibilities:

1. There is the responsibility to give the speaker an honest hearing, without prejudices or preconceptions.

1. To give the speaker open and honest feedback. The speaker has the right to expect honest responses just as the listener has the right to expect honesty from the speaker.