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4 Listening: A Silent Hero Chapter McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. businesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesign businesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesign businesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesignbusinesscommunicationdesig Chapter 4 Listening: A Silent Hero Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Profile of Business Communication Skills Business professionals spend most of their time using listening skills at work. Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening: Key to Success in Business (1 of 2) Time spent listening increases as one climbs the corporate ladder Listening is basic to leadership Organizations offer listening training 85% of knowledge comes from listening Poor listening costs time and money Effective listening takes effort Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Hearing Is Not Listening Hearing: involuntary, physical process of receiving sound waves Listening: active process involving— Selecting certain sounds Attending to (focusing on) the sounds Interpreting (decoding) the sounds Remembering (storing) sounds for later use Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Active Listening in Business An interpersonal, interactive process Listener focuses, interprets, responds Requires alertness Requires attention to entire message Requires relevant, timely feedback Vital listening skill for business Basis of other listening types Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening to Learn (1 of 2) Prepare to listen • Be alert • Avoid distractions • Concentrate; stay quiet Interpret and remember • Relate ideas to knowledge • Picture key aspects Withhold judgment Understand message before criticizing it—even mentally Outline messages Mentally outline primary and secondary ideas Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening to Learn (2 of 2) Take notes To help you focus and remember, take mental or written notes Mentally summarize Restate information and details in your mind Ask questions Ask specific questions to confirm your understanding Practice listening to challenging material Listen to TV news, debates, seminars, study tapes, etc. Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critical Listening Assess accuracy, credibility, validity of persuasive information Look for fallacies Sort facts from opinions Balance arguments with expectations and beliefs Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sensitive Listening Be supportive and nonjudgmental Allow speaker to vent With nonverbal cues, encourage speaker to go on Focus on speaker’s viewpoint Paraphrase speaker’s message Validate speaker’s feelings Empathy Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problem identification Dialogue Listening Identify, explore, and share the views of everyone in group Focus on interaction itself, not on yourself or other group members Dialogue listening is effective for: Idea generation Change initiatives Conflict resolution Problem identification Strategy sessions Change initiatives Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Practice Listening in Groups Prepare in advance • Gather, study materials • Write ideas, questions • Decide to listen actively During the meeting • Be alert; take notes • Be patient, uncritical • Give feedback • Ask questions to clarify Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Passive Listening in Business Passive listeners absorb sound for enjoyment Little personal involvement No interpretation or feedback Includes two kinds of passive listening Listening for pleasure Casual listening Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening for Pleasure Requires no specific skills Comforting nature sounds, soothing music Create relaxing atmosphere Provide therapy; relieve stress Enable strong relationships Foster teamwork Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Casual (Informal) Listening Conversational casual listening: Interaction between two or more people in a social setting (e.g. lunch) Can demand active listening skills Does not require effective listening Polite casual listening: No interaction Listener may be uninterested in topic But listener signals interest nonverbally Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening Liabilities In business, these obstacles impede effective listening: External noise Internal noise Message noise Channel deficiencies Cultural barriers Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

External Noise Environmental noise can hinder listening Ringing telephones Beeping fax machines Employee chitchat Clicking keyboards Roaring fans Hand-held devices distract some listeners during business meetings Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Internal Noise (1 of 2) Preoccupation with personal concerns Physical Emotional Professional Self-centered listening Focusing on one’s own ideas Forming a response instead of listening Interrupting speaker or changing subject Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Internal Noise (2 of 2) Focusing on facts, ignoring detail, tone Misusing gap between speaking and listening rates Avg. speaking rate = 135 words a minute Avg. listening rate = 500 words a minute Daydream or tune in to distractions Jump to conclusions or interrupt Omitting important questions Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Message Noise Messages that seem boring, complex Emotionally charged words, messages Preconceived ideas and prejudices Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Channel Deficiencies Channels that omit nonverbal cues can distract listeners Telephone Audiotape Two-way radio Teleconferencing Face-to-face contact enhances listening Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Barriers (1 of 2) Listener may be distracted from message by speaker’s accent Give careful attention Watch speaker’s nonverbal cues Give nonverbal cues to speaker Ask questions to clarify message Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Barriers (2 of 2) Men and women may listen differently Men: listen for overt content Women: listen for emotional tone Ideal listener: listens for both facts and feelings Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening Training Examine Steve Boyd’s Listening Training Program online Which Chapter 4 topics are covered in this 30-hour training program? Visit Communication Ideas online; select Cross Cultural Read one article; note the principles of communication it includes Prepare a one-minute oral presentation for the class Internet Explorer recommended for viewing web sites Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Passive Listening Search the World Wide Web using the keywords below initially Relaxation therapy White noise Ask a few businesspeople if/how white noise applies to their workplace Present, explain a white noise sample in class if possible Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.