Listening vs. Hearing Did you know that we listen at 90-200 words per minute, but think at 500-600 words per minute.

What’s the difference between hearing and listening? You hear things all the time: your classmates rustling paper, your friend’s TV during a phone conversation. Hearing is passive--- you hear even when you don’t want to.

Listening, however, is an intentional act and an active process. Active listening requires that you concentrate on what you are hearing, attach meaning to it, and react to it. Without active listening you can’t understand the message and can’t give feedback.

Listening Process Sensing: or simply hearing the words Interpreting: or deriving meaning from the words Evaluating: or judging what the message is about in context Responding, or turning listening into a two way process. Allows for feedback, advice so that you have a successful communication

Active Listening is important for all areas of your life.

Selective Listening In any given situation, no two audience members will process the information in exactly the same way. People pay attention selectively to certain messages while ignoring others. Several factors influence what we listen to and what we ignore. -we pay attention to what we hold to be important -we pay attention to information that touches our experiences and backgrounds -we sort and filter new information on the basis of what we already know (i.e., one way we learn is by analogy.) With these principles in mind, try to: Identify what’s important to your listeners, including their interests, needs, attitudes, and values. Show them early on what they stand to gain from listening to you. Touch upon their experiences and backgrounds. Use analogies to help listeners learn new ides. Build repetition of key ideas into the speech. When appropriate, use presentation aids to visually reinforce your message

Steps in setting listening goals Identify need: “ I must know Suzanne’s speech thesis, purpose, main points, and type of organization in order to complete and hand in a written evaluation (next three speeches) Indicate performance standard: I will get a better grade on the evaluation if I am able to identify and evaluate the major components of Suzanne’s speech. Make action statement (goal): I will minimize distractions and practice the active listening steps during Suzanne’s speech. I will take careful notes during her speech and ask questions about anything I do not understand.” Assess goal achievement: Before I leave the classroom, I will review my notes carefully to make sure that I covered everything.

Evaluate Evidence and Reasoning As you listen to speeches, use your critical faculties to do the following: 1. evaluate the speaker’s evidence. Is it accurate? Are the sources credible? 2. analyze the speaker’s assumptions and biases. What lies behind the speaker’s assertions? Does the evidence support or contradict these assertions? 3. Assess the speaker’s reasoning. Does it betray faulty logic? Does it rely on fallacies in reasoning? 4. Consider Multiple perspectives. Is there another way to view the argument? How do other perspectives compare with the speaker’s? 5. Summarize and assess the relevant facts and evidence

Feedback Be honest and fair in your evaluation Adjust to the speaker’s style. Don’t judge the content of a speaker’s message by his or her style. Be compassionate in your criticism. Always start by saying something positive, and focus on the speech, not the speaker. Be selective in your criticism. Make specific rather than global statements. Rather than statements such as, “ I just couldn’t get into your topic,” give the speaker something he or she can learn from: “ I wanted more on why the housing market is falling…”

Listen Responsibly As listeners, we are ethically bound to refrain from disruptive and intimidating tactics. Try not to be a defensive listener. Remind yourself that effective listening precedes effective rebuttal. Try waiting for the speaker to finish before devising your own arguments Never assume that you already know exactly what a speaker will say; you’ll seldom be right. Work to overcome cultural barriers such as dialects, non-verbal and physical appearances.