By Prof. Patterson Listening

Listening is an important skill

Hearing and listening are different processes Hearing is a physiological process Listening is a mental process

Most people are poor listeners Research shows most people understand only half of what they hear After 24 hours, most people remember only 10 percent of what they originally heard

Listening is an important job skill Effective listeners hold higher job positions, promoted more often than poor listeners Business managers rank listening as the communication skill most crucial to their jobs Survey of Fortune 500 countries revealed

Listening is an excellent way to improve one’s speaking skills Speakers get many of their ideas by listening to lectures, TV, radio, etc. Listening attentively to good speeches is an excellent way to improve your own speaking skills

Listening skills are closely linked to critical thinking

Four types of listening Appreciative listening Empathic listening Comprehensive listening Critical listening

Appreciative listening Listening for pleasure or enjoyment Examples: listening to music or comedy routines Empathic listening Listening to provide emotional support for the speaker Examples: counselors and friends practice empathic listening when they discuss something with a person in distress

Comprehensive listening Focuses on understanding the speaker’s message Examples: listening to classroom lectures; getting directions to a friend’s house Critical listening Involves evaluating a message either to accept it or reject it Example: listening to a sales pitch or a campaign speech are opportunities to listen critically

Comprehensive and critical listening are most important for public speaking

Critical thinking skills central to Comprehensive Listening Ability to summarize information Ability to recall facts Ability to distinguish between main points and minor points

Critical thinking skills important to Critical listening Separating fact from opinion Spotting weaknesses in reasoning Judging the quality of evidence

Four Cause of Poor Listening Not concentrating Listening too hard Jumping to conclusions Focusing on delivery and personal appearance instead of listening to a speaker’s message

Ways to Improve Listening Skills First, take listening seriously Second, become an active listener Third, resist distractions Fourth, don’t be diverted by appearance or delivery Fifth, suspend judgment until hearing a speaker’s full message Sixth, focus your listening Seventh, develop strong note-taking skills