1. Chapter 6
Connecting Listening and Thinking in the Communication Process

2. Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
6.1 Describe how listening helps you make connections with others in all aspects of your life. 6.2 Explain the complex nature of listening as a cognitive process. 6.3 Differentiate among three functions of listening behavior. 6.4 Select specific attitudes and behaviors to help you overcome your barriers to listening.

3. Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
6.5 Identify instances in which you must be a critical listener/thinker. 6.6 Characterize the speech and actions of a competent listener. 6.7 Use technology to take better notes and organize your work. 6.8 Identify the similarities and differences in listening behavior in different cultures.

4. Introduction
Listening is a cognitive activity that is defined as the active process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken or nonverbal messages.
Hearing is the passive physiological process in which sound is received by the ear.

5. The Importance of Effective Listening (1 of 2)
Learning Objective 6.1: Describe how listening helps you make connections with others in all aspects of your life.

6. The Importance of Effective Listening (2 of 2)
Effective listening helps in all aspects of life.
Most misunderstandings are the result of poor listening habits.
Technology and devices cause interruptions and distractions.

7. Figure 6.1: Proportional Time Spent by College Students in Communication Activities
The graph indicates how typical college students spend their waking time. The proportions given in this graph are averages and, of course, can vary dramatically from person to person and situation to situation.

8. Effective Listening (1 of 8)
Learning Objective 6.2: Explain the complex nature of listening as a cognitive process.

9. Effective Listening (2 of 8)
Sensing
Hearing is the physiological process in which sound is received by the ear.
Accurate reception of sounds requires the listener to focus attention on the speaker, discriminate among sounds, and concentrate.
Research shows that listening is affected by all of the senses (hearing, smell, taste, touch, and vision) and that information is taken in through all of the senses is processed in the brain.

10. Effective Listening (3 of 8)
Information Processing (Evaluation, Interpretation, and Understanding)
Evaluation occurs when we assess the meaning of information.
We interpret information based on tools such as our thinking preferences, the degree that we focused on the information, our existing knowledge, and paralanguage.
Information processing is the action of assigning meaning to the stimuli that is sensed.

11. Effective Listening (4 of 8)
Remembering
Remembering involves recalling something from stored memory.
Researchers say working memory and long-term memory are both essential processes and different aspects are required for different situations.

12. Effective Listening (5 of 8)
Thinking
The way we think affects both what and how we think.
Our thinking preference, or preferred mode of knowing, compares strongly with what we prefer to learn or do and how we go about it.
Our culture currently works against people’s ability to develop the skills of focus and attention.

13. Figure 6.2: Whole Brain Model
This figure depicts the four quadrants of the brain and identifies the type of thinking that occurs in each quadrant. Ned Herrmann created the concept of brain dominance as a way to demonstrate how different parts of the brain work.
Source: Depicted by Dwight R. Harfield, and used with permission.

14. Figure 6.3: Our Four Different Selves
This figure identifies the specific thinking skills of each of the four quadrants of the brain. Herrmann suggests that each quadrant engages the thinker in different behaviors.
Source: Depicted by Dwight R. Harfield, and used with permission.

15. Effective Listening (6 of 8)
Interpreting
When we interpret, we simply try to make sense of information received.
Interpreting is the process of understanding the meaning of a message from the speaker’s point of view and letting the speaker know that you understand.

16. Effective Listening (7 of 8)
Evaluating
In evaluating, the listener analyzes evidence, sorts fact from opinion, determines the intent of the speaker, judges the accuracy of the speaker’s statements and conclusions, and judges the accuracy of personal conclusions.
Once we assess a message we have received and understood, we might no longer hear and attend to other incoming messages.

17. Effective Listening (8 of 8)
Responding and Sending Feedback
A receiver who has listened to a message can connect with the sender by verbally or nonverbally verifying the message’s reception or indicating a lack of reception; this verification is known as feedback.
Responding is the listener’s overt behavior that indicates to the speaker what has and has not been received.

18. The Functions of Listening (1 of 3)
Learning Objective 6.3: Differentiate among three functions of listening behavior.

19. The Functions of Listening (2 of 3)
Listening to Obtain Information
Listening for information involves listening to gain comprehension.
Listening to Evaluate
Evaluative listening is listening to judge or analyze information.
Listening with Empathy
Empathy is the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.
Empathic listening is listening to understand what another person is thinking and feeling.
Empathic listeners reflect and clarify feelings by perception checking.

20. The Functions of Listening (3 of 3)
Listening for Enjoyment
When we listen purely for pleasure, personal satisfaction, and appreciation, we listen for enjoyment.

21. Barriers to Effective Listening (1 of 6)
Learning Objective 6.4: Select specific attitudes and behaviors to help you overcome your barriers to listening.

22. Barriers to Effective Listening (2 of 6)
Consider the Topic or Speaker Uninteresting
The level of interest and the amount of importance we place on a subject or a speaker usually govern how much effort we put into listening.
Deciding that a subject or person is uninteresting or boring often leads us to conclude that the information being presented is not important.

23. Barriers to Effective Listening (3 of 6)
Criticize the Speaker Instead of the Message
Speakers should do everything in their power to eliminate personal quirks that may distract attention away from their message.
Listeners must also share responsibility for receiving the message. Concentrate on Details, Not Main Ideas
Concentrate on Details, Not Main Ideas
Many of us listen for specific facts, assuming they are the important things to know.
Competent listeners focus on the main idea or most main ideas, not on every single word.

24. Barriers to Effective Listening (4 of 6)
Avoid Difficult Listening Situations
Concentration and energy are needed to overcome temptation to ignore or avoid what might seem confusing or difficult.
Try consciously and continually to listen to such communication.
Tolerate or Fail to Adjust to Distractions
Distractions constantly disrupt our concentration.
As listeners, we have the responsibility to adjust to, compensate for, or eliminate distractions and to focus on speakers and their messages.

25. Barriers to Effective Listening (5 of 6)
Fake Attention
Pretending to pay attention can become a habit.
Good listeners recognize when they are not listening well and do whatever it takes to return their attention to the speaker.
Bias and Prejudice
Self-perceptions, prejudices, and personal biases can include anything that is a barrier or gets in the way of understanding a speaker’s message.
Biases and prejudices often create barriers.

26. Barriers to Effective Listening (6 of 6)
Preferred Thinking
Our preferred thinking can create barriers in the listening process from the perspective of giving or receiving information.
We can grossly misinterpret another’s thinking if it is not in line with our own.

27. Critical Listening and Critical Thinking: Analyzing and Evaluating Messages (1 of 3)
Learning Objective 6.5: Identify instances in which you must be a critical listener/thinker.

28. Critical Listening and Critical Thinking: Analyzing and Evaluating Messages (2 of 3)
Critical listening is listening that judges the accuracy of the information presented, determines the reasonableness of its conclusions, and evaluates the presenter.
Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and assess information.
Assess the Speaker’s Motivation
Make a judgment about the speaker’s beliefs.
Compare our standards with those of the speaker.
Evaluate the worth of the message being presented.

29. Critical Listening and Critical Thinking: Analyzing and Evaluating Messages (3 of 3)
Judge the Accuracy of the Speaker’s Conclusions
Ask the following questions:
Is the speaker qualified to draw the conclusion?
Has the speaker actually observed the concept or issue about which he or she is talking?
Does the speaker have a vested interest in the message?
Does the speaker present adequate evidence to support the conclusion?
Is the evidence relevant to the conclusion?
Is there contrary evidence that refutes the information presented?
Does the message contain invalid or inadequate reasoning?

30. Improve Listening Competence (1 of 2)
Learning Objective 6.6: Characterize the speech and actions of a competent listener.

31. Improve Listening Competence (2 of 2)
Steps to become better listeners:
First, recognize the importance of effective listening.
Second, think of listening as an active behavior.
Third, recognize that a willingness to work and a desire to improve are essential to increased listening effectiveness.

32. Listening and Technology (1 of 2)
Learning Objective 6.7: Use technology to take better notes and organize your work.

33. Listening and Technology (2 of 2)
Avoid Overdependence on Media
Think independently.
Devote extra effort to understanding content without media.
Digital Literacy
Digital literacy has been defined as the set of attitudes, understanding, and skills needed to handle and communicate information in a variety of media and formats.

34. Intercultural Listening (1 of 2)
Learning Objective 6.8: Identify the similarities and differences in listening behavior in different cultures.

35. Intercultural Listening (2 of 2)
The best advice for communicating with people from other cultures is to:
Respectfully ask questions.
Be aware of cultural differences.
Listening requires energy and commitment.