1. COMM 100
Listening

2. Agenda Administrative—6:30-6:35 Exam 1 Review—6:35-6:45
Attendance
Questions
Exam 1 Review—6:35-6:45
Lecture—6:45-7:40
Listening
Active Listening
Break—7:40-7:55
Activity—7:55-8:55
Journal #4
Listening quiz
Back-to-back picture drawing

3. Listening What does it mean to listen? What does it mean to hear?
Some facts:
The average person spends 45% to 53% of waking time listening to others (Buckley, 1992).
We spend more time listening than in any other communication activity (Nichols, 1996).
Listening is consistently rated as the top skill for managers in the workplace (Windsor, Curtis, & Stephen 1997)

4. Listening
More facts:
Listening is the most important skill in conflict resolution (Van Styke, 1997).
Students who are effective listeners perform better than their peers who aren’t effective at listening.
Listening is one of the most important skills in developing empathy and emotional intelligence (Reeves, 2005).
Listening is directly related to relationship satisfaction (Barnes et al, 2007).

5. Listening Listening is not synonymous with hearing.
Hearing is a physiological, auditory process.
Listening is the complex process that consists of being mindful, hearing, selecting, and organizing information, interpreting communication, responding, and remembering.

6. Selecting and Organizing
Being Mindful
Receiving
Remembering
Selecting and Organizing
Interpreting
Responding
Listening
From Wood, J.T. (2008). Communication mosaics. 5th Ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson

7. Mindfulness Mindfulness Developing mindfulness
Focus on what is happening
Being fully present in the moment
Developing mindfulness
Empty your mind
Concentrate on the person
Allow distracting thoughts to float by
Evaluate how well you practiced mindfulness

8. Mindfulness Listening is dialogic, where dialogue is
Characterized by turn-taking
Conversation in which there is deep concern for the other person and the relationship between the two.
Committed to openness, honesty, and mutual commitment
Martin Buber, I and Thou
We address existence in one of two ways:
I and It
I and Thou
The Eternal Thou
Foss, Foss, and Griffin: dialogue is an intersubjective encounter characterized by freedom, openness, safety, and immanent value.

9. Receiving
Listening involves physically receiving communication through
hearing sounds
interpreting nonverbal behavior
reading lips
ASL
Gender differences in listening
Speaking rates

10. Selecting and Organizing
Remember the perception process
Selection
Factors in selection: psychological influences, expectations, cognitive schemata, social roles, cultural and social affinity.
We attend to things that are loud, intense or unusual (and ignore those that are not).
We use cognitive schemata to organize our perceptions
Listeners actively define the listening situation and construct its meaning.
We construct others and their communication.

11. Interpreting communication
Interpretation—the putting together of what we have selected and organized in a way that “makes sense” of the communication.
Effective interpretation
recognizes others viewpoints.
Demonstrates a willingness to open ourselves to the other.
There is an ethical responsibility in listening.
Good listeners “stay out of the others way” so that they can learn how the speaker views the situation (Bolton, 1986; p. 167).

12. Responding Responding includes
expressing interest,
asking questions,
voicing our own ideas on a topic,
and otherwise communicating attentiveness.
We simultaneously send and receive messages.
Skillful listeners give signs that they are involved in interaction
Nonverbal cues
Paralingustic cues

13. Remembering
Remembering—the process of committing information to the mind for later recall.
After 8 seconds, we recall about 35% of a message.
Improving recall
Repeat key information to yourself three times.
Review your notes after finishing a class or conversation.
Invent mnemonics to remember basic information.
Group complex information into categories.

14. Obstacles to Effective Listening
Situational obstacles
Message overload
Message complexity
Environmental distractions
Internal obstacles
Preoccupation
Prejudgments
Lack of effort
Diverse listening styles

15. Forms of Ineffective Listening
Psuedolistening
Monopolizing
Selective listening
Defensive listening
Ambushing (strategic listening)
Literal listening

16. Effective Listening Guidelines for effective listening Be mindful
Control obstacles
Ask questions
Use aids to recall
Organize information

17. Effective listening Relationship listening Active listening Be mindful
Suspend judgment
Strive to understand the other’s perspective
Minimal encouragers
Paraphrasing
Express support
Active listening
Listen
Affirm
Satisfy
Thank

18. *BREAK*

19. Journal #4
CHOOSE ONE:
Give an example of a time when you were an ineffective listener with a partner, friend, or family member. What did you do/not do? What was the effect on your Partner at the moment? Were there any long-term impacts? Do the same for an example of a time you were an effective listener with your partner. What might you do differently in the future?
What daily challenges do you encounter in your listening to your partner, friend, or roommate? What strategies do you use to overcome these listening barriers? Are there additional strategies you can employ?

20. Activity 1: Listening to Stories
Listen to the stories and answer the questions

21. Activity 2: Listing to Technical Communication
Instructions:
Find a partner
Sit back-to-back with your partner
Partner A (“the instructor) will face the front of the room.
Partner B (“the listener) will face the back of the room.
I will show an image
Partner A will use verbal communication and instruct Partner B in drawing the image.
NO CHEATING!!! If Partner B looks at the screen, that ruins the fun of the activity.