1. Listening and Thinking in the Communication Process
Prepared for UHS 2052, UHS 2062 and SHP 1313 students at UTM Malaysia by: Siti Rokiah Siwok

2. Something to ponder:
“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them”
(Ralph Nichols)

3. Listening skills Most important activity in communication (53%-60%)
Identified as one of the top communication skills employers seek at entry-level.
Yet, listening skills is the activity which has been most neglected.

4. Listening
It is a natural ability, there is no need to learn?

5. Listening vs Hearing

6. There are a lot of differences
Hearing
Listening
Passive
A complex process; closely related to thinking process, reasoning, comprehension and memory.
An active process

7. Listening is…
The active process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken or nonverbal message
( Sieler and Beall, 2011, page 142)
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

8. …..is a highly complex, probably the most complex, human behavior.
Listening…..
…..is a highly complex, probably the most complex, human behavior.
(Andrew D. Wolvin)
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

9. Stages of Effective Listening
Hearing
Understanding
Remembering
Interpreting
Evaluating
Responding: Sending Feedback
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

10. Hearing
Hearing is a passive physiological process in which sound is received by the ear.
For accurate reception, there is also a need for the listener to focus attention on the speaker, discriminate among sounds and concentrate.
The rest of the process differentiates between hearing and listening.

11. Understanding
Understanding may also be called comprehension, which means that we assign meanings to the stimuli that we hear.
Thus understanding involves the processing of information and assigning meanings
Prior knowledge and past experience play a big role; so are other factors. .

12. Remembering Involves memory
Researchers suggest that working (short-term) memory and long-term memory are important. Different situations demand different types of memory.

13. Can we improve our memory both short and long term?
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

14. Working Memory Long-Term Memory Improving Memory Repetition Chunking
Logical Patterns
Long-Term Memory
Association
Categorization
Meaningfulness (mediation)
Imagery
Mnemonics
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

15. Other ways to improve memory
Identify central ideas in a message
Summarizing the message
Repeat names and key concepts to yourself, and if appropriate, aloud
Ask questions when in doubt
(De Vito, 2012)

16. Interpreting Listener tries to make sense of the information received.
In the process of interpreting, Brownell suggest :
Take into account of the context
Let the speaker know you understand the message

17. Evaluating
The listener analyses evidence, sorts the facts from opinion, determine the intent of the speaker, judges the accuracy of the speaker’s statements and conclusions
At this stage, the listener also judges the accuracy of his or her own decisions.

18. Responding: Sending Feedback
Responding is the listener’s overt behaviour that indicates to the speaker what has or has not been received
Giving feedback is an important part of being an effective listener.
Feedback helps to ensure understanding and helps speaker determine whether communication is successful.

19. The Importance of Effective Listening
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

20. The Importance of Effective Listening
Poor listening contributes to:
Misunderstandings
Personal, professional, and financial problems
Incorrect assignments, missed appointments, lower grades
Etc
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

21. Better Listeners….. Enhance their job performance Get raises
Have high status
Have Power
Get Promotions
Improve their productivity
Sypher, Bostrom & Seibert (1989), The Journal for Business Communication Harris (1989), Nation’s Business

22. What do we listen for?

23. Functions of Listening
Listening to obtain information
Listening to evaluate
Listening with empathy
Listening for enjoyment
In each case, listening serves a different function and involves different skill.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

24. Critical listening and critical thinking
To make choice and decision
Critical thinking is the ability to analyse and assess information ( Robert Enis in Sieler and Beall, 2012)
Critical thinking involves (1) assessing the speaker’s values and intent, and (2) Judging the accuracy of the speaker’s conclusions

25. Are you a good listener?

26. A person with Ineffective listening habits
Thinks that the topic nor the speaker is of interest.
Focuses on the speaker’s appearance or delivery.
Listens only for details
Tends to be easily distracted
Fakes attention

27. A person with effective listening habits
Keeps an open mind and find areas of interest.
Overlooks speaker’s characteristics and concentrates on the contents.
Listens for ideas
Resists distractions
Pays attention

28. How can we improve our listening competence?
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

29. To Improve our listening competence…
Be prepared to listen.
Behave like a good listener.
Take good notes.
Ask questions to clarify information.
Be an active listener
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

30. Active listening habits
Restatements
Make summary
Respond to non-verbals
Respond to feelings

31. What are the barriers to listening?

32. Among the Barriers to effective listening:
Uninteresting topic or speaker
Criticizing speaker, not message
Concentrating on details, not main ideas
Avoiding difficult listening situations
Failing to adjust to distractions
Faking attention
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

33. Listening and Technology: Does technology guarantee effective listening?
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

34. Listening and Technology
Technology can help us focus on the central point in a presentation
Technology can help us become better listeners, but we have also to be aware of the likelihood that technology can be a distraction
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2008

35. Cultural and listening
Although different cultures have differences and similarities in listening, good habits transcends all cultures.
Respect is one of the essential ingredients in effective listening skills.
To be respectful and to be aware of the cultural differences are two good starting points in intercultural listening.

36. Main Reference:
Seiler, W. J and Beall, M. L ( 2011). Communication. Making Connections ( 7th ed). Boston: Pearson
De Vito, J. A. ( 2012). Human Communication. The Basic Course (12th ed). Boston: Pearson