1. 4. Effective listening AL AKHAWAYN UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES
4. Effective listening
Lecture by Dr. Mohammed Ibahrine
based on
Clella Jaffe’s Public Speaking

2. Effective listening A good listener is a good speaker
Learn how to listen and you will prosper, even from those who talk badly
Be a selfish listener
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3. 1. Listening Skills are valuable
1. Problem = Listening
2. Strategies to improve (solve) (problem) listening
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4. 1. Listening Skills are valuable
Listening is the communication skill we use most and study least
Listening is hard work
Good speakers should develop good listening skills to make critical listening one of their most valuable assets
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5. 1. Listening Skills are valuable
Why should we develop good listening habits and skills?
1. We listen most: because we listen so much, we will be more productive, if we do it well
2. Good listening skills are good job skills
3. Listening empowers people and aids social capital (relationship)
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6. 2. Barriers to Listening
The process of listening involves a number of difficulties
Cultural
Linguistic
personal
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7. 2.1 Cultural Barriers
A person, who is not aware of the cultural context, can not fully grasp the speaker’s cultural allusions, including historical, literary and religious sources (Joke)
The professional speaker should be sensitive to these differences and explain allusions or choose areas of common knowledge
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8. 2.2 Linguistic Barriers
The potential for linguistic misunderstandings is great because of
1. Language differences
2. Vocabulary Differences
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9. 2.2.1 Language differences
A shared language is vital for understanding
Interpretation (translations) is needed, if the listener does not understand (decode) the speaker’s language
Accents and dialects can hinder the listener's ability to distinguish the words he/she hears
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10. 2.2.2 Vocabulary Differences
If the speaker uses field-specific terminology (jargon?), the listener will not be able to understand the meaning of the words
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11. 2.3 Personal Barriers
A number of personal factors can hinder your listening
Physical factors
Physiological factors
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12. 2.3 Personal Barriers Physical factors: Hearing loss Sleep deprivation
Hunger pangs
Can affect the ability of the listener to focus on the speech
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13. 2.3 Personal Barriers Psychological factors:
Just had an argument with a friend
Have a test coming up in your next class
Your bank account is overdrawn
Can obstruct your listening
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14. 2.3 Personal Barriers Stereotypes and prejudiced:
When you have a stereotypes, you listen to the speaker with pre-formed judgments, which may be either positive or negative
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15. 3. Strategies to improve Listening
How can we develop critical listening skills
3.1 Use cultural and mental schemas to organize and understand message, because they follow a somewhat predictable patterns
3.2 Identify listening goals
For each type of listening, you shift your strategies to face your listening goals more effectively
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16. 3.1 Improve your Comprehension
Comprehensive listening or listening to learn is a vital skill in many areas of life
Several techniques can help improve listening
Prepare in advance
Use attention directing strategies
Enhance the meaning
Look for organizational patterns
Use strategies that complete your personal learning style
Do not ignore the speaker’s manner
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17. 3.2 Improve your Critical Listening Skills
Critical listening implies that listeners should not believe everything they hear (examples)
Critical listening skills builds on comprehensive listening
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18. 4 Practice Dialogical Listening
4.1. Give Appropriate Nonverbal Feedback
While listening to a public speech, you provide feedback, often nonverbal but sometimes verbal
Posture
Distance
Movements
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19. 4 Practice Dialogical Listening
4.2 Give Appropriate Verbal Feedback
Verbal feedback is direct since you interact with the speaker
The listener should write his/her comments or questions in order to ask the speaker during the question-and-answer period
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20. 5. Different types of questions
4.2.1 Loaded Questions
4.2.2 Closed Questions
4.2.3 Open questions
4.2.4 Clarification Questions
4.2.5 Requests for Elaboration
4.2.6 Comments
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21. Improve your listening skills:
Identify your listening problems and work to correct them.
Motivate yourself to get everything you can out of messages.
Put problems and biases aside so that you can listen more effectively.
Control your reactions to trigger words and other distractions.
Postpone judgments until you have heard all a speaker has to say.
Don’t try to write down everything a speaker says.
Listen for the main ideas.
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