Listening

Ambush listening

Waiting for the speaker to make some kind of mistake/error so you can jump in there

Problems

*Any problems throughout any part of the listening process results in less effective listening

Arousal level

-Another factor that refers to one's alertness to sounds -General alertness affects ability to listen effectively -At some times we are more alert than others, impacts our arousal level -Specific arousal level also impacts listening- certain sounds stimulate your arousal level more

Judging

-Appearance -Subject

What behaviors hinder effective listening?

-Faking attention -Distractions or overload -Trying to recall everything said -Judging -Jumping to conclusions -Hearing problems -Rapid thought -Ambush listening -Message complexity -Defensive listening -Stage hogging

Empathic listening

-Hardest to do, you have to listen so mindfully that you can see things from the other person's point of view, understand where the other person is coming from -More listening than talking -Following the other's lead rather than taking the lead -Respond with understanding and acceptance, not judging

Trying to recall everything said

-Impossible -Never learn to identify important from minor -Learn to separate key ideas from the "fluff" or additional explanation that is nice to know but not essential

Why is listening an important communication principle?

-Need to understand and be understood -We spend more time listening than any other form of communication

How can listening be improved?

-Pay attention -Listen for main points/ideas -Use spare time

Listening impacts

-Personal relationships (both forming and maintaining) -Individual professional success (training, meeting customer or client needs) -Organizational survival and/or growth (sales, production, management and employee relationships)

Critical listening

-Usually requires evaluating supporting materials so a decision/choice can be made -Requires more mindful listening and energy, learning for the sake of having to make a decision/judgement, take what you learn and analyze it, secret: knowing ahead of time what you are listening for -Analogy, example, statistics, testimony (quote or paraphrase)

Hearing process and difficulties

1. After sound waves received, we: A. Place sounds in a meaningful order/sequence of words B. Recognize words in a pattern which is language 2. Physical defects can block sound waves being translated to neurological impulses that are read by the brain

3 Major Elements

1. Hearing and attention/concentration 2. Understanding 3. Remembering

Listen for main points/ideas

1. Listening for main points aids in maintaining attention 2. Learn to distinguish the main point from the supporting material (Ex: The Gradual Approach is one way of beginning a vegan diet)

Pay attention

1. Most people think they are better listeners than they are 2. There is no correlation between skill at speaking and listening; it may actually be negatively related

4 Main types of listening

1. Pleasurable 2. Discriminative 3. Critical 4. Empathic

Use spare time

1. Speakers average 125-150 words per minute; listeners can attend to 400-500 words per minute 2. Nichols, foremost listening expert, suggests: A. Anticipate the speaker's next point from the context B. Mentally rehearse or review the points already covered C. Use critical thinking to judge the support D. Listen between the lines to the nonverbal message (for example, paralanguage, or use of gestures for emphasis)

Mindful listening

Active, high-level information processing (requires more energy, may cause physical changes in the body) Sometimes we don't need to mindful listen If mindful listening is required in a task and you are mindless listening, it will hurt you

Short term memory (STM)

Can handle about 5 bits of information for a short duration and is encoded by sound rather than sight

Selective attention

Choosing to process certain of the available stimuli while filtering out other stimuli

Long term memory (LTM)

Committed to memory by repetition and rehearsal

Multitasking

Distractions or overload

Pseudolistening

Faking attention

Attention

Focusing on some stimuli

Selective listening

Listeners have much control over what to hear. One concept related to attention in listening is threshold.

Pleasurable listening

Listening for joy, socializing, possibly mindless listening, pleasure

Discriminative listening

Listening primarily to gain knowledge, information, more mindful listening, learn

Aural

Of or relating to the ear; sense of hearing

Mindless listening

Passive, low-level information processing (less mental investment involved)

Concentration

Paying close attention, one of the most important parts of listening

Stage hogging

People who always like to be the center of attention, don't like to listen, try to turn the attention back to you

Message complexity

Some of us put up walls when we know messages are too complex

Remembering

Storing of information for later retrieval

Defensive listening

Take innocent remarks and take them as a personal attack, some looking for insults, insecure, unhappy people

Residual message

The kernel the listener remembers Ex: catch phrase, acronyms, etc.

Understanding (auditing)

The most complicated of the 4 processes and is how we assign meaning to words

Listening

The process of attending to, hearing, understanding, and remembering aural symbols

Threshold

Minimum level of stimulus intensity that enables one to pay attention Varies by several factors including volume, motivation and other factors

Hearing

An automatic, physiological process

Employees and managers

Research shows employees often feel that managers don't listen