This slide is designed for the course of Introduction to Communication taught to the students of BS Development Communication, Center for Rural Development Communication, University of Sindh Jamshoro

1. Listening
Rashid Ali Khuhro

2. What is Listening
• Hearing
The act of receiving sound.
• Listening
The active process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding
to spoken and/or nonverbal messages. It involves the ability to retain
information, as well as to react empathically and/ or appreciatively to spoken
and/or nonverbal messages.
A common myth is that listening is mostly a physical act. In fact, listening is
much more of a mental act than a physical act. As you will learn in this
chapter, listening requires you to actively think about and process
information.

3. Process of Listening

4. Attention
• Selective attention
The sustained focus we give to stimuli we deem important.
• Automatic attention
The instinctive focus we give to stimuli signaling a change in our surroundings, stimuli that
we deem important, or stimuli that we perceive to signal danger.
Working Memory
The part of our consciousness that interprets and assigns meaning to stimuli we pay
attention to.
• Short-term memory
A temporary storage place for information.
• Long-Term Memory
Our permanent storage place for information including but not limited to past experiences;
language; values; knowledge; images of people; memories of sights, sounds, and smells;
and even fantasies.
• Schema
Organizational “fi ling systems” for thoughts held in long-term memory.

6. Four Types of Listening
• Active Listening
Involved listening with a purpose.
• Empathic Listening
Listening with a purpose and attempting to understand the other person.
• Critical Listening
Listening that challenges the speaker’s message by evaluating its accuracy,
meaningfulness, and utility.
• Listening for Enjoyment
Situations involving relaxing, fun, or emotionally stimulating information.

7. Barriers to Listening

9. Gender Differences in Listening

10. Thanks