module 2

1. LISTENING

2. Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
1. Realize the different reasons for listening;
2. Compare the differences between listening and hearing;
3. Classify the different types of listening;
4. Identify the different types of listeners; and
5. Demonstrate ability of an ethical speaker and listener.

3. Reasons for Listening
According to Owen Hargie author of Skilled Interpersonal
Interaction: Research, Theory, and Practice (London: Routledge,
2011), he enumerated the following main purpose of listening:
1. to focus on messages sent by other people or noises coming
from our surroundings
2. to better our understanding of other people’s communication
3. to critically evaluate other people’s messages
4. to monitor nonverbal signals

4. Reasons for Listening
5. to indicate that we are interested or paying attention
6. to empathize with others and show we care for them (relational
maintenance)
7. to engage in negotiation, dialogue, or other exchanges that
result in shared understanding of or agreement on an issue.

5. Reasons for Listening
Specifically, the following present the importance of listening (Diaz,
2005):
1. Stimulates better communication between the parties involved
2. Facilitates the meeting of minds
3. Gives pleasure and even comfort
4. Assists in understanding of what is being said
5. Enables to react to what is said
6. Enlarges one’s experience
7. Corrects problems of vocalization
8. More importantly, it decreases the tensions of life

6. Types of Listening
A. Discriminative listening
This type of listening involves identifying the difference between
tones and sounds to figure out how these differences may affect
the entire meaning of a sentence. It enables us to pick up on
verbal cues that indicate what the speaker is truly saying or what
emotions they are trying to express.

7. Types of Listening
B. Informational Listening
It entails listening with the goal of comprehending and retaining
information. This type of listening is not evaluative and is
common in teaching and learning contexts. We also use
informational listening when we listen to news reports, voice
mail, and briefings at work.

8. Types of Listening
C. Critical listening
It is an important type of listening because it requires you to listen
to a message and assess whether the message and the speaker
are trustworthy. It can also enable you to take the message
presented to them, compare it to the knowledge you may already
have on the subject and form your own analysis and opinion on
the message.

9. Types of Listening
D. Empathetic Listening
It is the most challenging form of listening and occurs when we
try to understand or experience what a speaker is thinking or
feeling. Empathetic listening is distinct from sympathetic
listening. While the word empathy means to “feel into” or “feel
with” another person, sympathy means to “feel for” someone.
Sympathy is generally more self-oriented and distant than
empathy (Bruneau, 1993).

10. Types of Listeners
People may be categorized as one or more of the following listeners:
1. People-oriented listeners
These kind of listeners are concerned about the emotional states
of others and listen with the purpose of offering support in
interpersonal relationships. People oriented listeners can be
characterized as “supporters” who are caring and understanding.
These listeners are sought out because they are known as people
who will “lend an ear.” They may or may not be valued for the
advice they give, but all people often want is a good listener.

11. Types of Listeners
2. Action-oriented listeners
They are focus on what action needs to take place in regards to
a received message and try to formulate an organized way to
initiate that action. These listeners are frustrated by
disorganization, because it detracts from the possibility of
actually doing something. Action-oriented listeners can be
thought of as “builders”—like an engineer, a construction site
foreperson, or a skilled project manager. This style of listening
can be very effective when a task needs to be completed under
time, budgetary, or other logistical constraints.
.

12. Types of Listeners
3. Content-oriented listeners
They like to listen to complex information and evaluate the
content of a message, often from multiple perspectives, before
drawing conclusions. These listeners can be thought of as
“learners,” and they also ask questions to solicit more information
to fill out their understanding of an issue.

13. Types of Listeners
4. Time-oriented listeners
They are more concerned about time limits and timelines than
they are with the content or senders of a message. These listeners
can be thought of as “executives,” and they tend to actually
verbalize the time constraints under which they are operating.

14. Listening Process
Listening is the learned process of receiving, interpreting, recalling,
evaluating, and responding to verbal and nonverbal messages. We
begin to engage with the listening process long before we engage
in any recognizable verbal or nonverbal communication.
Listening underwent the following process (Diaz, 2005):
A. The Physical or Attention Stage - this is the process of listening,
wherein, the listener is readying himself/herself to listen.

15. Listening Process
B. The Logical or Auditory Discrimination Stage - this is the
process, wherein, the listener is choosing which among those
information he/she heard will be processed.
C. The Semantic or Comprehension - this is the process, in
which, the listener understands the information heard.
D. The Retention Stage - this is the process, in which, the listener
will remember or retain the information heard.

16. Levels of Listening
1. Ignoring – the listener does not show interest to listen.
2. Pretending - it is called ‘listening on the eye level’. The listener
only just pretends to listen for the purpose of showing respect to
the person who is speaking. The listener does not understand
entirely what the person is saying.
3. Selective Listening - the listener choose only the person who or
what he/she wants to listen.

17. Levels of Listening
4. Attentive Listening - it is listening from the ears to process it in
the mind. The listener shows interest to listen and listens
purposively to comprehend what he/she is listening.
5. Sympathetic Listening- it is listening from the ears to heart. The
listener listens to show compassion to others.
6. Emphatic Listening - it is more than just listening to others but
also a way of showing to a person that you are someone whom the
person can lean on in times of trial. It is showing a deeper
compassion and genuine heart.

18. Ways on How to be an Ethical
Listener and Speaker
The following discussion will enumerate common problems in listening and
ethical ways to become an effective listener and speaker (Coaching Speech,
n.d.).
1. Tuning out dull topics
Many listeners decide early on what topic is simply not interesting. However, it
has been said that there are no uninteresting subjects, only uninterested
people.
2. Faking attention
It’s no sin to be courteous, but sometimes we take manners to an unfortunate
extreme. When we find someone’s conversation boring, but are too polite (or
afraid to risk offending the person) we pretend to pay attention, though our
minds are a thousand miles away.

19. 3. Yielding to distractions
Outside noises or movements often affect our concentration. A window
drops shut, someone sneezes, a book falls to the floor. All too often, we
give our attention to these distractions instead of the speaker in front
of us.
4. Criticizing delivery or physical appearance
Many people abandon their good listening habits when they become
overly critical of the speaker’s physical appearance or delivery.
Regardless of who the speaker is, the content of his/her message is
always far more important than the form of her/his delivery.

20. 5. Jumping to conclusions
Be patient. We often think that we know what a person is going to say
before they have even finished speaking. Occasionally, we are biased
toward a speaker, and so we close our minds to the speaker’s message
before we have heard it in its entirety.
6. Interrupting
Do you spend most of your listening time actually listening or do you
spend it thinking about what you want to say? Interrupting someone is
an almost certain sign that you don’t know or care about what the
other person is saying.

21. 7. Overreacting to emotional words
We will react from time to time to certain words or phrases that push
our “hot buttons”. At such times, we might experience a strong
emotional reaction that blocks out our ability to listen. We might let our
thoughts wander on to other subjects, blocking the speaker’s message
from our minds, or we might start to lay plans to trap the speaker in
some way.

22. THANK YOU!