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The Listening Process
- 1. The Listening Process Simone Klose BES1500 Business Communication and Analysis Student ID: 10417069
- 2. Author Profile My name is Simone and I work in local government as an event coordinator. I have approximately 20 years experience in the events industry. I currently reside in Albany, Western Australia; home of the National Anzac Centre, Princess Royal Fortress and the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial. I was integral to the inception of Anzac Albany, commemorating the centenary of Anzac between 2014 and 2018.
- 3. “There's a lot of difference between hearing and listening." G.K Chesterton
- 4. The listening process Receiving Understanding Remembering and retaining Evaluating Responding
- 5. The listening process cont..
- 6. Did you know? • The average person speaks at a rate of 125 to 200 words per minute • We think at 1,000 - 3,000 words per minute • 55% of the meaning in our words is derived from facial expressions • 38% is in how the words are said • 7% is in the actual words spoken
- 7. General listening types • Discriminative • Comprehensive
- 8. Specific listening types • Informational listening (Listening to Learn) • Critical Listening (Listening to Evaluate and Analyse) • Therapeutic or Empathetic Listening (Listening to Understand Feeling and Emotion)
- 9. Other listening types • Appreciative listening • Rapport Listening • Selective Listening
- 10. Think about it!
- 11. Attributes of a good listener
- 12. What kind of listener are you?
- 13. References Business Communication and Analysis. 2nd ed. Pearson Australia (2015) Effective Listening and Presenting: Essential Skills for a Manager. A Term Paper. P.M.S.A De Silva (http://www.slideshare.net/Shamalee/effective-listening-and-presenting-presentation) Human Communication. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc. The Art of Public Speaking. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Pearson, J. et. al. (2008) Think: Public Speaking. USA: Pearson Education, Inc. Lucas, Stephen E. (2009) http://www.businessballs.com/mehrabiancommunications.htm
Editor's Notes
- Slide 1 The Listening Process. A presentation by Simone Klose.
- Slide 2 Welcome and thank you for taking the time to read my presentation with the topic of ‘The Listening Process’. My name is Simone and I work in local government as an Event Coordinator. I have approximately 20 years experience in the events industry. I currently reside in Albany, Western Australia; home of the National Anzac Centre, Princess Royal Fortress and the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial. I was integral to the inception of Anzac Albany, commemorating the centenary of Anzac between 2014 and 2018.
- Slide 3 The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvellous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir." It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I'm sure she had it coming.“ Author Unknown. So what is listening? And how is it different from hearing? Have you ever had the embarrassing experience of having someone ask you question during a conversation when you were only half listening? You have no idea what the question was, so you have no idea what the answer should be. The sounds may go into your ears, but that does not mean that your brain interprets them; nor does it mean that your mind stores the message or that your body does what the message requested. Sometimes you hear, you listen, and you even understand the message, but you do not obey. The listening process is complicated. Much happens between the reception of sounds and an overt response by the receiver. The first step in learning about listening is to understand the distinction between hearing and listening. Remember that hearing and listening are not the same. Hearing is the reception of sound; listening is the attachment of meaning. Hearing is, however, a necessary prerequisite for listening and an important component of the listening process. Listening leads to learning. Most people tend to be "hard of listening" rather than "hard of hearing.“
- Slide 4 Receiving: This step is easily understood where you exchange greetings with the speaker and open the channels of communication. Remember that hearing and listening are not the same. Hearing is the reception of sound; listening is the attachment of meaning. Hearing is, however, a necessary prerequisite for listening and an important component of the listening process. Focus on what you are hearing and the key message or most important information in the message. Ignore any distractions. Human listening is often ineffective — or does not occur — due to lack of concentration or distractions. Receiving occurs, but understanding does not. Understanding: Communication begins with understanding. Effective communication does not take place until the receiver understands the message. In listening, both verbal and nonverbal symbols are crucial to understanding. Understand the message. Make connections with what you already know or create new knowledge. Remembering: Memorising of facts is not the key to good listening. Yet memory is often a necessary and integral part of the listening process. With short-term memory, information is used immediately, within a few seconds, for example, as with a phone number that we look up. Short-term memory has a rapid forgetting rate and is very susceptible to interruption. And the amount of information that can be retained is quite limited, though it varies somewhat with variations in the material to be retained. Long-term memory allows us to recall information and events hours, days, weeks, sometimes even years later.
- Slide 5 The listening process cont… Evaluating: There are many components of a message that could easily be misconstrued due to people’s inability to effectively communicate. There are verbal symbols which include: Barrier 1: The same words mean different things to different people. This barrier is a common one, and it may be experienced whenever any two people attempt to communicate; and Barrier 2: Different words sometimes mean the same thing. Many things are called by more than one name. There are also nonverbal symbols: Barrier 1: Misinterpretation of the action. Eye contact, gestures, and facial expression are action factors that affect the meaning we attach to a message. For that matter, any movement or action carries meaning; Barrier 2: Misinterpretation of non-action symbols; and Barrier 3: Misinterpretation of the voice. Responding: The listening process may end with understanding, since effective communication and effective listening may be defined as the accurate sharing or understanding of meaning. But a response may be needed — or at least helpful. Types of responses: There are several responses that could be used: Direct verbal responses. Responses that seek clarification. Responses that paraphrase. Nonverbal responses. Responding, then, is a form of feedback that completes the communication transaction. It lets the sender know that the message was received, attended to, and understood.
- Slide 6 Ok, let’s go over some facts! Did you know that the average person normally speaks at a rate of 125 to 200 words per minute? We think at 1000 to 3000 words per a minute. That is just incredible! Did you know that 55% of the meaning in our words is derived from facial expressions. I don’t know about you, but I much prefer having a face-to-face conversation with someone rather than having a phone conversation. I like to read people. 38% of message meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said); and 7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken.
- Slide 7 Effective listening is very often the foundation of strong relationships with others, at home, socially, in education and in the workplace. The two main types of listening - the foundations of all listening sub-types are: Discriminative Listening, and Comprehensive Listening Discriminative listening is first developed at a very early age. This is the most basic form of listening and does not involve the understanding of the meaning of words or phrases but merely the different sounds that are produced. In early childhood, for example, a distinction is made between the sounds of the voices of the parents – the voice of the father sounds different to that of the mother. Discriminative listening develops through childhood and into adulthood. As we grow older and develop and gain more life experience, our ability to distinguish between different sounds is improved. Not only can we recognise different voices, but we also develop the ability to recognise subtle differences in the way that sounds are made – this is fundamental to ultimately understanding what these sounds mean. Differences include many subtleties, recognising foreign languages, distinguishing between regional accents and clues to the emotions and feelings of the speaker. Being able to distinguish the subtleties of sound made by somebody who is happy or sad, angry or stressed, for example, ultimately adds value to what is actually being said and, of course, does aid comprehension. When discriminative listening skills are combined with visual stimuli, the resulting ability to ‘listen’ to body-language enables us to begin to understand the speaker more fully – for example recognising somebody is sad despite what they are saying or how they are saying it. Comprehensive Listening Comprehensive listening involves understanding the message or messages that are being communicated. Like discriminative listening, comprehensive listening is fundamental to all listening sub-types. The next step beyond discriminating between different sound and sights is to make sense of them. To comprehend the meaning requires first having knowledge of words at our fingertips and also all rules of grammar and syntax by which we can understand what others are saying. The same is true, of course, for the visual components of communication, and an understanding of body language helps us understand what the other person is really meaning. In communication, some words are more important and some less so, and comprehension often benefits from extraction of key facts and items from a long spiel. Comprehension listening is also known as content listening, informative listening and full listening.
- Slide 8 Specific Listening Types Discriminative and comprehensive listening are prerequisites for specific listening types. Listening types can be defined by the goal of the listening. The three main types most common in interpersonal relationships are: Informational Listening (Listening to Learn) Critical Listening (Listening to Evaluate and Analyse) Therapeutic or Empathetic Listening (Listening to Understand Feeling and Emotion) In reality you may have more than one goal for listening at any given time – for example, you may be listening to learn whilst also attempting to be empathetic. Informational Listening Whenever you listen to learn something, you are engaged in informational listening. This is true in many day-to-day situations, in education and at work, when you listen to the news, watch a documentary, when a friend tells you a recipe or when you are talked-through a technical problem with a computer – there are many other examples of informational listening too. Although all types of listening are ‘active’ – they require concentration and a conscious effort to understand. Informational listening is less active than many of the other types of listening. When we’re listening to learn or be instructed we are taking in new information and facts, we are not criticising or analysing. Informational listening, especially in formal settings like in work meetings or while in education, is often accompanied by note taking – a way of recording key information so that it can be reviewed later. Critical Listening We can be said to be engaged in critical listening when the goal is to evaluate or scrutinise what is being said. Critical listening is a much more active behaviour than informational listening and usually involves some sort of problem solving or decision making. Critical listening is akin to critical reading; both involve analysis of the information being received and alignment with what we already know or believe. Whereas informational listening may be mostly concerned with receiving facts and/or new information - critical listening is about analysing opinion and making a judgement. When the word ‘critical’ is used to describe listening, reading or thinking it does not necessarily mean that you are claiming that the information you are listening to is somehow faulty or flawed. Rather, critical listening means engaging in what you are listening to by asking yourself questions such as, ‘what is the speaker trying to say?’ or ‘what is the main argument being presented?’, ‘how does what I’m hearing differ from my beliefs, knowledge or opinion?’. Critical listening is, therefore, fundamental to true learning. Many day-to-day decisions that we make are based on some form of ‘critical’ analysis, whether it be critical listening, reading or thought. Our opinions, values and beliefs are based on our ability to process information and formulate our own feelings about the world around us as well as weigh up the pros and cons to make an informed decision. It is often important, when listening critically, to have an open-mind and not be biased by stereotypes or preconceived ideas. By doing this you will become a better listener and broaden your knowledge and perception of other people and your relationships. Therapeutic or Empathic Listening Empathic listening involves attempting to understand the feelings and emotions of the speaker – to put yourself into the speaker’s shoes and share their thoughts. Empathy is a way of deeply connecting with another person and therapeutic or empathic listening can be particularly challenging. Empathy is not the same as sympathy, it involves more than being compassionate or feeling sorry for somebody else – it involves a deeper connection – a realisation and understanding of another person’s point of view. Counsellors, therapists and some other professionals use therapeutic or empathic listening to understand and ultimately help their clients. This type of listening does not involve making judgements or offering advice but gently encouraging the speaker to explain and elaborate on their feelings and emotions. Skills such as clarification and reflection are often used to help avoid misunderstandings. We are all capable of empathic listening and may practise it with friends, family and colleagues. Showing empathy is a desirable trait in many interpersonal relationships – you may well feel more comfortable talking about your own feelings and emotions with a particular person. They are likely to be better at listening empathetically to you than others, this is often based on similar perspectives, experiences, beliefs and values – a good friend, your spouse, a parent or sibling for example.
- Slide 9 Other Listening Types Although usually less important or useful in interpersonal relationships there are other types of listening that we engage in. Appreciative Listening Appreciative listening is listening for enjoyment. A good example is listening to music, especially as a way to relax. Rapport Listening When trying to build rapport with others we can engage in a type of listening that encourages the other person to trust and like us. A salesman, for example, may make an effort to listen carefully to what you are saying as a way to promote trust and potentially make a sale. This type of listening is common in situations of negotiation. Selective Listening This is a more negative type of listening, it implies that the listener is somehow biased to what they are hearing. Bias can be based on preconceived ideas or emotionally difficult communications. Selective listening is a sign of failing communication – you cannot hope to understand if you have filtered out some of the message and may reinforce or strengthen your bias for future communications. You wouldn’t believe how common this form of listening is!
- Slide 10 Think about it! It was not until I had to create this presentation that I actually realised that the word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent’. In order to listen effectively we need to be silent.
- Slide 11 What makes a good listener? Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don't look out the window or at what else is going on in the room. Make sure your mind is focused, too. It can be easy to let your mind wander if you think you know what the person is going to say next, but you might be wrong! If you feel your mind wandering, change the position of your body and try to concentrate on the speaker's words. Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are. Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You can't really listen if you are busy thinking about what you want say next. Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most important points the speaker wants to get across. They may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and repeated a number of times. Pay special attention to statements that begin with phrases such as "My point is..." or "The thing to remember is...“ Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the speaker has said, just ask. It is a good idea to repeat in your own words what the speaker said so that you can be sure your understanding is correct. For example, you might say, "When you said that no two zebras are alike, did you mean that the stripes are different on each one?“ Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now and then, nod to show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all ways to let the speaker know that you are really listening. Remember, you listen with your face as well as your ears!
- Slide 12 What kind of listener are you? The better we become at listening will have a direct correlation to improved relationships. This is true in personal, professional, and in our spiritual lives. Listening is a skill that we can work on and improve. The better listener you are, the better communicator you are. In summary Going back to my opening story, apart from the Bolivian ambassador, none of the delegates were really listening to Franklin Roosevelt, who claimed to have murdered his grandmother that morning. They merely heard what he had said but there was no thought process involved. The Bolivian ambassador however had heard what Roosevelt said and was able to analyse the information by thought process meaning he had comprehended what was said to him. He listened. The art of listening is an invaluable life skill. Not only will it help you communicate better with your friends and family, but it will help you succeed in every area of your life.
- Slide 13 – References used to gather information for this presentation are as follows: Business Communication and Analysis. 2nd ed. Pearson Australia (2015) Effective Listening and Presenting: Essential Skills for a Manager. A Term Paper. P.M.S.A De Silva (http://www.slideshare.net/Shamalee/effective-listening-and-presenting-presentation) Human Communication. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc. The Art of Public Speaking. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Pearson, J. et. al. (2008) Think: Public Speaking. USA: Pearson Education, Inc. Lucas, Stephen E. (2009) http://www.businessballs.com/mehrabiancommunications.htm
- Slide 14 Thanks for listening. End