Chapter 3 Listening

      Listening

• a specialized process, a type of perception, by which you receive auditory signals
• helps you to play , help, relate, influence and to learn
• Hearing is a basic step of receiving sound and is not the same as listening

      Stages of Listening

      Receiving

• verbally and nonverbally
• Hearing Auditory Stimuli - can be made more effective if you

          Focus attention on the speaker
          Refrain from thinking about how you will respond
          Maintain your role of listener by not interrupting


      Understanding

• decoding the speaker's messages; more effective if you

          Relate the speaker’s information to what you already know
          See the speaker’s messages from the speaker’s point of view
          Ask questions for clarification
          Rephrase (paraphrase) speaker’s ideas to facilitate mutual understanding


      Remembering

• Retaining messages received and understood for at least some period of time - more effective if you

          Identify speaker’s main ideas and supporting evidence
          Summarize messages in ways that are easy for you to retain

          Repeat names and key concepts to yourself (or aloud, if appropriate)


       Evaluating

• Judging messages you hear - can be made more effective if you

          Resist evaluation until you fully understand the speaker’s points
          Assume the speaker is a person of goodwill (ask for clarification)
          Distinguish facts from inferences and opinions 
          Identify any biases, self-interest, or prejudices that may influence the speaker’s messages


        Responding

• responding occurs in two phases: responses while the speaker is talking (backchanneling cues to let the speaker know you are paying attention - can be more effective if you

          Express support for the speaker by using varied back-channeling cues
          Express support for the speaker in your final responses
          Take ownership of responses by using “I” messages



         Listening & Culture

         Listening is difficult, why?

• Different communication systems between speaker and listener
• Because of experiences
• More difficult if speaker and listener from different culture

        Diversity of Listening & Culture

        Language and speech

• every speaker speaks an idiolect (unique variation of the language)
• Speakers and listeners who have different native languages & who may have learned English as a second language have differences in meaning.

       Nonverbal behavioural differences

• Speaker from different cultures have different display rules. (non-verbal appropriate or inappropriate in public setting)
• Listen = verbal + nonverbal
• If verbal and nonverbal contradict with what you expect, it will become noise or interference

         Direct and indirect styles

• Direct style: “say what you mean and mean what you say.”
• indirect style : “they emphasize politeness and maintaining a positive public image rather than absolute truth”

          Balance of story versus evidence

• In some cultures (e.g. United states) most people want evidence before making decisions rather than critical thinking
• But for some other cultures, they may be more influenced by the word of high credibility source

          Credibility

• What make a speaker credible or believable will vary from one culture to another
• Competence teacher is the most important factor for parents to send their children in preschool
• For some other culture, morality and or goodness is most important factors

          Feedback

• Members of some cultures give very direct and very honest feedback
• But for some others cultures “it’s more important to be positive than to be truthful and so they may respond with positive feedback even thought they don’t feel it”

           Listening Effectively


           Participatory and passive learning

• Key of effective listening
• Participate mentally and physically
• Passive listening is not without merit
• Listening without talking and without directing in any nonverbal way is powerful means for communicating acceptance

           Emphatic and objective listening

• Means + feelings = emphaty
• Emphatic listening is a means for both increasing understanding and for enhancing relationships
• There are times when you need to measure the meanings and feelings against some objective reality
• Listen more objectively

           Nonjudgemental and critical listening

• Effective listening includes both nonjudgmental and critical responses
• Open your mind and understanding the message and then evaluate or judge the message

            Surface and depth listening

• Distinguish the surface(literal) and depth meaning of the communication

          E,g - how do you like my new haircut?

                   Question means direct and clear
                   But.. there is another level of meaning
                   Maybe it's asking about his/her appearance