Listening and Speaking

Chapter1: process of listening

Listening is a skill of critical significance in all aspects of our lives—from maintaining our personal
relationships, to getting our jobs done, to taking notes in class, to figuring out which bus to take to
the airport. To be a successful listener, it’s important to understand that listening involves more than
just hearing the words that are directed at us. Listening is an active process by which we make sense
of, assess, and respond to what we hear. The listening process involves five stages: receiving,
understanding, evaluating, remembering, and responding. An effective listener must hear and
identify the speech sounds directed toward them, understand the message of those sounds,
critically evaluate or assess that message, remember what’s been said, and respond (either verbally
or nonverbally) to information they’ve received.

Stages of Listening

The Receiving Stage The first stage of the listening process is the receiving stage, which involves
hearing and attending. Hearing is the physiological process of registering sound waves as they hit the
eardrum. As obvious as it may seem, in order to effectively gather information through listening, we
must first be able to physically hear what we’re listening to. If we have a hearing impairment, our
ability to listen will be challenged. Excessive noise in the environment can create obstacles to
receiving audible sound waves. Paired with hearing, attending is the other half of the receiving stage
in the listening process. Attending is the process of accurately identifying and interpreting particular
sounds we hear as words. The sounds we hear have no meaning until we give them their meaning in
context. Listening is an active process that constructs meaning from both verbal and nonverbal
messages. Attending also involves being able to discern human speech, also known as speech
segmentation. Identifying auditory stimuli as speech but not being able to break those speech
sounds down into sentences and words would be a failure of the listening process.

The Understanding Stage The understanding stage is the stage during which the listener determines
the context and meanings of the words that are heard through a process called decoding.
Understanding or comprehension occurs when the listener’s determination of the context and
meanings of the words matches the speaker’s message. One tactic for better understanding a
speaker’s meaning is to ask questions to fill in any holes you may have in the mental reconstruction
of the speaker’s message.

The Evaluating Stage This stage of the listening process is the one during which the listener assesses
the information they received, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Evaluating allows the listener to
form an opinion of what they heard and, if necessary, to begin developing a response. The
evaluating stage occurs most effectively once the listener fully understands what the speaker is
trying to say. Having a clear understanding of a speaker’s message allows a listener to evaluate that
message without getting bogged down in ambiguities or spending unnecessary time and energy
addressing points that may be tangential or otherwise nonessential. SAGE Flex for Public Speaking 3
The Remembering Stage In the listening process, the remembering stage occurs as the listener
categorizes and retains the information he or she has gathered from the speaker for future access. If
the listener has been attending, understanding, and evaluating, chances are the result will be stored
memory— allowing the listener to record information about people, objects, and events for later
recall. This happens both during and after the speaker’s delivery.
The Responding Stage The responding stage is the stage of the listening process in which the listener
provides verbal and/or nonverbal reactions based on short- or long-term memory. Nonverbal
responses such as nodding or eye contact allow the listener to communicate his or her level of
interest without interrupting the speaker, thereby preserving the speaker/listener roles. When a
listener responds verbally to what they hear and remember—for example, with a question or a
comment—the speaker/listener roles are reversed, at least momentarily.

Chapter2
When you're in conversation with someone, it's common for your mind to drift to
other thoughts. When your mind begins to wander, you're likely still hearing the
other person, but you're not truly listening to what they have to say. However,
this can negatively impact your conversations and relationships with people, if
they feel that you're rarely listening to them.

Hearing vs. Listening

Hearing
 Passive
 Involuntary
 Requires no effort
 Physiological perception of sound
Listening
 Active
 Voluntary
 Requires effort
 Intentional interpretation of sound
Hearing
Hearing is a passive, involuntary, sensory process in which we perceive
sounds. It is a physiological response that involves our perception of
sound. It does not require focused attention... 1

For example, if you’re watching television, you can still hear the sound of
traffic or sirens outside, your neighbor’s dog barking, and people laughing
in the hallway.
Listening
Listening is an active, voluntary, and intentional process that involves
making sense of the words and sounds you hear; it requires your
attention. In turn, you may develop an emotional response to what you
hear. Listening with the intent to understand is referred to as active
listening.
The Role of Hearing and Listening in
Mental Health
Both hearing and listening play an important role in our lives. Hearing is a
form of sensory input whereas listening is a way to form connections with
other people, according to Workman. She explains the role these functions
play in our mental health.
Importance of Hearing for Mental Health
Hearing is an important sense that helps us navigate the world. The loss
of hearing can have a profound effect on mental health as it could lead to
anger, social withdrawal, changes in our sense of self-worth,
and depression.2
It is important to keep in mind that using sign language and paying
attention to body language are ways you can listen without the sense of
hearing. You can seek mental health care if you are experiencing
depression or adjustment difficulties due to the loss of hearing.
Importance of Listening for Mental Health
We are social beings and have a universal need for connection and
belonging. Listening is what enables us to develop increased curiosity
about other people’s experiences, increased compassion and empathy,
and increased connection.
If you are not listening to others or being listened to, it can negatively
affect your sense of connection and belonging. You can probably think of
a time when you were not being listened to; the experience may have
caused you to feel devalued, uncared for, and lonely, all of which can
contribute to feelings of shame, anxiety, and depression.

Chapter-3: Barriers of listening

Listening Barriers
Unfortunately, there are some barriers to effective listening.
These barriers to effective listening can be grouped into two
major categories: external and internal.

External Listening Barriers

External listening barriers are easier to manage than internal
barriers. They include a variety of environmental distractions
contribute to poor listening, but that can usually be avoided or
minimized with simple corrections, like removing yourself from
the interfering barrier or removing the issue from the area that
you are in. External barriers include:
  Noise. Any external noise can be a barrier, like the sound of
equipment running, phones ringing, or other people having
conversations.
 Visual distractions. Visual distractions can be as simple as
the scene outside a window or the goings-on just beyond the
glass walls of a nearby office.
 Physical setting. An uncomfortable temperature, poor or
nonexistent seating, bad odors, or distance between the
listener and speaker can be an issue.
 Objects. Items like pocket change, pens, and jewelry are
often fidgeted with while listening.
 The person speaking. The person listening may become
distracted by the other person’s personal appearance,
mannerisms, voice, or gestures.

Internal Listening Barriers

Internal listening barriers are more difficult to manage, as they
reside inside the mind of the listener. Internal barriers’ elimination
relies on a high level of self-awareness and discipline on the part
of the listener, like catching oneself before the mind starts to
wander and bringing full attention back to the speaker. Internal
barriers include:

 Anxiety. Anxiety can take place from competing personal

worries and concerns.
 Self-centeredness. This causes the listener to focus on his
or her own thoughts rather than the speaker’s words.
 Mental laziness. Laziness creates an unwillingness to listen
to complex or detailed information.
 Boredom. Boredom stems from a lack of interest in the
speaker’s subject matter.
 Sense of superiority. This leads the listener to believe
they have nothing to learn from the speaker.
 Cognitive dissonance. The listener hears only what he or
she expects or molds the speaker’s message to conform
with their own beliefs.
 Impatience. A listener can become impatient with a
speaker who talks slowly or draws out the message.

Working through these barriers are crucial to overcome poor

listening and have better listening skills. If a listener can remove
these barriers, they will find that they can gain better
understanding of the tasks at hand, communicate more
effectively, and achieve greater success in the workplace.

7 types of listening skills

1. Informational listening
2. Discriminative listening
3. Biased listening
4. Sympathetic listening
5. Comprehensive listening
6. Empathetic or therapeutic listening
7. Critical listening

There are several types of listening you can develop both at home and at work.

Let’s explore seven of these types of listening, why they matter, and what they
can look like:

1. Informational listening

When you want to learn something, you’ll use informational listening to

understand and retain information.

It usually takes a high level of concentration to perform this type of listening.

That’s because you need to be highly engaged to understand a new concept.

You also need to apply critical thinking to what you are learning. This is so you
can understand what you’re learning within the context of relevant information.

Some examples of informational listening include:

 Work training
 Self-paced learning at home or at work
 Listening to an educational ebook
 Coaching

When you know how to use informational listening, you empower yourself to
become a better learner. By actively learning and improving yourself, you can
become a more valuable asset in your place of work.

You can also feel more fulfilled when you pursue your passions and learn
something new at home.

2. Discriminative listening

Discriminative listening is the first listening type that you’re born with.

Everyone innately has discriminative listening skills.

You use this type of listening before you even know how to understand words.
Instead of relying on words, discriminative listening uses tone of voice, verbal
cues, and other changes in sound.

Discriminative listening is how babies understand the intention of a phrase before

they can understand words. If someone speaks to them in a happy and amused
tone of voice, they’ll smile and laugh back.

They can also tell who is talking because they recognize different voices.

But discriminative listening isn’t just for babies.

If you’re listening to a conversation happening in a foreign language, you’ll likely

automatically use your discriminative listening skills.

These will allow you to analyze tone and inflection to get an idea of what is going
on.

You can also use nonverbal cues to listen and analyze. For instance, someone’s
facial expressions, body language, and other mannerisms can tell you a lot about
the meaning of someone’s message.

3. Biased listening

Biased listening is also known as selective listening.

Someone who uses biased listening will only listen for information that they
specifically want to hear.

This listening process can lead to a distortion of facts. That’s because the person
listening isn’t fully in tune with what the speaker wishes to communicate.

4. Sympathetic listening

Sympathetic listening is driven by emotion.

Instead of focusing on the message spoken through words, the listener focuses
on the feelings and emotions of the speaker.

This is done to process these feelings and emotions.

By using sympathetic listening, you can provide the support the speaker needs.
You can understand how they’re really feeling , not what they say they are
feeling.

The speaker will feel heard and validated when you take the time to pay attention
in this way.

Sympathetic listening is crucial if you want to build a deeper relationship with

someone in your life.
5. Comprehensive listening

Unlike discriminative listening, comprehensive listening requires language skills.

This type of listening is usually developed in early childhood.

People use comprehensive listening to understand what someone is saying

using words.

Several other types of listening build on comprehensive listening. For example,

you need to use comprehensive listening to use informational listening and learn
something new.

6. Empathetic or therapeutic listening

Empathetic listening is useful to help you see from other people’s perspectives.

Using this type of listening, you can try to understand someone else’s point of
view as they’re speaking. You can also try to imagine yourself in the other
person’s shoes.

Instead of just focusing on their message, you can use empathetic listening to
relate to someone else’s experiences as if they were your own.

This is different from sympathetic listening.

With sympathetic listening, you try to understand someone’s feelings to provide

support. But you don’t necessarily try to imagine what it’d feel like to be in their
position.

7. Critical listening

If you need to analyze complex information, you’ll need to use critical listening.

Using critical thinking while listening goes deeper than comprehensive listening.
Instead of taking the information at face value, you can use critical listening to
evaluate what’s being said.

Critical listening is crucial when problem-solving at work.