Effective Listening

1. Listening Facts
2. The Listening Process
3. Bad Listening Habits
4. Barriers to Effective Listening
5. Hearing vs. Listening
6. Types of Listening
7. Guidelines to Effective Listening
Listening Facts
 Most
people spend at least ___% of
communication time listening
 Mostpeople listen to and
understand only about a fourth
of what is being
communicated
 Listening Facts
 85%
(con’t.)
of individuals rate themselves
as average or worse listeners
 Listening skills poorest when
people interact with those closest
to them. They interrupt and jump to
conclusions more frequently
 We ________ more rapidly than
one can speak
 Five-Step Process of
Listening
You You You
get attach store
stimul meanin for
i g to future
stimuli referenc
e
________ ● __________ ● ____________ ●
 Five-Step Process of
Listening
You
separate You react
fact from once
opinion you’ve
and evaluated
evaluate the
the
message
quality of
evidence

Evaluating ● ____________ ●
 Bad Listening

Habits
Tunes out dry subjects
 Tunes out if delivery is poor
 Enters into argument
 Listening for only the facts
Sometimes you need to listen to what people are
_____________.
 Bad Listening

Habits
Takes extensive notes
 Fakes attention
 Easily distracted
 Resists difficult material
 Reacts to emotional words
 _______________
 Barriers to Effective
Listening
__________ Selective
_________

Mainstream of Thought

Self-
__________
Listening is more than
Hearing
 Listening is _______;
hearing is passive vs
 Listening is _______;
hearing is natural
 Listening is intermittent;
hearing is continuous
 Listening implies a
choice.
You must choose to
participate in the process
of listening.
Types of Listening
Content listening
Critical listening
Empathic listening
Listening occurs at different levels for different
situations!
Levels of Listening
Casual or Marginal
Levels of Listening
Casual or Marginal
Attentive
Levels of Listening
Casual or Marginal
Attentive
Active
Active Listening
Behaviors
Paraphrase
Mirror
State
Ask
Offer
 Guidelines for
Effective Listening
Control the Environment
 Controlling the
Environment: Fight
Distractions
1. Close doors
2. Turn off radios, TVs, CD players, etc.
3. Move closer to the speaker
4. Anticipate what will be said and
summarize what has been said
5. Don’t interrupt
6. Hold your rebuttal
Controlling the Environment:
Establishing a Climate
for Effective Communication
 Establishing a Climate
for Effective
Communication

Evaluation Description
Control Problem Orientation
Strategy Spontaneity
Neutrality Empathy
Superiority Equality
Certainty Provisionalism
 Guidelines for
Effective Listening
Control the Environment
Be Alert
 Guidelines for
Effective Listening
Control the Environment
Be Alert
Be Mentally Prepared
 Psychological
Barriers
Feelings About the
Subject Matter

Subject
______ _______
Matter

Feelings About
Each Other
 A Shared Semantic
Code

My My Your Your
World of World of World of World of
__________ ________ ________ __________

My Semantic Code Your Semantic Code

 Guidelines for
Effective Listening
Control the Environment
Be Alert
Be Mentally Prepared
Be Emotionally Prepared
 Guidelines for
Effective Listening
 Control the Environment
 Be Alert
 Be Mentally Prepared
 Be Emotionally Prepared
 Judge content, not delivery
 Guidelines for
Effective Listening
 Control the Environment
 Be Alert
 Be Mentally Prepared
 Be Emotionally Prepared
 Judge content, not delivery
 Provide feedback
 What Do Good
Listeners Do? They
Listen Actively by:
 Listening for concepts, key
ideas, facts
 Being able to distinguish
between evidence and
argument, idea and example,
fact and principle
 What Do Good
Listeners Do? They
Listen Actively by:
 Analyzing key points
 Looking for unspoken messages
 Keeping an open mind
 Asking questions that clarify
 Reserving judgment
 Taking meaningful notes
 Nonverbal
Communication
 Facialexpressions
 ___________________
 Vocal characteristics
 Personal appearance
 ____________________
 Use of time and space
 Improving
Nonverbal
Communication
Skills
Be Aware