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Study Guide: Chapter 6-Listening and Responding to Others

Focus Questions:

  1. How do listening and hearing differ?

  2. What’s involved in listening?

  3. What obstacles interfere with effective listening?

  4. How does effective listening differ across listening goals?

  5. How can we improve our listening skills?

Key Concepts Overview:

  1. What is involved in listening:

    • Listening is just as important as talking, yet we often invest more effort into speaking.

    • Average people spend 45%-55% of their waking time listening.

  2. The listening process:

    • Hearing: A physiological process.

    • Listening: A multi-step process.

  3. Obstacles to effective listening:

    • Situational obstacles: Incomprehensibility, message overload, complexity, and environmental distractions.

    • Internal obstacles: Preoccupation, prejudgments, lack of effort, emotionally loaded language, and diverse listening styles.

  4. Common forms of ineffective listening:

    • Pseudolistening, monopolizing, selective listening, defensive listening, ambushing, and literal listening.

  5. Skills for good listening:

    • Mindfulness, responding appropriately, and remembering.

    • Listening well takes commitment and skill.

  6. Ways to improve listening:

    • Different goals require specific listening strategies.

The Listening Process

  1. Mindfulness:

    • Focus on the present moment to understand and promote complete communication.

  2. Physically Receiving Communication:

    • We receive communication in multiple ways: through hearing, nonverbal cues, lip reading, or sign language (ASL).

  3. Selecting and Organizing Communication:

    • What we pay attention to is shaped by physiological influences, expectations, cognitive structures, social roles, and membership in cultures and communities.

  4. Interpreting Communication:

    • We make sense of what we hear and see but don’t necessarily agree with it.

    • It is an ethical responsibility to understand others on their own terms.

  5. Responding:

    • Expressing interest, asking questions, and communicating attentiveness are all part of effective listening.

  6. Remembering:

    • We forget a large portion of what we hear—only about 35% after eight hours.

Obstacles to Effective Listening

  1. Situational Obstacles:

    • Incomprehensibility: When the message is not clear.

    • Message Overload: When too much information is presented.

    • Message Complexity: When the information is too difficult.

    • Environmental Distractions: Background noise, visual distractions, etc.

  2. Internal Obstacles:

    • Preoccupation: Being too focused on personal concerns.

    • Prejudgments: Deciding something before hearing the full message.

    • Lack of Effort: Not committing energy to the listening process.

    • Emotionally Loaded Language: Words that trigger emotional reactions.

    • Diverse Listening Styles: People may listen in different ways based on culture, roles, etc.

Forms of Ineffective Listening

  • Pseudolistening: Pretending to listen without engagement.

  • Monopolizing: Always turning the conversation back to oneself.

  • Selective Listening: Only listening to parts that interest the listener.

  • Defensive Listening: Taking innocent comments as personal attacks.

  • Ambushing: Listening to gather ammunition to attack the speaker.

  • Literal Listening: Ignoring the relational aspect and focusing only on content.

Digital Media and Listening

  • Online communication requires careful listening.

  • Digital media can create distractions that hinder effective listening.

  • Critical thinking is essential when engaging with online communication.

Types of Listening

  1. Informational and Critical Listening:

    • To understand or evaluate information.

    • Be mindful, ask questions, control obstacles, and organize information.

  2. Relationship Listening:

    • Focuses on feelings and relationships.

    • Requires mindfulness, understanding others’ perspectives, minimal encouragers, paraphrasing, and expressing support.

  3. Listening for Pleasure:

    • No need for extensive organization or recall—focus on enjoyment.

  4. Listening to Discriminate:

    • Requires mindfulness and acute hearing to discern subtle differences.

Summary

  • Listening is a complex and demanding process that requires effort and skill.

  • Hearing vs. listening: Hearing is passive, while listening is active.

  • Numerous obstacles can prevent effective listening.

  • Different listening goals require specific approaches.

This guide summarizes the main points from your notes. You can use it as a quick review tool or expand on any section with additional details if needed.