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Motives for Listening

When communicating with others, you listen for a variety of reasons. These different purposes are known as listening functions, and they powerfully shape how you choose to listen in specific situations. There are five common listening functions:

When you listen to comprehend, you focus on accurately interpreting and storing the information you receive, so that you can correctly recall it later.
When you listen to provide support, you take in what someone else says without evaluating it, and openly express empathy in response.
When you listen to analyze, you carefully evaluate and critique the messages you’re receiving.
When you listen to appreciate, you concentrate on enjoying the sights and sounds you’re experiencing.
When you listen to discern, you focus your attention on distinguishing specific sounds—for instance, trying to figure out whose phone is ringing at a large and noisy party.

These five functions are not mutually exclusive: you might use two or more within the same encounter, or shift suddenly from one to another as circumstances change. In fact, you should demonstrate such flexibility. A key step in becoming an active listener is learning how to adapt your listening to the situation in which you find yourself (Teo, 2005). For example, while at a concert you may listen to appreciate, until your campus newspaper editor texts you a reminder that your review of the show is due the next morning—at which point you’ll listen to analyze. (See Table 7.1 on p. 167 for examples of how different listening functions can work together.)

To strengthen your ability to adapt your listening function, practice noticing the listening demands that different situations call for. Routinely ask yourself, What is my purpose for listening? Keep in mind that for some situations, certain types may be inappropriate or even unethical—like listening to analyze when your friend is clearly seeking emotional support.