The Listening Process

1. Selecting. Since hearing is involuntary, we cannot choose what we hear. In the face of competing stimuli—the television in the next room, the dishwasher running, and your roommate Brett complaining about his economics midterm—you must choose one sound over the others. This process is called selecting.
2. Attending. Through attending, you elect to focus attention on someone else’s presence and communication. If you select Brett’s voice (deciding that it’s more interesting than the sound of the running dishwasher), you then attend actively to his words and message. It’s important to be aware of attending, as this step is not always easily achieved. If your other roommate Elton has the TV tuned to your favorite show, attending to Brett’s message may be difficult. Being silent can help; research shows that this improves listening effectiveness (Johnson, Pearce, Tuten, & Sinclair, 2003).
3. Understanding. . While talking about his midterm, Brett mentions a disagreement he had with hisprofessor over the wording of an essay question. He throws around phrases like “aggregate supply” and “reciprocal demand.” You’ve never studied economics, so you barely understand a word he’s saying. Understanding—interpreting and making sense of messages—is a crucial step in the listening process because it enables you to interpret meaning. When you don’t understand something, you need to listen more actively. For example, you might ask Brett questions to learn more about his situation (Husband, 2009).
4. Remembering. As a student, you know it’s important to recall information from class during an exam and in real-life situations. Remembering, or recalling information, contributes to perceptions of competence in interactions far beyond the classroom (Muntigl & Choi, 2010). If you don’t recall what happened in your conversation with Brett, he might be annoyed later when he tells you about how his dilemma turned out.
5. Responding. Responding involves generating feedback or reactions that let others know you’ve received and understood their message. So when Brett wonders if he should talk to his professor and you say, “That sounds like the best course of action given the importance of this exam for your grade,” it lets him know that you fully comprehend his concern.