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 action-oriented listeners, 160
time-oriented listeners, 161 people-oriented listeners, 161 content-oriented listeners, 161 selective listening, 164 aggressive listening, 167 narcissistic listening, 170
You can watch brief, illustrative videos of these terms and test your understanding of the concepts by clicking on the VideoCentral features in the chapter. |
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Listening: A Five-Step Process
- Although we often think of listening as an isolated experience, it’s actually a complex process. The first step of listening is receiving, which involves seeing and hearing the communication of others.
- A critical part of active listening is attending to information in an alert and energized fashion. To improve your attention skills, you should limit multitasking, control factors that impede attention (such as fatigue, stress, and consumption of drugs or alcohol), and practice mental bracketing.
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Understanding the meaning of others’ communication requires us to compare information in our short-term memory and long-term memory, using prior knowledge to evaluate the meaning of new information.
- Active listening requires responding to the communication of others in clear and constructive ways. Indications of effective responding include positive feedback and the use of back-channel cues. Paraphrasing can also help you convey understanding, but if you use it extensively during face-to-face encounters, your partners may find it annoying, and you run the risk of conversational lapses.
- Listening effectiveness is often measured in terms of our recalling ability, something you can improve through the use of mnemonics. In creating effective mnemonics, reduce complex information to simpler forms, employ visual images (as well as information from other senses), and use the bizarreness effect.
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The Five Functions of Listening
- Even during a single interpersonal encounter, you will likely have multiple purposes for listening, known as listening functions. Active listeners recognize the importance of quickly switching from function to function as circumstances dictate.
Understanding Listening Styles
- Although different situations require different approaches to listening, most people have one or two dominant listening styles that they use across situations. The four most common listening styles are people-, action-, content-, and time-oriented listening. Both gender and culture impact perceptions of which styles are most effective, as well as preferences for using particular styles.
Preventing Incompetent Listening
- To listen effectively, you must learn to recognize and avoid incompetent forms of listening. One of the greatest challenges to active listening is selective listening, which is a natural result of fluctuating attention.
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Eavesdropping is an especially destructive form of listening and can have serious consequences, such as legal action against you.
- If you use pseudo-listening deliberately to deceive others, you’re behaving unethically.
- Some people use aggressive listening to attack others. People who do so during online encounters are known as provocateurs.
- People who engage in narcissistic listening constantly seek to turn the focus of the conversation back to themselves and may pout or whine if the talk strays from their interests.
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- What can you do to deal with noise pollution and its negative effects on your ability to accurately receive information? Look at pages 148–149 for the answer.
- Interested in improving your attention in ways that enhance your listening? Review the suggestions on pages 149–151. Then try the Self-Quiz on your multitasking habits on page 150 and the Skills Practice on page 151.
- What two things can you do to effectively communicate your attention and understanding to others when responding? Find out on pages 153–155.
- How can you enhance your positive feedback skills to improve your interpersonal communication? Follow the four rules detailed on page 154.
- Do you want to improve your ability to understand and respond to messages online? Try the Skills Practice on page 155.
- Want to improve your recall ability? Apply the practical tips for improving recall skills offered on pages 155–157.
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- Interested in effectively adapting your listening purpose during interpersonal encounters? Review the discussion on pages 159–160.
- Curious about your dominant listening style? Complete the Self-Quiz on page 162 to find out. Then review the discussion of listening styles on pages 160–163 to discover how listening styles influence your interpersonal effectiveness.
- What are the best listening styles to use when you’re engaged in cross-gender or cross-cultural encounters? Find the answers on pages 163–164.
- Want to more effectively communicate with someone who employs an aggressive listening style? Complete the Skills Practice on page 170 to discover how.
- Interested in putting your active listening skills to the test? Complete the Making Relationship Choices exercise on pages 168–169.
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