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People who feel in conflict with individuals they are listening to may display argumentative listening, or selective listening—listening to only as much as they need to in order to fuel their own arguments. Argumentative listening can also afflict speakers who feel personally attacked by audience members during question-and-answer sessions. Because these speakers focus more on their irritation than the actual question, they may listen to only part of what a questioner has asked and so can’t respond in a thoughtful, informed way. This hurts their credibility.

Speakers can also fall victim to argumentative listening during an interview if they disagree with the interviewee’s opinions or ideas. Here, they may again focus more on their own views and miss out on everything the other person has to say.

If you find yourself speaking to or interviewing people whose statements you disagree with, remind yourself to listen first before making judgments. If you ever speak to an argumentative or hostile group, you may need to address their potential disagreement—a process we discuss in chapter 5 (p. 148). If you are the one who disagrees while listening to a speaker, try to keep an open mind—at least through the end of his or her speech!