Chapter 3

LISTENING

(outline)

HEARING VERSUS LISTENING

Hearing and listening are not the same. First, hearing is a natural process, while listening is a
skill.

hearing or reception of sounds is only the first components of listening. The second component
called recognition of sounds. The third component of listening is called meaning-giving

Listening is, thus, a subprocess of communication that involves not only hearing, but also
understanding, and remembering.

WHY IS LISTENING IMPORTANT?

Listening plays an integral part of communicating and the differences from actively listening can
be seen in multiple facets of our lives and development.

Active listening helps to:

( Learn and understand things better in a social and professional environment

( Become better at socialising

( Better sympathise with friends and family

( Build stronger relationships by making people feel valued

( Improve problem solving skills

( Absorb information better

STAGES OF LISTENING

1. The Receiving Stage

Receiving is the intentional focus on hearing a speaker’s message, which happens when
we filter out other sources so that we can isolate the message and avoid the confusing mixture of
incoming stimuli.

2. The Understanding Stage

The understanding stage is the stage during which the listener determines the context
and meanings of the words that are heard through a process called decoding. 3. The
Evaluating Stage
 The third stage in the listening process is evaluating, or judging the value of the
message.

4. The Remembering Stage

In the listening process, the remembering stage occurs as the listener categorizes and
retains the information he or she has gathered from the speaker for future access.

5. The Responding Stage

Responding—sometimes referred to as feedback—is the fifth and final stage of the

listening process.

TYPES OF LISTENING

1. Appreciative listening is listening for enjoyment. A good example is listening to music,

especially as a way to relax.

The 3 factors of Appreciative Listening

a. Presentation

The presentation is very important for the way in which auditory material
is interpreted. Keep in mind, for example, the medium and the setting. Listening
to a live classical music concert is completely different from listening to classical
music via the music player at home or in the car.

Presentation includes many factors: the medium, environment and style

or personality of the presenter.

b. Perception

The opinion or appreciation of a listener about the auditory material that

they’re receiving plays a major role in appreciative listening and can change
quickly. After hearing a good presentation from a presenter, the perception of
the presenter and the presentation can change completely because of new
information during the break. This can also happen while listening.

c. Past experiences

The observation of auditory material can be clearly influenced by past

experiences and it has an impact on whether or not someone enjoys listening to
certain sounds. The willingness to listen to new things can also become stronger
or weaker.

2. Empathic listening involves attempting to understand the feelings and emotions of the
speaker – to put yourself into the speaker’s shoes and share their thoughts.

3. Comprehensive listening involves understanding the message or messages that are being
communicated.
 In order to be able use comprehensive listening and therefore gain
understanding the listener first needs appropriate vocabulary and language skills.

4. Critical Listening

Critical listening is listening in order to evaluate and judge, forming opinion about
what is being said. Judgment includes assessing strengths and weaknesses, agreement and
approval.

CAUSES OF POOR LISTENING

Listening can be learned. To begin, you have to know the causes of poor listening. The main
causes of poor listening are:

1. Poor concentration

The main causes of poor concentration could be mental, physical and/or

environmental distractions. If you let your mind wander off to other areas outside
teaching, you will likely lose track of what the lecturer is saying.

2. Listening too hard

While it is easy to be distracted and lose track of our thoughts, at times we just tend to
listen too hard. We tend to concentrate on every word that is spoken as if everything is equally
important. You do not have to listen to everything your lecturer says. You should concentrate on the
main ideas or key points.

3. Jumping to conclusions

Jumping to conclusion involves wrongly anticipating what the speaker wants to say and
not letting him/her finish before you write what you think he/she “wants to say” or interrupting
his/her speech before he/she comes to an end.

4. Focusing on delivery and personal appearance

Some students tend to pay too much attention to the physical appearances of their
lecturers. If they are impressed, they pay attention. If they are not, they blank out.

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER

1. Take listening seriously.

2. Be an active listener.

active listening – giving undivided attention to a speaker in a genuine effort to

understand the speaker’s point of view.

3. Resist distractions.
 4. Do not be diverted by appearance or delivery.

5. Suspend judgment.

6. Focus your listening.

Here are three suggestions to help you focus your listening.

6.1. Listen for Main Points.

6.2. Listen for Evidence.

6.3. Listen for Techniques.

7. Develop note-taking skills.

Key-word outline – an outline that briefly notes a speaker’s main points and
supporting evidence in rough outline form.

Chapter 4

(outline)

A. SELECTING YOUR TOPIC AND IDENTIFYING YOUR PURPOSE

A. SELECTING YOUR TOPIC

Topic – is the subject of the speech

There are two broad categories of potential topics for your classroom speeches:

1) you know a lot about

2) subjects you want to know more about

BRAINSTORMING FOR TOPICS

brainstorming – a method of generating ideas for speech topics by free

association of words and ideas.

If you are having trouble selecting a topic, there are a number of brainstorming

procedures you can follow to get started.

1. Personal Inventory.

2. Clustering.

3. Reference Search.

4. Internet Search.
B. DETERMINING THE GENERAL PURPOSE

General purpose– the broad goal of a speech.

1. To inform.

2. To persuade.

C. DETERMINING THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE

specific purpose – a single infinitive phrase that states precisely what a speaker
hopes to accomplish in his/her speech.

Tips for Formulating the Specific Purpose Statement

1. Write the purpose statement as a full infinitive phrase, not as a fragment.

2. Express your purpose as a statement, not as a question.

3. Avoid figurative language in your purpose statement.

4. Limit your purpose statement to one distinct idea.

5. Make sure your specific purpose is not too vague or general.

Questions to Ask about Your Specific Purpose

1. Does my purpose meet the assignment?

2. Can I accomplish my purpose in the time allotted?

3. Is the purpose relevant to my audience?

4. Is the purpose too trivial for my audience?

5. Is the purpose too technical for my audience?

D. PHRASING THE CENTRAL IDEA

central idea – a one-sentence statement that sums up or encapsulates the major

ideas of a speech.

Another way to think of the central idea is as your residual message.

residual message what a speaker wants the audience to remember after it has
 forgotten everything else in a speech.

Guidelines for the Central Idea

What makes a well-worded central idea? Essentially the same things that make a
well-worded specific purpose statement. The central idea:

(1) should be expressed in s full sentence;

(2) should not be in the form of a question;

(3) should avoid figurative language; and,

(4) should not be vague or overly general.

CHAPTER 5

ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE

ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE

You are an audience-centered speaker if your purpose in your speech is to gain a

favorable response from the major groups in your audience.

Audience-centeredness – keeping the audience foremost in mind every step of

speech preparation and presentation

Effective speakers seek to create a bond with their listeners by emphasizing

common values, goals and experiences. Communication scholars call this
process identification.

Identification – a process in which speakers seek to create a bond with

the audience by emphasizing common values, goals, and experience.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AUDIENCES

We listen and respond to speeches not as they are but as we are. We usually want to
her about things that are meaningful to us. We are egocentric.

Egocentric – the tendency of people to be concerned above all with their own values,
beliefs and well-being.

TWO METHODS OF ANALYSIS FOR AUDIENCE:

1. demographic analysis

Here are few of the major demographic factors you should consider:
 a. Age.

b. Gender.

c. Sexual Orientation

d. Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Background

e. Religion.

f. Group Membership

2. Situational Audience Analysis

situational audience analysis focuses on

a. Size

b. Physical Setting.

c. Disposition toward the Topic.

c.1. Interest.

c.2. Knowledge.

c.3. Attitude.
attitude – a frame of mind in favor of or opposed
to a person, policy, belief, institution, etc.

d. Disposition toward the Speaker.

e. Disposition toward the Occasion

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUDIENCE

By following a few basic guidelines, you can learn to develop a good questionnaire for analyzing
your classroom audience.

Three Major Types of Questions

1. Fixed-alternative questions.

fixed-alternative questions – questions that offer a fixed choice between

two or more alternatives.

2. Scale questions.

scale questions – questions that require responses at fixed intervals

along a scale of answers.
 3. Open-ended questions.

open-ended questions – questions that allow respondents to answer

however they want.

In putting together your own questionnaire, keep the following principles in mind:

1. Plan the questionnaire carefully to elicit precisely the information you need.

2. Use all three types of questions – fixed-alternative, scale, and open-ended.

3. Make sure the questions are clear and unambiguous.

4. Keep the questionnaire relatively brief

ADAPTING THE AUDIENCE

There are two major stages in the process:

1. Audience adaptation before the speech.

2. Audience adaptation during the speech.