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7: Listening

  • Page ID
    298099
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    In this section, we will explain the importance of listening.

    The Importance of Listening

    If you were to break up the various types of communication you use throughout your day, listening would make up about 42 – 60 percent. Problematically, many people engage in passive versus active listening, which can cause miscommunication and have a negative effect on relationships. Listening is an important skill to cultivate, both personally and professionally. In this chapter, we will explain the importance of listening, the stages of the listening process, listening styles, some common listening barriers, and ways to improve our listening skills.

    Image 1: © Barry Deutsch/ leftyacartoons.com, printed with permission for use in Interpersonal Communication Abridged Textbook (I.C.A.T.)
    (Image: © Barry Deutsch/ leftyacartoons.com, printed with permission for use in I.C.A.T)
    Learning Objectives
    • How does the listening process work?
    • What are some of the challenges to effective listening?
    • How can we improve our listening, and why might it be important to do so?

    Successful students will be able to:

    • explain the importance of listening
    • differentiate between five stages of the listening process
    • identify four listening styles
    • describe six barriers to effective listening
    • demonstrate ways to improve listening in all stages of the process
    • recognize contextual influences on listening
    • recognize the value of reflection on listening and relationships

    • 7.1: The Listening Process
    • 7.2: Functions of Listening
      We are sure that you have noticed that when you are watching a movie, or listening to music, that you are engaged differently than when you are listening to one of your professors. There is value in understanding that there are different functions of listening because we can then use the most appropriate listening skills to meet the purpose or occasion. Using these functions appropriately will lead to better engagement and understanding.
    • 7.3: Barriers to Listening
      A barrier to listening is anything that is hindering you from recognizing, understanding, and accurately interpreting the message that you are receiving. In this next section, we will discuss five different barriers to effective listening: Information overload, internal and external distractions, prejudice or prejudging, and rate of speech and thought.
    • 7.4: Ineffective Listening Practices (Types of Nonlistening)
      Being aware or conscious of the habits we have is the first step to improving how we listen. This next section will look at ineffective listening practices that include pseudo-listening, selective listening, defensive listening, aggressive listening, narcissistic listening, insensitive listening, interrupting, and eavesdropping.
    • 7.5: Becoming a Better Listener
      The principles of active listening are not hard to understand, but they are hard to implement and require practice to use them effectively. Active listening is being engaged as a listener, not just hearing the words. Active listening requires purposefully focusing on what a speaker is saying with the objective of understanding. This final section of the chapter will describe what active listening means and the principles of active listening.
    • 7.6: Listening Responses

    Contributors and Attributions

    • Sections 7.0: Interpersonal Communication Abridged Textbook (I.C.A.T.); Central New Mexico Community College; 2019; CC BY NC SA 4.0
    • Sections 7.1.1 – 7.5.3: adapted from Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication Studies; University of Minnesota; 2016; CC BY NC SA 4.0

    This page titled 7: Listening is shared under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Pamela J. Gerber & Heidi Murphy (https://www.cnm.edu/) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.