MPS 4 Responding to Speeches The Importance of Listening Most people spend more time listening than speaking, writing, or reading College student spend approximately 53 % of their time listening Despite lettering s monopoly on our time, most people know surprisingly little about it Of the communication roles you perform speaking, listening, reading and writing, you ve probably been taught the least about what you do the most: listen! So guess what? Most of us are inefficient listeners Listening is the most neglected and least understood of the communication arts. It has become the weakest link in today s communication system. Poor listening is a result of bad habits that develop because we haven t been trained to listen So here we go! Listening versus Hearing Listening is intermittent Listening is not a continuous activity, but occurs only from time to itme when we choose to focus and respond to stimuli around us. Hearing, on the other hand, is a continuous function for a person having normal hearing ability Listening is a learned skill Listening must be taught and learned. Unless you were born with a hearing loss, however, hearing is a natural capacity for which you need no training Listening is active Hearing means simply receiving an aural stimulus. The act of hearing is passive Listening is active it is something you choose to do you must concentrate, interpret, and respond you must be involved Listening implies using the message received Audiences assemble for many reasons
2 We choose to listen to gain new information; to learn new uses for existing information, to discover arguments for beliefs or actions; to laugh and be entertained; to celebrate a person, place, object or idea; to be inspired The Process of Listening Any time two people communicate (i.e. speak & listen), two messages are involved the one the sender intends and the one the listener actually receives These messages will never be identical because people often operate from different frames of reference and with different perceptions Six steps of listening: Receive: Hearing is the first step in listening Select: People select different stimuli to focus on Listening to a speech one may focus on: What is being said How it is being said What the speaking is wearing/looks like The humming heating ducts Internal noise (e.g. just learned about you best friend s car accident) Etc. As William James said our view of the world is truly shaped by what we decide to heed Interpret: Not only do individuals choose differently among stimuli competing for their attention, they also interpret these stimuli differently The process of decoding a message You attach meanings to the cluster verbal and nonverbal symbols the speaker provides Words Tone of voice Facial expression Etc. The speaker s knowledge and experience must be similar to the listener s if communication is to be clear and effective Understand: Fitting the message into your framework of existing knowledge and beliefs
3 To understand a speaker s message you must consider the message s content and context Is it a joke? Is it a persuasion attempt? What is the speaker trying to do? Evaluate: Before acting on the message you have decoded and understood, you evaluate it Judging the reliability of the speaker and the quality and consistency of the speaker s information: Is the speaker someone you know? Does the speaker have a track record of honest, open communication with you? If the speaker is a stranger, do you monitor nonverbal cues? Appropriate eye contact? Fluent without unnecessary filler words or pauses? Do gestures and other body language seem relaxed and spontaneous? Does the person seem well-prepared and confident? If your answer is no to any of the above, you may wonder whether the speaker has ulterior motives As you evaluate the message you decide whether you believe the data presented and whether you agree or disagree with the position the speaker advocates Resolve: The final step involves deciding what to do with the information received We can resolve to accept it, reject it, or just try to remember it so we can resolve it later We do not consciously go through and dwell on each of these six steps each time we listen to someone HOWEVER: as the significance of the message increases for us, we become more involved in the process of listening a point each speaker should remember!
4 Obstacles to effective listening What you re up against! Physical distractions Interferences coming to you through any of your senses Everything from the glare of sunlight to a chill form an airconditioning duct, to the smell of the person sitting next to you Physiological distractions Your body Any illness or unusual physiological condition is a potential distraction Lack of sleep Flu Hangover Psychological distractions Attitudes Negative attitude toward the speaker or the topic, or your reason for attending the speech If you are antagonistic toward the speaker or the speaker s position, you may resist or mentally debate what they re saying instead of allowing a full hearing to take place Any thoughts you are concentrating on unrelated to what the speaker is saying will negatively affect your understanding of the intended message Factual distractions Listening disturbances caused by the flood of facts we may be presented with in speeches If you listen for detail, you may miss main points a speaker is making Semantic distractions Caused by confusion over the meaning of words you may never have heard or seen before Promoting better listening Desire to listen Your attitude will determine, in part, your listening effectiveness Good listeners begin with the assumption that each speech can potentially benefit them
5 Good listeners may learn something from a speech even if it is poorly prepared and badly delivered. You may learn how to improve your own speaking by observing what people do to hinder effective speaking Speakers can promote better listening by demonstrating early in their speeches how the information will benefit the listeners Focus on the message Attend the speaker s message The message competes with other, often powerful, stimuli for your attention Speakers can help listeners focus on the message by eliminating distracting mannerisms and by incorporating nonverbal behaviors that reinforce, rather than contradict their ideas Listen for main ideas A person who solely listeners for fact often misses the main point of a message It is important to listen for supporting material, but should be bale to relate it to the major point being developed When listening to a speech, pay close attention to its organization Speakers who clearly enumerate their key ideas and repeat them at several points in their speeches give their audience a better opportunity to be attentive listeners Understand the speaker s point of view Each of us has different referents for the words we hear or speak because we have different life experiences Life experiences affect how we see the world When speakers and listeners come form different cultures, the chances of misunderstanding increase Differences in language, education, and customs challenge listeners to work especially hard at understanding message content Speakers can do two things to clarify their points of view in speeches: Explain early in the speech if you have some particular reason for selecting your topic or some special qualifications to speak on the subject
6 Try to relate your subject to your listeners frame of reference Use examples and language your audience will understand Reinforce the message Most Americans speak at rates between 125-190 words per minute If you communicate simple ideas between rates of 120-140, your listener may think you are ill, reluctant or uncertain Listeners can process 400-500 words per minute There s a possible boredom factor here You can fill in the extra time you have as a listener by mentally repeating, paraphrasing and summarizing what the speaker is saying On the other hand, listeners can take in less information than readers can so speakers can repeat, paraphrase, and summarize to enhance the listening process always with an eye toward not inducing boredom this is called copia in the rhetorical tradition being able to say the same thing in a number of different way (relates to having your point of view understood too) Provide Feedback The effective speaker will read nonverbal cues from the audience and make adjustments accordingly If you understand accept the speaker s pojtn of view nod in agreement & the speaker will move on If you appear perplexed this should prompt the speaker to explain the idea more fully before moving on to the next point Speakers need to be careful of paying too much attention to one or two audience member s feedback sweep the room---if it seems to be working for most people, forge ahead Listen with the body Sit erect, lean slightly forward and place both feet flat on the floor Look at the speaker as you listen As important as the message you hear is the message you see You want to detect any nonverbal messages that intensify or contradict the speaker s verbal message
7 Speakers can speak with their bodies gesture fully exploit volume, pitch, vocal variety and rate of speech make that delivery something worth paying attention to! Withhold judgment We have trouble withholding judgment We rush to judgment We hear something and immediately label it right or wrong before we ve heard it all As you mentally challenge arguments you may miss much of what the speaker is saying and miss an opportunity to change your mind for good reasons If you can suspend judgment until after the speaker is finished after the arguments have been presented and supported you will be a better listener Listen critically You must test the merits of what you hear (even though you must withhold judgment prior to doing so tricky business) Ask several questions: Is the speech factually correct? Are sources clearly identified, and are they unbiased and credible? Does the speaker draw logical conclusions from the date presented? Has the speaker overlooked or omitted important information? Speakers help listeners answer these questions by presenting credible information, identifying their sources, and using valid reasoning Critiquing Speeches Begin with a positive statement Target a few key areas Organize your comments around rhetoric s canons (invention, arrangement, style, delivery) Be specific Be honest but tactful Personalize your comments (use I statements I had trouble instead of You caused me to )
8 Reinforce the positive Problem-solve the negative Provide the speaker with a plan of action End with a positive statement Acting on criticism Focus on what your critics say, not how they say it Seek clear and specific feedback Evaluate the feedback you receive Develop a plan of action Rank areas in need of improvement according to importance Be open to suggestions If you have doubts about the validity of suggestions, discuss them with other people Try not to be thin skinned SO HARD TO DO SO MUCH IS On THE LINE work as hard as you re able at this Again there s a contract that binds public speakers and public listeners it takes two to tango part of the story is the relative relationship between the coupled-pair: one cannot be a good speaker without a good audience; one cannot be a good audience without a good speaker these is a quality of interdependence involved in this relationship like all relationships, we must be willing to bear mutual responsibility for the quality of our being-together So, in a sense, if things don t work out, we re all to blame. Speech criticism should amplify and clarify the terms of the contract that any individual speaker will enter with all her or his future audiences.