The Listening Process

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The Listening Process
Lisa J. Downs

• American Society of Training and Development

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Needs Fulfilled by Listening

• To release feelings or vent
• To have emotional intimacy
• To be validated and boost self-esteem

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Step 1 Hearing

• Hearing occurs when sound waves strike the ear
• Sound is transferred along neural pathways to
  parts of the brain
• Hearing is a prerequisite to listening
• Temporary hearing loss may occur with exposure to
  the same loudness or tone

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Hearing Techniques

• Be in close proximity to the speaker
• Minimize distractions if possible
• Move to a quiet location if needed
• Focus on what the speaker is saying

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Common Distractions

• External
• Other peoples noise
• Television
• Stereo or radio
• Alarms or loud noises
• Telephone
• Speakers mannerisms or volume

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Common Distractions

• Internal
• Emotions toward speaker
• Prejudice or bias
• Lack of interest
• Stress
• Conflicting priorities
• Negative attitude

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Step 2 Attending

• Attending involves filtering out some messages
  and focusing on others
• Attending is a psychological choice
• Some sounds are brought to the foreground while
  others stay in the background
• People may attend more when there is a benefit
  for doing so

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Attending Techniques

• Get ready to listen by being ready, both mentally
  and physically
• Adjust to the listening goal of the scenario
  intensity will vary
• Avoid rehearsing responses and watch interrupting

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Step 3 Understanding

• Understanding refers to making sense of a message
  by assigning meaning to it
• Vocabulary affects understanding
• Its possible to hear and attend to a message
  without understanding
• Interpretation of a message leads to evaluating
  its importance

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Understanding Techniques

• Ask if unsure about the meaning of a word or
  phrase
• Watch nonverbal cues to gauge tone and mood
• Focus on the purpose of a complex message

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Step 4 Responding

• Responding consists of providing feedback to the
  speaker
• Feedback may be verbal and nonverbal
• Responding demonstrates active rather than
  passive behavior
• Responses must be appropriate to the situation

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Responding Techniques

• Practice letting the speaker complete all
  thoughts
• Match the response to the goal of the listening
• Ask questions if needed to gain clarity

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Types of Responses

• Verbal acknowledgment (oh, I see, mm-hmm,
  etc.)
• Nonverbal (nodding head, leaning forward,
  smiling)
• Paraphrasing putting into words another persons
  statement
• Questioning for clarification

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Poor Responses

• Interrupting breaking in before the speaker has
  a chance to finish a statement or thought
• Ignoring not paying attention to the speaker or
  providing an irrelevant response

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Poor Responses

• Deflecting changing the subject, intentionally
  or unintentionally, to shift emphasis away from
  speaker
• Conflicting exhibiting nonverbal behaviors in
  conflict with the verbal response (e.g. shaking
  head while agreeing to something)

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Step 5 Remembering

• Remembering is the process of recalling
  information from memory
• People may forget as much as half of what they
  hear immediately
• General impressions of people and situations may
  be retained more often, especially if feelings
  are present
• Remembering is important in building relationships

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Remembering Techniques

• Take notes
• Use a mnemonic device (memory aid) to help with
  recall
• Group similar ideas together
• Repeat names and keywords

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Mnemonic Devices

• Acronyms take first letters of items and form a
  word
• Word association think of trigger words or
  rhymes to connect to items
• Chronological order assign dates or sequences to
  items