LBIL 1054 PUBLIC SPEAKING (CHAPTER 3)

CHAPTER THREE (LISTENING)

Hearing vs. Listening
Hearing -- The vibration of sound waves on the eardrums and the firing of electrochemical impulses in the brain
Listening--Paying close attention to, and making sense of, what we hear

Four kinds of listening
i) Appreciative listening--- Listening for pleasure or enjoyment, as when we listen to music, to a comedy routine. Or to an entertaining speech

ii) Empathic listening---Listening to provide emotional support for the speaker, as when a psychiatrist listens to a patient.

iii) Comprehensive listening--- Listening to understand the message of a speaker, as when we attend a classroom lecture.

iv)Critical listening--- Listening to evaluate a message for purposes of accepting or rejecting it.


Four causes of Poor Listening
i) Not concentrating--- *Spare brain time: the difference between the rate which most people talk (120 words to 150 words per minute) and the rate at which brain can process language (400 to 800 words a minute)

ii) Listening too hard--- Soaking up every word as if every word is equally important. Trying to remember everything. Thus we miss the speaker’s point by swallowing every detail of the speech
Putting words into the speaker’s mouth. Not listening to what they mean

iii) Jumping to conclusion--- Judging people by their looks or by the way they speak

iv) Focusing on delivery and personal appearance

v) Too much spare brain time and thus we are tempted to interrupt our listening by thinking about other things.


How to be a better listener
Take listening seriously
- Develop at learning to listen effectively

Be an active listener
- Giving undivided attention to the speaker in a genuine effort to understand the speaker’s point of view

Resist distractions
- Force your mind to listen and not to give in to distractions

Don’t be diverted by appearances or delivery
- Respond to the message not to the package that comes with it
- Don’t have preconceive judgement based on the person’s looks or manner of speec

Suspend judgment
- If you don’t agree to a certain subject, listen to the speaker’s point of view, ideas, examine their evidence and assess their reasoning, then make up your mind

Focus your listening
- Listen to main points: most speeches have two to four main points
- Listen for evidence: listen to the supporting evidence
- Listen for techniques: analyse the introduction, study the language, focus on the speaker’s weaknesses and strength

Develop note-taking skills
- Keywords: an outline that briefly notes a speaker’s main points and supporting evidence in rough outline form