Difference between Hearing and Listening

1. Difference between Hearing and Listening • Hearing---physical process • Listening---active mental process; attempt to make meaning of what we hear

2. Steps of Listening • 1. Hearing---electrochemical impulses are transmitted to brain • 2. Attending---what we decide to focus on based on our wants/needs

3. Steps cont’d • 3. Understanding---Making meaning of what is heard based on grammar and social context • 4. Remembering---ability to recall information. • People remember 1/2 of what they listen to immediately and 1/4 of info from 2 months ago.

4. 3 Types of Listening • 1. Informational • used when dealing with facts • gather as much accurate data as possible • focus on factual details rather than criticism or judgment

5. 3 Types of Listening • 2. Evaluative • purpose is evaluation and decision-making • Informational listening MUST come before this • Evaluate on basis of speaker’s credibility, use of evidence, and emotional appeal

6. 3 Types of Listening • 3. Empathic • Focus on speaker’s emotions • to provide emotional support in order to help speaker solve a problem or come to terms with a situation • Intention is NOT to make decision for the speaker.

7. 7 Bad Habits (that interfere with effective listening) • 1. Pseudolistening---acting like you are listening when your mind is elsewhere • 2. Self-Centered---Rehearsing what you will say while speaker is speaking

8. 7 Bad Habits (that interfere with effective listening) • Selective---listen only to those parts of message that are of particular interest or immediate relevance • Fill-in---gaps left in understanding by selective listening filled by what we expect to hear

9. 7 Bad Habits (that interfere with effective listening) • Defensive---focus on ideas not even there and interpret as personal attacks when they were not intended that way • Insulated---choose not to listen to what we don’t want to hear

10. 7 Bad Habits (that interfere with effective listening • Reconstructive---take a new message and rebuild it so it’s like a previous message. (Telephone Game)