What Strategy Can Be Used To Increase Intercultural Competence?

5.3 Improving Listening Competence

Learning Objectives

1. Place strategies for improving listening competence at each phase of the listening procedure.
2. Summarize the characteristics of agile listening.
3. Apply disquisitional-listening skills in interpersonal, educational, and mediated contexts.
4. Practice empathetic listening skills.
5. Talk over ways to improve listening competence in relational, professional, and cultural contexts.

Many people admit that they could stand to improve their listening skills. This section will help us do that. In this section, we will learn strategies for developing and improving competence at each stage of the listening process. We will also ascertain active listening and the behaviors that continue with it. Looking back to the types of listening discussed before, we will learn specific strategies for sharpening our critical and empathetic listening skills. In keeping with our focus on integrative learning, we volition also apply the skills we have learned in academic, professional person, and relational contexts and explore how culture and gender affect listening.

Listening Competence at Each Stage of the Listening Process

We can develop competence inside each stage of the listening process, equally the following list indicates (Ridge, 1993):

1. To ameliorate listening at the receiving phase,
   • gear up yourself to listen,
   • discern betwixt intentional letters and racket,
   • concentrate on stimuli most relevant to your listening purpose(s) or goal(s),
   • be mindful of the selection and attending procedure as much as possible,
   • pay attending to plough-taking signals so you can follow the conversational flow, and
   • avoid interrupting someone while they are speaking in order to maintain your ability to receive stimuli and mind.
2. To better listening at the interpreting stage,
   • identify main points and supporting points;
   • use contextual clues from the person or environs to discern additional significant;
   • be aware of how a relational, cultural, or situational context tin influence pregnant;
   • be enlightened of the different meanings of silence; and
   • note differences in tone of vocalisation and other paralinguistic cues that influence meaning.
3. To improve listening at the recalling phase,
   • employ multiple sensory channels to decode letters and brand more complete memories;
   • repeat, rephrase, and reorganize data to fit your cerebral preferences; and
   • utilize mnemonic devices every bit a gimmick to help with recall.
4. To amend listening at the evaluating stage,
   • split facts, inferences, and judgments;
   • be familiar with and able to identify persuasive strategies and fallacies of reasoning;
   • assess the credibility of the speaker and the message; and
   • be enlightened of your own biases and how your perceptual filters can create barriers to effective listening.
5. To improve listening at the responding stage,
   • ask advisable clarifying and follow-up questions and paraphrase information to check understanding,
   • give feedback that is relevant to the speaker'southward purpose/motivation for speaking,
   • suit your response to the speaker and the context, and
   • exercise non let the grooming and rehearsal of your response diminish earlier stages of listening.

Active Listening

Active listening refers to the procedure of pairing outwardly visible positive listening behaviors with positive cognitive listening practices. Active listening tin can assistance accost many of the ecology, physical, cognitive, and personal barriers to effective listening that we discussed before. The behaviors associated with active listening can besides enhance informational, critical, and empathetic listening.

Agile Listening Can Help Overcome Barriers to Effective Listening

Being an active listener starts before you lot really start receiving a message. Active listeners brand strategic choices and accept action in order to fix upward ideal listening weather. Physical and environmental noises tin often be managed by moving locations or by manipulating the lighting, temperature, or piece of furniture. When possible, avoid important listening activities during times of distracting psychological or physiological dissonance. For example, we oftentimes know when we're going to be hungry, full, more awake, less awake, more anxious, or less broken-hearted, and advance planning tin convalesce the presence of these barriers. For higher students, who frequently have some flexibility in their class schedules, knowing when you all-time listen can aid you lot make strategic choices regarding what grade to take when. And student options are increasing, as some colleges are offer classes in the overnight hours to arrange working students and students who are just "night owls" (Toppo, 2011). Of course, we don't ever accept control over our schedule, in which case nosotros will need to employ other effective listening strategies that we volition learn more than nigh afterward in this chapter.

In terms of cerebral barriers to effective listening, we can prime ourselves to listen by analyzing a listening situation earlier it begins. For instance, y'all could enquire yourself the post-obit questions:

1. "What are my goals for listening to this message?"
2. "How does this message relate to me / affect my life?"
3. "What listening type and manner are almost appropriate for this message?"

As we learned earlier, the deviation between speech and thought processing charge per unit means listeners' level of attention varies while receiving a message. Effective listeners must work to maintain focus as much as possible and refocus when attention shifts or fades (Wolvin & Coakley, 1993). 1 mode to do this is to find the motivation to listen. If you can identify intrinsic and or extrinsic motivations for listening to a detail message, then you will exist more than probable to remember the information presented. Ask yourself how a message could impact your life, your career, your intellect, or your relationships. This tin help overcome our tendency toward selective attention. As senders of letters, we can aid listeners by making the relevance of what nosotros're saying clear and offering well-organized letters that are tailored for our listeners. We volition learn much more about establishing relevance, organizing a message, and gaining the attending of an audience in public speaking contexts later in the book.

Given that nosotros can process more than words per infinitesimal than people can speak, nosotros can appoint in internal dialogue, making adept use of our intrapersonal communication, to become a amend listener. Three possibilities for internal dialogue include covert coaching, self-reinforcement, and covert questioning; explanations and examples of each follow (Hargie, 2011):

• Covert coaching involves sending yourself messages containing advice about better listening, such equally "Y'all're getting distracted past things you lot accept to do after work. Just focus on what your supervisor is saying now."
• Self-reinforcement involves sending yourself affirmative and positive messages: "You lot're being a good active listener. This will assist y'all practise well on the next exam."
• Covert questioning involves asking yourself questions most the content in means that focus your attention and reinforce the material: "What is the main idea from that PowerPoint slide?" "Why is he talking about his brother in front end of our neighbors?"

Internal dialogue is a more than structured mode to engage in active listening, but we can use more than general approaches as well. I suggest that students occupy the "actress" channels in their mind with thoughts that are related to the primary message beingness received instead of thoughts that are unrelated. Nosotros can employ those channels to resort, rephrase, and repeat what a speaker says. When we resort, nosotros can aid mentally repair disorganized messages. When nosotros rephrase, nosotros can put messages into our own words in means that meliorate fit our cognitive preferences. When we echo, we can help messages transfer from short-term to long-term memory.

Other tools can help with concentration and retention. Mental bracketing refers to the process of intentionally separating out intrusive or irrelevant thoughts that may distract yous from listening (McCornack, 2007). This requires that we monitor our concentration and attention and be prepared to let thoughts that aren't related to a speaker'south message pass through our minds without us giving them much attention. Mnemonic devices are techniques that can help in information recall (Hargie 2011). Starting in ancient Hellenic republic and Rome, educators used these devices to aid people remember information. They work past imposing society and organization on information. Three main mnemonic devices are acronyms, rhymes, and visualization, and examples of each follow:

• Acronyms. HOMES—to assist remember the Bully Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior).
• Rhyme. "Righty tighty, lefty loosey"—to think which way well-nigh light bulbs, screws, and other coupling devices turn to make them go in or out.
• Visualization. Imagine seeing a glass of port wine (which is red) and the ruddy navigation light on a gunkhole to help recollect that the red light on a gunkhole is ever on the port side, which volition besides help y'all call up that the blue light must exist on the starboard side.

Active Listening Behaviors

From the suggestions discussed previously, you lot can see that nosotros can prepare for agile listening in advance and engage in certain cognitive strategies to assistance u.s. heed better. We also engage in active listening behaviors as nosotros receive and process letters.

Center contact is a key sign of agile listening. Speakers ordinarily interpret a listener's eye contact as a bespeak of attentiveness. While a lack of centre contact may indicate inattentiveness, it tin can also point cognitive processing. When we await away to procedure new information, we usually do it unconsciously. Be aware, yet, that your conversational partner may translate this as not listening. If you actually exercise demand to take a moment to call back about something, you could indicate that to the other person past proverb, "That'southward new information to me. Requite me just a second to think through it." We already learned the role that back-channel cues play in listening. An occasional head nod and "uh-huh" signal that you are paying attention. Withal, when we give these cues as a form of "autopilot" listening, others can usually tell that nosotros are pseudo-listening, and whether they call united states of america on it or non, that impression could lead to negative judgments.

A more directly way to indicate agile listening is to reference previous statements made past the speaker. Norms of politeness usually call on us to reference a past statement or connect to the speaker's electric current thought earlier starting a conversational turn. Being able to summarize what someone said to ensure that the topic has been satisfactorily covered and understood or being able to segue in such a style that validates what the previous speaker said helps regulate conversational catamenia. Asking probing questions is another fashion to directly indicate listening and to proceed a conversation going, since they encourage and invite a person to speak more. Y'all can also ask questions that seek description and not just elaboration. Speakers should present circuitous information at a slower speaking rate than familiar information, just many volition not. Call up that your nonverbal feedback tin be useful for a speaker, every bit it signals that you are listening but also whether or not you understand. If a speaker fails to read your nonverbal feedback, you may need to follow upwards with verbal communication in the grade of paraphrased letters and clarifying questions.

Every bit agile listeners, we want to be excited and engaged, simply don't allow excitement manifest itself in interruptions. Being an active listener means knowing when to maintain our function every bit listener and resist the urge to have a conversational turn. Research shows that people with college social status are more than likely to interrupt others, so keep this in mind and be prepared for it if you are speaking to a high-status person, or try to resist it if you lot are the high-condition person in an interaction (Hargie, 2011).

Good note-taking skills allow listeners to stay engaged with a message and aid in remember of information.

Note-taking can too point active listening. Translating information through writing into our own cognitive structures and schemata allows us to better interpret and assimilate information. Of course, annotation-taking isn't always a viable choice. Information technology would be fairly awkward to have notes during a first date or a coincidental exchange between new coworkers. But in some situations where nosotros wouldn't normally consider taking notes, a niggling awkwardness might be worth it for the sake of understanding and recalling the data. For example, many people don't think about taking notes when getting information from their dr. or broker. I actually invite students to take notes during breezy meetings because I remember they sometimes don't think about it or don't think information technology'southward appropriate. But many people would rather someone jot downwardly notes instead of having to reply to follow-upwards questions on information that was already clearly conveyed. To help facilitate your annotation-taking, you lot might say something like "Practice you lot heed if I jot downwardly some notes? This seems important."

In summary, active listening is exhibited through verbal and nonverbal cues, including steady middle contact with the speaker; smiling; slightly raised eyebrows; upright posture; torso position that is leaned in toward the speaker; nonverbal back-channel cues such as head nods; verbal back-channel cues such as "OK," "mmhum," or "oh"; and a lack of distracting mannerisms similar doodling or fidgeting (Hargie, 2011).

"Getting Competent"

Listening in the Classroom

The following statistic illustrates the importance of listening in bookish contexts: four hundred first-yr students were given a listening test before they started classes. At the terminate of that year, 49 pct of the students with depression scores were on academic probation, while simply 4 per centum of those who scored loftier were (Conaway, 1982). Listening effectively isn't something that merely happens; it takes work on the office of students and teachers. Ane of the most difficult challenges for teachers is eliciting good listening behaviors from their students, and the method of instruction teachers apply affects how a pupil will mind and acquire (Beall et al., 2008). Given that in that location are different learning styles, nosotros know that to be effective, teachers may have to find some way to appeal to each learning style. Although teachers often make this attempt, it is also not realistic or practical to remember that this do tin exist used all the time. Therefore, students should also think of ways they tin better their listening competence, because listening is an active procedure that we can exert some control over. The following tips will help you listen more effectively in the classroom:

• Be prepared to procedure challenging messages. You tin can use the internal dialogue strategy we discussed earlier to "mentally repair" messages that you receive to brand them more than listenable (Rubin, 1993). For instance, y'all might say, "It seems like we've moved on to a different main point at present. See if you can pull out the subpoints to help stay on track."
• Act like a proficient listener. While I'thou non advocating that you engage in pseudo-listening, engaging in active listening behaviors tin help yous mind better when you are having difficulty concentrating or finding motivation to mind. Make centre contact with the teacher and give appropriate nonverbal feedback. Students often take notes only when directed to by the instructor or when there is an explicit reason to do so (e.g., to recall data for an exam or some other purpose). Since you never know what information you may want to retrieve later, take notes fifty-fifty when it'south non required that yous practice then. As a caveat, however, do not try to transcribe everything your instructor says or includes on a PowerPoint, considering y'all volition likely miss data related to main ideas that is more important than pocket-size details. Instead, listen for chief ideas.
• Figure out from where the instructor nearly frequently speaks and sit shut to that surface area. Being able to make middle contact with an instructor facilitates listening, increases rapport, allows students to do good more than from immediacy behaviors, and minimizes distractions since the instructor is the primary stimulus within the educatee'southward field of vision.
• Figure out your preferred learning style and adopt listening strategies that complement it.
• Allow your instructor know when y'all don't empathise something. Instead of giving a quizzical look that says "What?" or pretending you know what's going on, let your teacher know when you don't sympathise something. Instead of asking the instructor to simply repeat something, ask her or him to rephrase it or provide an example. When yous ask questions, inquire specific clarifying questions that request a definition, an caption, or an elaboration.

1. What are some listening challenges that you face in the classroom? What can y'all do to overcome them?
2. Take the Learning Styles Inventory survey at the following link to determine what your primary learning style is: http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm. Do some research to identify specific listening/studying strategies that piece of work well for your learning manner.

Condign a Better Disquisitional Listener

Critical listening involves evaluating the brownie, abyss, and worth of a speaker'south message. Some listening scholars annotation that critical listening represents the deepest level of listening (Floyd, 1985). Disquisitional listening is also important in a democracy that values free speech. The US Constitution grants US citizens the right to free oral communication, and many people duly protect that right for yous and me. Since people tin say but about anything they want, nosotros are surrounded past countless messages that vary tremendously in terms of their value, degree of ideals, accuracy, and quality. Therefore it falls on us to responsibly and critically evaluate the letters nosotros receive. Some messages are produced by people who are intentionally misleading, ill informed, or motivated by the potential for personal gain, but such messages can be received as honest, credible, or altruistic even though they aren't. Being able to critically evaluate letters helps us have more than command over and awareness of the influence such people may take on u.s.. In society to critically evaluate letters, we must heighten our critical-listening skills.

Some critical-listening skills include distinguishing betwixt facts and inferences, evaluating supporting bear witness, discovering your own biases, and listening across the message. Chapter iii "Verbal Communication" noted that part of existence an ethical communicator is being accountable for what we say by distinguishing between facts and inferences (Hayakawa & Hayakawa, 1990). This is an ideal that is not ever met in practice, then a critical listener should also make these distinctions, since the speaker may not. Since facts are widely agreed-on conclusions, they can be verified as such through some extra research. Accept intendance in your research to annotation the context from which the fact emerged, as speakers may take a statistic or quote out of context, distorting its meaning. Inferences are not as easy to evaluate, because they are based on unverifiable thoughts of a speaker or on speculation. Inferences are usually based at to the lowest degree partially on something that is known, so information technology is possible to evaluate whether an inference was made carefully or not. In this sense, yous may evaluate an inference based on several known facts as more credible than an inference based on one fact and more speculation. Request a question like "What led y'all to think this?" is a proficient manner to get data needed to evaluate the strength of an inference.

Distinguishing amidst facts and inferences and evaluating the credibility of supporting fabric are critical-listening skills that also require adept informational-listening skills. In more formal speaking situations, speakers may cite published or publicly available sources to support their letters. When speakers verbally cite their sources, y'all can utilize the credibility of the source to assist evaluate the credibility of the speaker'south message. For instance, a national newspaper would likely exist more credible on a major national event than a tabloid magazine or an bearding web log. In regular interactions, people also accept sources for their data merely are not equally likely to notation them within their message. Asking questions like "Where'd you hear that?" or "How do yous know that?" tin can assist become data needed to make critical evaluations. You can look to Chapter 11 "Informative and Persuasive Speaking" to learn much more near persuasive strategies and how to evaluate the forcefulness of arguments.

Discovering your own biases can assist yous recognize when they interfere with your ability to fully process a message. Unfortunately, most people aren't asked to critically reflect on their identities and their perspectives unless they are in higher, and fifty-fifty people who were in one case critically reflective in college or elsewhere may no longer be so. Biases are too difficult to find, because we don't encounter them as biases; we see them every bit normal or "the way things are." Asking yourself "What led you to recall this?" and "How do you know that?" can exist a adept start toward acknowledging your biases. Nosotros will as well learn more most self-reflection and critical thinking in Chapter 8 "Culture and Communication".

Terminal, to exist a better critical listener, think beyond the bulletin. A expert critical listener asks the following questions: What is being said and what is not existence said? In whose interests are these claims beingness made? Whose voices/ideas are included and excluded? These questions have into account that speakers intentionally and unintentionally slant, edit, or twist letters to make them fit particular perspectives or for personal gain. Likewise enquire yourself questions like "What are the speaker'southward goals?" You can as well rephrase that question and direct it toward the speaker, asking them, "What is your goal in this interaction?" When you feel yourself nearing an evaluation or determination, break and ask yourself what influenced you. Although we similar to think that we are well-nigh oftentimes persuaded through logical evidence and reasoning, we are susceptible to persuasive shortcuts that rely on the credibility or likability of a speaker or on our emotions rather than the strength of his or her show (Petty & Cacioppo, 1984). So keep a check on your emotional involvement to be aware of how information technology may be influencing your evaluation. Also, exist aware that how likable, attractive, or friendly you think a person is may also lead you to more positively evaluate his or her letters.

Other Tips to Help You Become a Better Critical Listener

• Inquire questions to assistance get more information and increase your critical awareness when yous go answers like "Because that's the fashion things are," "It'due south always been like that," "I don't know; I just don't like it," "Everyone believes that," or "Information technology's just natural/normal." These are not really answers that are useful in your critical evaluation and may be an indication that speakers don't really know why they reached the determination they did or that they reached it without much critical thinking on their part.
• Be especially critical of speakers who prepare "either/or" options, because they artificially limit an effect or situation to two options when in that location are always more. Besides be aware of people who overgeneralize, specially when those generalizations are based on stereotypical or prejudiced views. For example, the world is not just Republican or Democrat, male person or female, pro-life or pro-pick, or Christian or atheist.
• Evaluate the speaker's message instead of his or her appearance, personality, or other characteristics. Unless someone'due south advent, personality, or behavior is relevant to an interaction, direct your criticism to the message.
• Be aware that critical evaluation isn't e'er quick or like shooting fish in a barrel. Sometimes you lot may accept to withhold judgment because your evaluation will have more time. Besides proceed in mind your evaluation may not exist concluding, and y'all should be open to critical reflection and possible revision subsequently.
• Avoid mind reading, which is assuming you know what the other person is going to say or that yous know why they reached the conclusion they did. This leads to jumping to conclusions, which shortcuts the critical evaluation procedure.

"Getting Critical"

Critical Listening and Political Spin

In just the past twenty years, the ascension of political fact checking occurred every bit a result of the increasingly sophisticated rhetoric of politicians and their representatives (Dobbs, 2012). As political campaigns began to adopt advice strategies employed past advertising agencies and public relations firms, their letters became more than cryptic, unclear, and sometimes outright misleading. While in that location are numerous political fact-checking sources now to which citizens tin turn for an assay of political messages, it is of import that we are able to use our own critical-listening skills to see through some of the political spin that now characterizes politics in the United States.

Since nosotros get nearly of our political messages through the media rather than directly from a politician, the media is a logical place to turn for guidance on fact checking. Unfortunately, the media is oftentimes manipulated by political communication strategies likewise (Dobbs, 2012). Sometimes media outlets transmit messages fifty-fifty though a disquisitional evaluation of the message shows that it lacks credibility, abyss, or worth. Journalists who engage in political fact checking take been criticized for putting their subjective viewpoints into what is supposed to exist objective news coverage. These journalists take fought back against what they call the norm of "false equivalence." One view of journalism sees the reporter as an objective conveyer of political messages. This could be described as the "We study; you decide" make of journalism. Other reporters run across themselves as "truth seekers." In this sense, the journalists engage in some disquisitional listening and evaluation on the part of the citizen, who may not have the time or power to do then.

Michael Dobbs, who started the political fact-checking program at the Washington Postal service, says, "Fairness is preserved non by treating all sides of an argument equally, but through an independent, open-minded arroyo to the bear witness" (Dobbs, 2012). He also notes that outright lies are much less common in politics than are exaggeration, spin, and insinuation. This fact puts much of political soapbox into an ethical gray area that tin be especially difficult for even professional fact checkers to evaluate. Instead of uncomplicated "true/false" categories, fact checkers like the Washington Post outcome evaluations such equally "One-half true, mostly true, half-flip, or full-bomb" to political statements. Although we all don't have the time and resources to fact cheque all the political statements we hear, it may be worth employing some of the strategies used by these professional fact checkers on bug that are very important to us or have major implications for others. Some fact-checking resource include http://www.PolitiFact.com, http://www.factcheck.org, and http://world wide web.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker. The caution here for any critical listener is to be aware of our tendency to gravitate toward letters with which we agree and avoid or automatically pass up messages with which nosotros disagree. In short, it's oftentimes easier for us to critically evaluate the letters of politicians with whom we disagree and uncritically take letters from those with whom we agree. Exploring the fact-bank check websites above tin aid expose ourselves to critical evaluation that we might not otherwise encounter.

1. 1 school of thought in journalism says information technology'southward up to the reporters to convey information as information technology is presented and then up to the viewer/reader to evaluate the bulletin. The other schoolhouse of thought says that the reporter should investigate and evaluate claims fabricated by those on all sides of an consequence equally and share their findings with viewers/readers. Which arroyo do you recollect is better and why?
2. In the lead-up to the war in Iraq, journalists and news outlets did non critically evaluate claims from the Bush administration that there was clear bear witness of weapons of mass devastation in Iraq. Many now cite this as an instance of failed fact checking that had global repercussions. Visit one of the fact-checking resources mentioned previously to detect other examples of fact checking that exposed manipulated letters. To enhance your disquisitional thinking, discover 1 example that critiques a viewpoint, politician, or political party that you typically hold with and one that y'all disagree with. Hash out what yous learned from the examples you plant.

Becoming a Ameliorate Empathetic Listener

A prominent scholar of empathetic listening describes it this way: "Empathetic listening is to be respectful of the dignity of others. Compassionate listening is a caring, a love of the wisdom to be found in others whoever they may be" (Bruneau, 1993). This quote conveys that empathetic listening is more philosophical than the other types of listening. It requires that we are open up to subjectivity and that nosotros engage in it because we genuinely meet it equally worthwhile.

Combining agile and compassionate listening leads to agile-empathetic listening. During active-empathetic listening a listener becomes actively and emotionally involved in an interaction in such a way that it is witting on the part of the listener and perceived by the speaker (Bodie, 2011). To be a better compassionate listener, we need to suspend or at to the lowest degree attempt to suppress our judgment of the other person or their message so nosotros tin fully attend to both. Paraphrasing is an important part of empathetic listening, because it helps the states put the other person'south words into our frame of experience without making information technology about usa. In addition, speaking the words of someone else in our own way can help evoke inside us the feelings that the other person felt while maxim them (Bodie, 2011). Active-compassionate listening is more than than echoing dorsum verbal messages. We can also appoint in mirroring, which refers to a listener'due south replication of the nonverbal signals of a speaker (Bruneau, 1993). Therapists, for example, are often taught to adopt a posture and tone similar to their patients in order to build rapport and project empathy.

Compassionate listeners should non steal the spotlight from the speaker. Offering support without offer your ain story or advice.

Blondinrikard Froberg – Spotlight – CC BY ii.0.

Paraphrasing and questioning are useful techniques for empathetic listening because they allow us to respond to a speaker without taking "the floor," or the attention, away for long. Specifically, questions that inquire for elaboration act as "verbal door openers," and inviting someone to speak more and then validating their speech through active listening cues can help a person experience "listened to" (Hargie, 2011). I've found that paraphrasing and asking questions are also useful when we feel tempted to share our own stories and experiences rather than maintaining our listening role. These questions aren't intended to solicit more than data, so we can guide or straight the speaker toward a specific course of action. Although it is easier for u.s. to slip into an advisory mode—maxim things similar "Well if I were you, I would…"—we have to resist the temptation to give unsolicited advice.

Empathetic listening can be worthwhile, but it as well brings challenges. In terms of costs, empathetic listening can use upwards time and effort. Since this type of listening can't exist contained within a proscribed fourth dimension frame, it may be particularly difficult for fourth dimension-oriented listeners (Bruneau, 1993). Compassionate listening can also be a test of our endurance, as its orientation toward and focus on supporting the other requires the processing and integration of much verbal and nonverbal information. Because of this potential strain, it'southward important to know your limits as an compassionate listener. While listening tin be therapeutic, information technology is not appropriate for people without training and training to try to serve every bit a therapist. Some people have chronic problems that necessitate professional listening for the purposes of evaluation, diagnosis, and therapy. Lending an ear is different from diagnosing and treating. If you have a friend who is exhibiting signs of a more serious event that needs attention, listen to the extent that you experience comfortable and then exist prepared to provide referrals to other resource that have grooming to help. To face these challenges, skilful compassionate listeners typically take a generally positive self-concept and self-esteem, are nonverbally sensitive and expressive, and are comfy with embracing another person'southward subjectivity and refraining from too much analytic thought.

Becoming a Ameliorate Contextual Listener

Active, critical, and compassionate listening skills can exist helpful in a variety of contexts. Understanding the role that listening plays in professional, relational, cultural, and gendered contexts tin can help us more competently apply these skills. Whether we are listening to or evaluating messages from a supervisor, parent, or intercultural conversational partner, we accept much to gain or lose based on our ability to utilize listening skills and noesis in various contexts.

Listening in Professional Contexts

Listening and organizational-advice scholars notation that listening is 1 of the nigh neglected aspects of organizational-advice research (Flynn, Valikoski, & Grau, 2008). Aside from a lack of inquiry, a report also found that business schools lack curriculum that includes instruction and/or training in communication skills like listening in their master of business organisation administration (MBA) programs (Alsop, 2002). This lack of a focus on listening persists, even though we know that more constructive listening skills have been shown to heighten sales functioning and that managers who exhibit expert listening skills aid create open advice climates that tin can lead to increased feelings of supportiveness, motivation, and productivity (Flynn, Valikoski, & Grau, 2008). Specifically, empathetic listening and active listening can play key roles in organizational communication. Managers are wise to heighten their compassionate listening skills, as being able to empathize with employees contributes to a positive advice climate. Agile listening among organizational members too promotes interest and increases motivation, which leads to more cohesion and enhances the advice climate.

Organizational scholars have examined various communication climates specific to listening. Listening environment refers to characteristics and norms of an organisation and its members that contribute to expectations for and perceptions about listening (Brownell, 1993). Positive listening environments are perceived to be more than employee centered, which can improve job satisfaction and cohesion. Simply how practise we create such environments?

Positive listening environments are facilitated by the breaking down of barriers to concentration, the reduction of noise, the creation of a shared reality (through shared linguistic communication, such every bit like jargon or a shared vision statement), intentional spaces that promote listening, official opportunities that promote listening, preparation in listening for all employees, and leaders who model skilful listening practices and praise others who are successful listeners (Brownell, 1993). Policies and practices that support listening must go hand in hand. After all, what does an "open-door" policy mean if it is non coupled with actions that demonstrate the sincerity of the policy?

"Getting Real"

Becoming a "Listening Leader"

Dr. Rick Bommelje has popularized the concept of the "listening leader" (Listen-Coach.com, 2012). As a listening coach, he offers grooming and resources to help people in various career paths increase their listening competence. For people who are very committed to increasing their listening skills, the International Listening Association has now endorsed a program to become a Certified Listening Professional (CLP), which entails avant-garde independent report, close work with a listening mentor, and the completion of a written test.^[one] There are also training programs to help with compassionate listening that are offered through the Compassionate Listening Project.^[2] These programs evidence the growing focus on the importance of listening in all professional contexts.

Scholarly research has consistently shown that listening power is a key part of leadership in professional contexts and competence in listening aids in decision making. A survey sent to hundreds of companies in the The states found that poor listening skills create problems at all levels of an organizational hierarchy, ranging from entry-level positions to CEOs (Hargie, 2011). Leaders such as managers, team coaches, department heads, and executives must exist versatile in terms of listening type and style in club to adapt to the various listening needs of employees, clients/customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders.

Fifty-fifty if we don't take the time or coin to invest in 1 of these professional person-listening training programs, we tin draw inspiration from the goal of becoming a listening leader. By reading this book, you are already taking an important step toward improving a variety of advice competencies, including listening, and you lot can e'er take it upon yourself to further your study and increase your skills in a particular area to ameliorate set yourself to create positive advice climates and listening environments. Y'all tin also use these skills to make yourself a more desirable employee.

1. Make a list of the behaviors that y'all think a listening leader would exhibit. Which of these do y'all think you practice well? Which do you need to work on?
2. What do you think has contributed to the perceived shortage of listening skills in professional person contexts?
3. Given your personal career goals, what listening skills practice yous think you lot will need to possess and employ in order to be successful?

Listening in Relational Contexts

Listening plays a central part in establishing and maintaining our relationships (Nelson-Jones, 2006). Without some listening competence, nosotros wouldn't exist able to engage in the self-disclosure procedure, which is essential for the establishment of relationships. Newly acquainted people get to know each other through increasingly personal and reciprocal disclosures of personal information. In social club to reciprocate a conversational partner's disclosure, we must process it through listening. Once relationships are formed, listening to others provides a psychological advantage, through the unproblematic deed of recognition, that helps maintain our relationships. Listening to our relational partners and being listened to in render is part of the word of whatever interpersonal human relationship. Our thoughts and experiences "back up" inside of us, and getting them out helps u.s. maintain a positive remainder (Nelson, Jones, 2006). Then something equally routine and seemingly pointless every bit listening to our romantic partner debrief the events of his or her 24-hour interval or our roommate recount his or her weekend back habitation shows that we are taking an interest in their lives and are willing to put our own needs and concerns aside for a moment to attend to their needs. Listening also closely ties to conflict, every bit a lack of listening frequently plays a big role in creating conflict, while constructive listening helps united states resolve it.

Listening has relational implications throughout our lives, too. Parents who engage in competent listening behaviors with their children from a very young historic period brand their children feel worthwhile and appreciated, which affects their development in terms of personality and grapheme (Nichols, 1995).

Parents who showroom competent listening behaviors toward their children provide them with a sense of recognition and security that affects their time to come development.

A lack of listening leads to feelings of loneliness, which results in lower self-esteem and higher degrees of feet. In fact, by the age of iv or five years old, the empathy and recognition shown by the presence or lack of listening has molded children'southward personalities in noticeable ways (Nichols, 1995). Children who have been listened to grow up expecting that others will be available and receptive to them. These children are therefore more probable to collaborate confidently with teachers, parents, and peers in means that help develop communication competence that will exist built on throughout their lives. Children who have not been listened to may come to expect that others will not want to listen to them, which leads to a lack of opportunities to practice, develop, and hone foundational communication skills. Fortunately for the more-listened-to children and unfortunately for the less-listened-to children, these early on experiences become predispositions that don't alter much as the children get older and may actually reinforce themselves and go stronger.

Listening and Culture

Some cultures identify more importance on listening than other cultures. In general, collectivistic cultures tend to value listening more than individualistic cultures that are more speaker oriented. The value placed on verbal and nonverbal significant also varies past civilization and influences how we communicate and mind. A low-context communication style is i in which much of the meaning generated inside an interaction comes from the verbal communication used rather than nonverbal or contextual cues. Conversely, much of the meaning generated by a loftier-context communication style comes from nonverbal and contextual cues (Lustig & Koester, 2006). For example, United states of america Americans of European descent mostly employ a low-context communication mode, while people in East Asian and Latin American cultures use a high-context communication style.

Contextual communication styles affect listening in many means. Cultures with a high-context orientation generally use less verbal advice and value silence as a form of communication, which requires listeners to pay close attention to nonverbal signals and consider contextual influences on a message. Cultures with a low-context orientation must use more verbal communication and provide explicit details, since listeners aren't expected to derive pregnant from the context. Note that people from low-context cultures may experience frustrated by the ambiguity of speakers from loftier-context cultures, while speakers from high-context cultures may feel overwhelmed or even insulted past the level of detail used past depression-context communicators. Cultures with a low-context communication way likewise tend to take a monochronic orientation toward time, while high-context cultures accept a polychronic time orientation, which besides affects listening.

As Chapter viii "Culture and Communication" discusses, cultures that favor a structured and commodified orientation toward fourth dimension are said to be monochronic, while cultures that favor a more flexible orientation are polychronic. Monochronic cultures like the Usa value time and activeness-oriented listening styles, especially in professional person contexts, considering time is seen as a article that is scarce and must be managed (McCorncack, 2007). This is evidenced by leaders in businesses and organizations who often request "executive summaries" that simply focus on the most relevant information and who use statements like "Become to the point." Polychronic cultures value people and content-oriented listening styles, which makes sense when we consider that polychronic cultures besides tend to be more collectivistic and use a loftier-context communication style. In collectivistic cultures, indirect communication is preferred in cases where direct advice would exist considered a threat to the other person'southward face (desired public epitome). For case, flatly turning down a business offer would be too direct, so a person might respond with a "possibly" instead of a "no." The person making the proposal, however, would exist able to draw on contextual clues that they implicitly learned through socialization to translate the "maybe" as a "no."

Listening and Gender

Inquiry on gender and listening has produced mixed results. Every bit nosotros've already learned, much of the research on gender differences and communication has been influenced by gender stereotypes and falsely connected to biological differences. More recent research has plant that people communicate in ways that conform to gender stereotypes in some situations and not in others, which shows that our communication is more influenced past societal expectations than by innate or gendered "hard-wiring." For example, through socialization, men are generally discouraged from expressing emotions in public. A woman sharing an emotional experience with a homo may perceive the man's lack of emotional reaction every bit a sign of inattentiveness, specially if he typically shows more than emotion during private interactions. The man, however, may be listening but withholding nonverbal expressiveness because of social norms. He may not realize that withholding those expressions could exist seen equally a lack of empathetic or agile listening. Researchers also dispelled the belief that men interrupt more than than women practise, finding that men and women interrupt each other with similar frequency in cross-gender encounters (Dindia, 1987). So men may interrupt each other more in same-gender interactions every bit a conscious or subconscious try to plant dominance considering such behaviors are expected, equally men are generally socialized to be more competitive than women. Notwithstanding, this type of competitive interrupting isn't every bit present in cantankerous-gender interactions considering the contexts accept shifted.

Key Takeaways

• You can improve listening competence at the receiving stage by preparing yourself to listen and distinguishing betwixt intentional letters and dissonance; at the interpreting stage by identifying main points and supporting points and taking multiple contexts into consideration; at the recalling stage past creating memories using multiple senses and repeating, rephrasing, and reorganizing messages to fit cognitive preferences; at the evaluating stage by separating facts from inferences and assessing the credibility of the speaker's bulletin; and at the responding stage by asking advisable questions, offering paraphrased messages, and adapting your response to the speaker and the situation.
• Active listening is the process of pairing outwardly visible positive listening behaviors with positive cerebral listening practices and is characterized by mentally preparing yourself to listen, working to maintain focus on concentration, using appropriate verbal and nonverbal back-channel cues to signal attentiveness, and engaging in strategies like note taking and mentally reorganizing information to help with recall.
• In social club to utilize critical-listening skills in multiple contexts, we must be able to distinguish between facts and inferences, evaluate a speaker'southward supporting evidence, discover our own biases, and call up across the message.
• In order to exercise empathetic listening skills, nosotros must be able to support others' subjective feel; temporarily gear up aside our ain needs to focus on the other person; encourage elaboration through active listening and questioning; avoid the temptation to tell our own stories and/or give advice; effectively mirror the nonverbal communication of others; and acknowledge our limits equally empathetic listeners.

• Getting integrated: Different listening strategies may need to exist applied in unlike listening contexts.

  • In professional contexts, listening is considered a necessary skill, only virtually people practice not receive explicit instruction in listening. Members of an organization should consciously create a listening environment that promotes and rewards competent listening behaviors.
  • In relational contexts, listening plays a cardinal role in initiating relationships, equally listening is required for mutual self-disclosure, and in maintaining relationships, as listening to our relational partners provides a psychological advantage in the form of recognition. When people aren't or don't experience listened to, they may experience feelings of isolation or loneliness that tin can have negative effects throughout their lives.
  • In cultural contexts, high- or low-context advice styles, monochronic or polychronic orientations toward fourth dimension, and individualistic or collectivistic cultural values bear on listening preferences and behaviors.
  • Research regarding listening preferences and behaviors of men and women has been contradictory. While some differences in listening exist, many of them are based more on societal expectations for how men and women should listen rather than biological differences.

Exercises

1. Keep a "listening log" for part of your day. Note times when you experience similar you exhibited competent listening behaviors and note times when listening became challenging. Analyze the log based on what you have learned in this department. Which positive listening skills helped yous listen? What strategies could you apply to your listening challenges to amend your listening competence?
2. Utilize the strategies for effective disquisitional listening to a political message (a search for "political oral communication" or "partisan speech" on YouTube should provide y'all with many options). As y'all analyze the spoken communication, make sure to distinguish between facts and inferences, evaluate a speaker'south supporting prove, hash out how your own biases may influence your evaluation, and think beyond the message.
3. Discuss and clarify the listening environment of a place you accept worked or an organization with which you were involved. Overall, was it positive or negative? What were the norms and expectations for effective listening that contributed to the listening environment? Who helped ready the tone for the listening environment?

References

Alsop, R., Wall Street Journal-Eastern Edition 240, no. 49 (2002): R4.

Beall, M. L., et al., "State of the Context: Listening in Teaching," The International Journal of Listening 22 (2008): 124.

Bodie, G. D., "The Active-Empathetic Listening Calibration (AELS): Conceptualization and Evidence of Validity within the Interpersonal Domain," Communication Quarterly 59, no. 3 (2011): 278.

Brownell, J., "Listening Environment: A Perspective," in Perspectives on Listening, eds. Andrew D. Wolvin and Carolyn Gwynn Coakley (Norwood, NJ: Alex Publishing Corporation, 1993), 243.

Bruneau, T., "Empathy and Listening," in Perspectives on Listening, eds. Andrew D. Wolvin and Carolyn Gwynn Coakley (Norwood, NJ: Alex Publishing Corporation, 1993), 194.

Conaway, Thou. S., "Listening: Learning Tool and Retention Agent," in Improving Reading and Report Skills, eds. Anne Due south. Algier and Keith W. Algier (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1982).

Dindia, Yard., "The Effect of Sex of Subject and Sex of Partner on Interruptions," Human Communication Research thirteen, no. 3 (1987): 345–71.

Dobbs, M., "The Rise of Political Fact-Checking," New America Foundation (2012): one.

Floyd, J. J.,Listening, a Practical Approach (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1985), 39–40.

Flynn, J., Tuula-Riitta Valikoski, and Jennie Grau, "Listening in the Business Context: Reviewing the State of Research," The International Journal of Listening 22 (2008): 143.

Hargie, O., Skilled Interpersonal Interaction: Research, Theory, and Do (London: Routledge, 2011), 193.

Hayakawa, S. I. and Alan R. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action, 5th ed. (San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1990), 22–32.

Listen-Motorcoach.com, Dr. Rick Listen-Coach, accessed July thirteen, 2012, http://world wide web.listen-coach.com.

Lustig, M. West. and Jolene Koester, Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Advice beyond Cultures, 5th ed. (Boston, MA: Pearson Education, 2006), 110–fourteen.

McCornack, S., Reverberate and Relate: An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication (Boston, MA: Bedford/St Martin's, 2007), 192.

Nelson-Jones, R., Human Relationship Skills, fourth ed. (Eastward Sussex: Routledge, 2006), 37–38.

Nichols, Yard. P., The Lost Art of Listening (New York, NY: Guilford Press, 1995), 25.

Piddling, R. East. and John T. Cacioppo, "The Furnishings of Involvement on Responses to Argument Quantity and Quality: Central and Peripheral Routes to Persuasion," Periodical of Personality and Social Psychology 46, no. 1 (1984): 69–81.

Ridge, A., "A Perspective of Listening Skills," in Perspectives on Listening, eds. Andrew D. Wolvin and Carolyn Gwynn Coakley (Norwood, NJ: Alex Publishing Corporation, 1993), 5–half-dozen.

Rubin, D. Fifty., "Listenability = Oral-Based Discourse + Considerateness," in Perspectives on Listening, eds. Andrew D. Wolvin and Carolyn Gwynn Coakley (Norwood, NJ: Alex Publishing Corporation, 1993), 277.

Toppo, Thou., "Colleges Offset Offer 'Midnight Classes' for Offbeat Needs," USA Today, Oct 27, 2011, accessed July 13, 2012, http://world wide web.usatoday.com/news/didactics/story/2011–10–26/college-midnight-classes/50937996/1.

Wolvin, A. D. and Carolyn Gwynn Coakley, "A Listening Taxonomy," in Perspectives on Listening, eds. Andrew D. Wolvin and Carolyn Gwynn Coakley (Norwood, NJ: Alex Publishing Corporation, 1993), 19.

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What Strategy Can Be Used To Increase Intercultural Competence?,

Source: https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/5-3-improving-listening-competence/

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