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Listening
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain the difference between hearing and listening.
2. Define the four different kinds of listening and explain their relationship to critical
thinking.
3. Explain why good listening is important to effective speechmaking.
4. Identify the four major causes of poor listening.
5. Discuss the seven ways to become a better listener presented in the text.
3
78 CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
CHAPTER 3—LISTENING 79
E. A fifth way to improve listening skills is to suspend judgment until hearing a
speaker’s full message.
F. A sixth way to improve listening skills is to focus one’s listening.
1. Effective listeners focus on a speaker’s main points.
2. Effective listeners focus on the quality of a speaker’s evidence.
3. Effective listeners also focus on speaking techniques they can use in their own
speeches.
G. A seventh way to improve listening skills is to develop strong note-taking skills.
Exercises for Critical Thinking
(from text page 59)
1. Which of the four causes of poor listening do you consider the most important? Choose a
specific case of poor listening in which you were involved. Explain what went wrong.
Discussion: This exercise is designed to have students think about the causes of poor lis-
2. Using the Listening Self-Evaluation Worksheet on page 52 of the textbook, undertake a can-
did evaluation of your major strengths and weaknesses as a listener. Explain what steps you
need to take to become a better listener.
Discussion: This should be handled much like the third Exercise for Critical Thinking in
3. Watch the lead story this week on 60 Minutes, Dateline, or 20/20. Using the key-word meth-
od of note taking, record the main ideas of the story.
Discussion: This can be a good diagnostic tool to gauge which students take notes effec-
4. Choose a lecture in one of your other classes. Analyze what the lecturer does most effectively.
Identify three things the lecturer could do better to help students keep track of the lecture.
80 CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Additional Exercises and Activities
1. Lead a class discussion in which students develop a code of listening behavior for their
speech classroom. The final product of this discussion will be a list entitled “Listening Be-
havior for Our Speech Class.” By the end of the discussion, the entire class should not only
agree on the content of the list, but should also pledge themselves to follow it throughout the
term.
Discussion: This activity is especially helpful for relating general issues about listening
2. Have one student step outside of the classroom with you. Give her or him a written copy of
the following message: “To get to Lou’s place, turn left at the first traffic light and go two
blocks until you see a yellow house.” Leaving the written copy with you, the student should
return to the classroom and whisper the message to the person in the next seat. This person
should then whisper the message to the person sitting next to him or her, and so on until the
message has been relayed through the entire class. Have the last student to receive the mes-
sage write it down on a sheet of paper and read it to the entire class. Then have the student to
whom you gave the original message read that message to the class. There will almost al-
ways be an enormous variation between the original message and the message received by
the last student.
CHAPTER 3—LISTENING 81
3. Bring two short editorials to class. Read one of the editorials to your students. Have them
take notes and try to identify the main points and evidence of the editorial. Check the results
in the class discussion, and give pointers for listening and taking notes more effectively. Then
read the second editorial and give students a chance to apply those pointers. Again, check the
results in a class discussion.
Discussion: Although this exercise takes much of a class session, it can be very helpful
4. Show your class one of the selections from the DVD of student speeches that accompanies
The Art of Public Speaking. Have them take notes in which they try to demarcate where the
introduction of the speech ends, to list the main points and subpoints in the body, and to iden-
tify where the conclusion begins. Check the results in a class discussion and give pointers for
listening and taking notes more effectively. Then play another speech and see if students do a
better job of note taking. Again, check the results in a class discussion.
Discussion: Because most of the student speeches on the DVD are 6 to 8 minutes long,
5. For each round of speeches, assign students specific listening tasks. For example, you might
have a particular group of students (or all students) take notes on their classmates’ speeches
in an effort to identify the speakers’ main points and evidence. After each speech, make a
quick check of two or three listeners to see what they recorded.
Discussion: This is one way to help students improve their listening and note-taking
skills throughout the course. An added benefit of the exercise is that as students try to
82 CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
83
Listening Self-Evaluation Worksheet
Name Section
How often do you indulge in the following bad listening habits? Check yourself carefully in each one:
HABIT FREQUENCY SCORE
Almost Some- Almost
Always Usually times Seldom Never
1. Giving in to mental
distractions
2. Giving in to physical
distractions
3. Trying to recall everything
a speaker says
4. Rejecting a topic as
uninteresting before
hearing the speaker
5. Faking paying attention
6. Jumping to conclusions
about a speaker’s meaning
7. Deciding a speaker is wrong
before hearing everything
she or he has to say
8. Judging a speaker on
personal appearance
9. Not paying attention to a
speaker’s evidence
10. Focusing on delivery rather
than on what the speaker says
TOTAL
How to score:
For every “almost always” checked, give yourself a score of 2
For every “usually” checked, give yourself a score of 4
For every “sometimes” checked, give yourself a score of 6
For every “seldom” checked, give yourself a score of 8
For every “almost never” checked, give yourself a score of 10
Total score interpretation:
0 to 70 You need lots of training in listening.
71 to 89 You listen well.
90 to 100 You listen exceptionally well.
84
Speech Listening Worksheet
Name Section
Practice your listening skills by completing this form as you listen to a classroom speech, a
speech on video, or a speech outside the classroom.
1. What is the topic of the speech?
2. What is the speaker’s specific purpose?
3. Which of the following methods of gaining interest and attention does the speaker use in the
introduction?
! Relate the topic to the audience ! State the importance of the topic
! Startle the audience ! Arouse the curiosity of the audience
! Question the audience ! Begin with a quotation
! Tell a story ! Refer to the occasion
! Invite audience participation ! Use visual or audio aids
! Refer to a previous speaker ! Begin with humor
4. Does the speaker preview the main points of the speech in the introduction?
5. List the main points developed in the body of the speech.
6. What pattern of organization does the speaker use?
7. Are the speaker’s main points clear and easy to follow? Why or why not?
8. Does the speaker use a transition or other connective between each main point of the speech?
9. Which of the following methods of referring to the central idea does the speaker use in the
conclusion?
! Restate the main points ! End with a quotation
! Make a dramatic statement ! Refer to the introduction
! Challenge the audience ! Call for action
