CHAPTER 10
LISTENING AND QUESTIONING:
DEVELOPING TEAM DIALOGUE
Perhaps nothing is more crucial to communication in transactional and task processes than good
listening and questioning. In this chapter students learn barriers, norms, and approaches to
listening and questioning for positive climates and team dialogue. The chapter develops some of
the issues of turn-taking in transactional processes, and ways that students can provide leadership
for their teams. Finally, the concept of dialogical listening and questioning are related to the
ethics of team communication.
Chapter Outline
Listening and Questioning in Teams
Creating Dialogue
Creating Climates
Creating Cooperative Analysis
Foundations for Listening and Questioning
Building Team Norms
Breaking Barriers
Approaches to Listening and Questioning
Discussion Suggestions For Boxes
How Leaders Listen
This is a good opportunity to ask students to identify people in their lives who listen to them
effectively (this could be anyone from a parent, to a teacher, to a boss, to a coach, etc., etc.) Ask
them what it is about the way this person listens to them that works, and look for examples you
Ten Obstacles to Empathetic Listening
Box 10.2 lists ten obstacles to empathetic listening. Some of the obstacles may surprise your
students. Ask them to discuss the list and how it changed or reinforced their ideas on what
empathetic listening truly is.
Talking Points:
• What most surprised you about the list?
Suggestions For Guiding Chapter Exercises
Exercise 1: Listening and Questioning in Teams Assessment
This exercise is particularly appropriate at this point in the semester, especially for a class
working in teams. If you follow it up with Additional Exercise 1, your teams will go through a
Exercise 2: Dynamics Observed in Live or Televised Discussions
A videotape of a televised discussion can work well for this exercise. After students have
observed the discussion, have them meet in groups to compare their responses and draw some
Talking Points:
• Can you draw specific examples of the barriers they saw?
• How would you suggest breaking down those barriers?
Exercise 3
For this exercise to work, it’s essential that participants follow the process of paraphrasing and
building. It helps if you do a brief sample discussion with you acting as facilitator and three
students developing the discussion.
Reassure students that you know this procedure is artificial, but it brings out the skills they can
learn to use in natural, authentic ways.
Additional Exercises
EXERCISE 1: CHECK YOUR TEAM’S COMMUNICATION
Objective
To assess and develop a team’s transactional processes through better communication
Time
One to two hours
Materials
2. Supplementary Questions
4. Paper and pencils
Procedure
2. Give teams enough copies of Form 10.1 for each member and Supplementary Questions.
4. Have teams meet and compare their responses.
6. Have teams give you their report.
8. Remind teams later to use this as part of their information for assignments to report or for
journals.
Preparation of Materials
1. Form 10.1 (at the end of Chapter 10): Duplicate enough for every member of each team plus
one.
2. Supplementary Questions
(Duplicate a copy for every member of each team plus one)
Assess to what extent members:
A. Are careful in using and interpreting nonverbal cues.
B. Use language to create a supportive climate.
C. Are careful about “ism” issues in language choices.
Now consider the following:
A. To what extent is the climate of the team supportive or defensive?
B. To what extent are the team processes conducted according to a dialogical ethic?
C. How well do members use and interpret their verbal communication to develop a
supportive climate and cooperative analysis?
D. How well do members use and interpret nonverbal communication to develop a
supportive climate and cooperative analysis?
3. Instructions for Discussion
As individuals, you have responded to the assessment surveys. Now, as a team:
A. Compare your responses.
B. Discuss the questions where you disagree. Find the reasons that people feel differently
Debriefing
Debriefing this exercise needs to be done in two approaches: one with the class, one with the
teams.
1. For the class, you may want to discuss how this intensive self-analysis went. Ask them how
it was satisfying, how much they learned from talking about these issues, what was difficult.
2. For the teams, you can circulate around the groups as they talk, helping them to focus on
difficult issues. It’s best to arrange an immediate follow-up meeting with each team, outside of
EXERCISE 2: WHO SAID WHAT AND WHO LISTENED?
Objective
To identify and practice listening and questioning skills
Time
One class period
Material
Paper and pencils
Procedure
2. Give each team an instruction sheet.
4. Instruct teams that they are not to announce the type of listening they are demonstrating.
6. After each skit, applaud and debrief.
Preparation of Materials
Instruction Sheets for Who Said What & Who Listened?
TEAM A: Your team is to prepare a skit to demonstrate good and bad active listening. Design
the skit so it presents both poor listening behaviors and good ones, but don’t announce where
they change. Leave it up to the audience to figure out. For active listening, you’ll have to rely on
a lot of nonverbal behaviors to get across your point.
TEAM B: Your team is to prepare a skit to demonstrate good and bad interactive listening and
Debriefing
After each skit, ask the class to talk about the following:
1. Which kind of listening was the team demonstrating? What behaviors did they use that
showed it was that kind of listening?
2. What did they do that indicated good listening, what indicated poor listening?
Case Study: Whose Turn Is It, Anyway?
The health care team for 10-year-old patient Joshua Laslo is meeting. The team includes:
Pediatrician Lou Kleever
Orthopedic Surgeon Roseanne Barnstable
Nurse Sura Greenberg
Social Worker Jose Valez
The meeting goes like this:
Nurse: Doctor, before we start…
Pediatrician: Okay, I’ve reviewed Josh’s tests, and that’s why I’ve asked you to come in,
Roseanne…
Surgeon: I didn’t have much time to look over the CAT Scan, but I did see the tumor on
the bone. It looks benign, but I can’t be sure until I get in there.
Nurse: Thanks. They checked Josh out of the hospital this morning. His mother said
she was taking him for a second opinion.
Pediatrician: Why didn’t you tell us that before?
Questions
1. What’s happening here? What kind of listening is going on? Questioning?
Suggestions for Debriefing Case Study
1. Ask students to trace the events. The nurse starts off immediately, but is consistently
interrupted by higher-status people. Not until the social worker breaks in for her does she get to
2. What issues might be behind the doctors’ behavior? They may feel that the social worker
3. Status, custom, and poor listening habits create such a meeting. What could the members do
to change it?
Additional Resources
Print Resources
Bostrom, R. M. (1990). Listening behavior: Measurement and application. New York:
Guilford.
Cross, Candi S. (Feb 2008). Sound of cooperation.(evaluating active listening process)
(Editorial) Industrial Engineer, v40 i2 p6 (1).
Metzler, K. (1989). Creative interviewing: The writer’s guide to gathering information by
asking questions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Media Resources
Critical listening. New York: Insight Media. 20 min.
Effective listening. Deerfield, IL: Coronet/MTI Film and Video. 28 min.
I never learned anything by talking: Effective listening skills. New York: Insight Media. 43 min.