Chapter Two: Effective Listening
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Chapter Goals
Chapter 2 introduces students to the importance of effective listening. Students should have an
understanding of the following concepts by the end of this chapter:
• To explain why listening to others is important
• To identify the reasons we sometimes fail to listen to others
Chapter Outline
I. Why listen to others? (pg. 20)
a. When we listen to others, we confirm the humanity, presence, and worth of that person.
i. Confirmation is recognizing, acknowledging, and expressing value for another
individual.
ii. Hearing is different from listening.
2. Listening is the process of giving thoughtful attention to another
person’s words and understanding what you hear.
a. To confirm others by listening does not mean we agree with
II. Why we sometimes fail to listen (pg. 20).
Interference-Anything that stops or hinders a listener from receiving a message.
a. Listener interference-Mostly from poor listening habits. Occurs when listening is
impeded based on our own bad habits (pg. 20).
b. Speaker interference caused by information
a. Speaker interference caused by language. Results from a speaker who uses language
that is unclear (pg. 22).
i. Formal or technical language.
ii. Casual language.
1. Slang is an informal nonstandard vocabulary, usually made up of
arbitrarily changed words (pg. 23).
iii. Noninclusive language
1. Gender-inclusive language recognizes that both women and men are
active participants in the world (pg. 24).
iv. Verbal clutter is extra words in a sentence that do not add meaning and make it
difficult to listen to a speaker (pg. 25).
b. Speaker Interference caused by differences (Table 2.2, pg. 27).
i. Speech style can affect listening, including accents, tonal, and rhythmic qualities,
stuttering, nonnative speakers of a language, and gender speech differences.
c. Technology can help or hinder listening (pg. 28).
i. Equipment failure is the biggest hindrance to listening when we think of how
III. Audience-centered listening (pg. 28).
a. How to listen carefully (pg. 28).
i. Listen to the speaker’s purpose.
ii. Listen for the main ideas (pg. 29).
b. How to listen critically (pg. 29).
i. Critical listeners listen for the accuracy of a speech’s content and the
implications of a speaker’s message.
ii. Questions to help listening to speeches critically (Table 2.3, pg. 30).
c. How to listen ethically (pg. 29). Ethics refer to the study of moral standards and how
those standards affect our conduct.
1. Suspend judgment. Message listened to without assigning “right” or
“wrong” to it (pg. 30).
3. Assess information and respond to the speaker’s ideas. Message is
assessed first, and then responded to (pg. 33).
IV. Speakers as listeners: Staying audience centered (pg. 33).
a. Audiences who think they are not interested may not want to listen to your
message (p. 33).
i. The audience can become interested if you make your introduction and main
b. Audiences who are distracted or disruptive. (pg. 34)
c. Audiences who are confused. (pg. 35)
i. If an audience is confused because of you, slow down, explain with more detail,
d. Audiences who plan their responses rather than listen. (pg. 35)
i. Acknowledge their eagerness to participate and recognize it as a positive sign of
End of Chapter Activities and Discussion Questions
The following activities and questions can be found at the end of Chapter 2.
Review Questions and Activities
1. Identify the times you have listened to confirm others. Were you able to recognize, acknowledge, and
express value for another individual? Did you do this verbally or nonverbally? Now identify the times
you listened with “guns loaded.” What are the differences between the two types of listening? Do you
prefer one to the other? Why?
This activity can be conducted as an in class discussion when introducing the concept of confirmation
or you can place students in groups of 3-4. Have them respond to the questions listed here, and have
2. Monitor your listening for a day and write down five ways your listening failed. How might you change
these bad listening habits?
3. Attend, watch, or listen to a speech given by someone very different from you. Pay attention to how
you manage the listening interference that comes from differences. Can you listen nonjudgmentally?
Can you accommodate different speech styles, mannerisms, dress, and backgrounds? How are you able
to listen even though differences may be present?
This activity is particularly effective given the last presidential race. The race for the 2008 elections
features much public discussion about gender and race given presidential candidates Hillary Rodham
4. What kinds of slang, jargon, or euphemisms do you use in your everyday interactions at school, at
work, or at home? Make a list of some of the unique expressions you use and define each word or
phrase on your list. Now think about your next speech topic and your audience. What would be the
benefits or the drawbacks of using slang, jargon, or euphemisms in your speech?
5. Review the definition of ethical listening. What is the role of ethical listening in the public dialogue?
Do you believe it is your responsibility to listen ethically? Do you think you can suspend judgment and
listen to, assess, and respond to the information? Explain your answers.
This question can be used as a homework assignment or assigned as extra credit. Students may be
challenged by the notion of suspending judgment and assessing and responding to information. Chapter
Web Activities
1. Interfering with the Message
Purpose: To learn how speakers can make it difficult to listen.
Directions: Locate several articles on topics that interest you. To what degree do the authors present
information that is too complicated? Too basic? To what degree does their language interfere with your
ability to read the articles? Is the language too technical? Too causal? Too narrow? Too cluttered?
This activity can be particularly useful for students when working on their own outlines. Often, students
Interactive Student and Professional Speech Videos in MindTap
1. Video Clip 1: Tiffany Birsco: Encouraging Effective Listening
As you watch Tiffany’s speech, consider how well she helps her audience listen to her speech. In what
ways is her introduction compelling, dynamic, and innovative? How do you think it encouraged her
audience to continue listening to her?
This video clip will be very useful for students to watch before their next speech so as to observe what
Additional Exercises and Resources
1. “Irritating Listening Habits” Activity
This is a role-play activity in which you place students into groups of four. Using the 10 Irritating
Listening Habits list from Web Link Activity 2.1, write the irritating habits on index cards. These will
serve as instructions for the students’ role-playing as members of the audience. On other index cards,
list the principles of effective listening from this chapter. Finally, you will want to have four speaker
Index card #1: The speaker
Begin to speak to your group about a topic that is important to you. Remember to use the strategies
outlined in Chapter 3 about how to listen effectively as a speaker. Those strategies include: paying
Index Card #2: Audience member
As the speaker presents information, do the following: interrupt the speaker, rush the speaker as if they
are wasting your time, get ahead of the speaker and finish his or her thoughts.
Index Card #3: Audience member
2. Listening Styles Activity
Place students into groups of 3-4. Give each group a listening style (experiential, auditory, and visual)
3. Gender-Neutral Language
Without introducing the topic of gender-neutral language, start this component of the lecture with the
following scenario: “A father and son are in a serious car accident. The son is rushed to the emergency
room. The doctor looks at the son and states ‘I can’t operate . . . this is my son.’ . . . Who’s the doctor?”
Now it may seem obvious that the doctor is in fact the mother; however, this scenario still keeps many
4. Guidelines for Listening Critically
At the end of this section, you will find a handout “Guidelines for Critical Listening.” This handout is
5. Un–cluttering the “Colors” Outline
Give students a copy of the outline of the introduction for the speech “Colors” appearing at the end of
this section. Ask students to un-clutter the introduction to this speech. You can have students hand write
Guidelines for Critical Listening
The following are guidelines for critical listening that you can use when you are an audience member and
when you are conducting research for your speeches. See your textbook, Table 2.3, for additional guidelines
when engaged in this process.
1. Are all major arguments developed fully?
2. Are all major and supporting claims made with credible sources that are as unbiased as possible?
3. Are the claims realistic and logical and does the speaker acknowledge different perspectives?
4. When speakers make claims that go against your personal experience have you tried to discover
why?
o Is the difference a result of cultural differences?
o Is the difference a result of the speaker’s research?
5. Does the argument benefit the speaker more than anyone else?
o Identify the speaker’s motives in order to understand why they are making
Un-cluttering Exercise
Un-clutter the following introduction for the speech “How Colors Affect Our Lives.” If you have read or
discussed Chapter 7 (Organizing and Outlining Your Speech), make sure to follow the guidelines for
appropriate outline format.
How Colors Affect Our Lives
Introduction
I. Picture this, it’s like a bright yellow fireball into orange and then red. Absolutely fascinating, don’t
you think?
A. In the background electric pink, purple, and white clouds roaming about. All of the
II. My name is Shannon, and I am like here to share with you one of most favorite like hobbies of all
time: deciphering how colors affect us all and what not.
A. I have researched a lot for this speech. I read like six different books by Faber Birren,
Manlio Brusatin, Linda Clark, Leatrice Eiseman, Dorothee Mella, and Enid Verity.
III. In my speech today, I am going to cover like two main points, okay.
A. I will first talk to you about how colors affect our minds and bodies, and what not.
B. I am secondly going to talk to you about how colors affect our environment and stuff.
1. It is like totally interesting how colors can like affect our environment, you know.
Supplemental Bibliography
Borisoff, Deborah, and Purdy, Michael (eds). Listening in Everyday Life: A Personal and
Professional Approach. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991.
This is a comprehensive book on the subject of listening. It includes gender issues in
Borisoff, Deborah, and Merrill, Lisa. The Power to Communicate: Gender Differences as Barriers.
Prospect Heights, IL.: Waveland Press, 1998.
the reader to assess their listening past, barriers to listening well, and offers suggestions for making
improvements in personal listening style.
Eadie, William F. “Hearing What We Ought to Hear—The Responsibility.” Vital Speeches of the Day, 55
(Jul 15, 1989): 587-588.
Nichols, Michael P. The Lost Art of Listening. New York: Guilford Press, 1995.
This excellent book on listening offers wonderful lecture material on the importance of listening,
barriers encountered in listening, and ways to improve listening skills. Written for working
professionals, this book describes the ten habits of nonproductive listeners. It also addresses the
benefits of listening such as higher self-esteem, professional and economic benefits, and
These lists could help add new energy to lectures and activities about the subject.
Wolvin, Andrew D., and Gwynn Coakley, Carolyn. “A Survey of the Status of Listening Training in
Some Fortune 500 Corporations” Communication Education, 40 (Apr 1991): 152-164.
For proof that listening is important to future success, this survey found that 59% of Fortune 500
Corporations provide listening training. The article then goes on to describe the types of training
1991): 79-85.