CHAPTER 4: Listening Effectively
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying the topics in this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Identify the key features that define communication.
3. Identify the value of studying communication to four aspects of your life: personal,
relationship, professional, and cultural.
5. List the four themes that unify the field of communication.
6. Explain how the definition of communication applies to social media and online
communication.
MINDTAP ENGAGEMENT QUESTION
The first student activity in Chapter 4 asks students a polling question where they are presented
with a set of answer choices. One point is awarded regardless of what answer they choose. The
question is designed to reveal beliefs or assumptions about a chapter-specific topic. As an
instructor, you can view your classes’ responses as a pie chart within MindTap and discuss the
results in class, if you choose. This chapter’s question is:
In an average day, what percentage of your time are you listening?
a. 10%
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Effective communication involves listening and talking. Listening is an active, complex
process.
A. Hearing and listening are not the same.
2. Listening is an active process.
1. The first step in the listening process is being mindful.
a. Mindfulness is being fully engaged in the moment to focus on that which is
happening in the here and now.
2. Listening also involves physically receiving messages.
3. Listening involves selecting and organizing material.
a. We selectively attend to some messages and elements of our environments
4. Listening involves interpreting others’ communication.
a. When we interpret, we pull together all that we have selected and organized to
5. Effective listening includes responding, which is communicating attention and
6. The final part of effective listening is remembering or retaining what we have
heard.
a. We remember less than half of a message after we hear it.
II. There are two types of obstacles to effective listening: those external and those internal.
A. Although we cannot always control external obstacles, knowing what factors hinder
listening can help us guard against them or compensate for the interference they
create.
1. Message overload refers to the sheer amount of communication in our lives.
2. Message complexity refers to the difficulty level of messages.
a. The more detailed and complicated messages are, the harder it is to follow and
3. Environmental distractions also impede effective listening.
a. Sounds around us can divert our attention and make it difficult for us to hear
1. Preoccupation with our own thoughts and concerns can impede good listening.
3. Lack of effort and energy can reduce listening effectiveness.
4. Failure to adjust to diverse communication styles can hinder effective listening.
III. There are six forms of nonlistening.
A. Pseudolistening is pretending to be attentive to what another or others are saying.
B. Monopolizing occurs when a person hogs the conversational stage.
IV. Digital Media and Listening
A. Some online communication requires mindful listening. When we video chat, we
need the same mindfulness and listening skills that we use in face-to-face
V. Guidelines for Effective Listening
A. Informational and critical listening requires mindfulness, efforts to control obstacles,
asking questions, using aids to recall, and organizing information.
B. Relational listening to support others requires mindfulness, suspending judgment,
understanding the other person’s perspective, paraphrasing to reflect our
interpretations of others’ communication, and expressing support.
C. Additional listening goals:
You can also search for these terms directly in MindTap to find them in the Reader. Students can
use flashcards in MindTap to study key concepts.
KEY TERMS PAGE IN TEXT
Ambushing 77
Critical listening 79
Defensive listening 77
Hearing 69
Informational listening 79
Listening 69
Literal listening 78
Mindfulness 69
Minimal encouragers 81
Monopolizing 76
Paraphrasing 81
Pseudolistening 76
Relational listening 80
Selective listening 77
ACTIVITIES
1. Slimy Sue Is Dead
To demonstrate the skill of listening effectively and the ability to determine what is fact and what
is inference, read the following story to the class. Read the story only once, and then ask the
students to number a piece of paper from 1 to 8.
After reading the story, read the statements below. Tell the students to determine whether each of
the following statements is true (T), false (F), or an inference (?).
1. Slick Willie is known to have been near the scene of the killing.
3. Only Slick Willie has been cleared of guilt.
5. Slimy Sue’s murderer did not confess of his own free will.
7. Slick Willie did not kill Slimy Sue.
8. Slimy Sue is dead.
Key to Slimy Sue Activity
1. ? Slick Willy may or may not be one of the six convicts rounded up.
2. T This item is clearly stated in the paragraph.
3. ? The paragraph does not tell whether anyone else has been cleared of guilt. Others may
4. ? The police could know, but are not announcing it until the suspect is apprehended.
5. ? The paragraph mentions nothing about a confession.
6. ? The paragraph mentions nothing about a confession.
7. ? Although Slick Willy has been “completely cleared,” the possibility still exists that he
8. T This item is clearly stated in the first sentence of the paragraph.
You might note how connotative prefixes such as “slimy,” “slick,” and “cold-blooded
assassination” can entice people to make unsubstantiated inferences concerning situations about
which they know very little.
2. Rumor Clinic
This activity demonstrates habits of ineffective listening and how they change the meaning of
messages in serial communication.
Ask five students to step outside the classroom. When they have left, read this story to the class:
After reading the story (read it only one time) to the class, invite one student from outside the
room to return. Select a member of the class and ask that person to repeat the story to the person
who had been in the hall. When he or she has finished, have the student who heard the story
3. Listening for Information
This fun short exercise shows students how often they don’t hear or heed information in
messages directed at them. It is based on an exercise used in Pennsylvania State University’s
A TEST OF DISCERNMENT
DIRECTIONS: Please do exactly as instructed. Follow the instructions for each statement fully.
Ask no questions and do not check to see what other students are doing. When you have
finished, sit quietly and do not speak.
2. Proceed carefully.
4. Circle the word “name” in sentence 3.
6. Write your social security number beneath your name.
8. On the reverse side of this paper divide 1589 by 15.
10. Underline the answer you wrote above.
12. Shut your eyes for two seconds and then read sentence 13.
4. What’s That Again?
This activity helps students develop skills for listening to others and paraphrasing what others
say.
Place students in triads. Instruct students to spend five minutes discussing one of the topics listed
below or a topic that you generate. (Note: The topics should be controversial enough that
students are likely to have differing opinions and experiences related to the topics.)
1. Affirmative action should be eliminated because it discriminates against qualified
Caucasians.
3. Mothers should stay home with children during the first few years of children’s lives.
5. Most people on welfare prefer a handout to working for a living.
Instruct the triads to discuss the issue they or you select. During the discussion, each student
should paraphrase the comments of the person who spoke before him or her prior to making a
new comment.
5. Learning to Listen
This exercise allows students to develop greater appreciation of ineffective and effective
listening behaviors.
6. Emphatic Listening Workshop
Most campuses and campus communities include a number of organizations that train peer
7. How Much Do You Remember?
Develop a short multiple choice, true/false quiz on the material. The quiz should only take about
15 minutes and should include what you feel are important items you have covered in the lecture.
In class, give a mini-lecture (to take about 50% of the class time) on that section of the chapter,
8. Performing Nonlistening
Write each type of nonlistening on an index card. Group students into six small groups. (Ideally,
groups should have at least three students. Six groups are ideal because there are six nonlistening
types; however, if your class is very large, make more groups, and if your class is very small,
JOURNAL IDEAS
• Go to a place on campus where students gather and talk. Find a spot where you can
unobtrusively observe and hear conversations between other students. Using the information
in Chapter 4 of the textbook, record ineffective and effective listening behaviors that you
notice. Analyze how the conversations you overheard were supported or impeded by
listening styles and behaviors.
• Interview a person who is in a career that you envision for yourself. Ask the professional to
explain the importance of listening in her or his work. Ask the professional to identify the
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES
There are additional student resources in MindTap. If you have a networked computer in your
classroom and a projection system for viewing the computer screen, you can easily introduce
your students by walking them through the process for accessing the website. If you don’t have
this projection and computer equipment in your classroom, you can share the resources in this
manual, or refer them to the directions found in their copy of Communication in Our Lives.
Web Links
Website Description
URL
Here is NCA’s Credo for Ethical Communication.
http://www.natcom.org/uploadedFiles/About_NCA/Lea
dership_and_Governance/Public_Policy_Platform/PDF–
PolicyPlatform–
NCA_Credo_for_Ethical_Communication.pdf
American Public Media developed a radio program
called “The Story,” which presents interviews with
people who have interesting stories to tell about their
lives.
http://thestory.org/
This site provides helpful tips for effective listening and
note taking.
http://www.csbsju.edu/academicadvising/help/eff–
list.htm
The International Listening Association provides
resources related to listening and how to become a better
listener and more about the organization itself.
http://www.listen.org/
To learn more about English slang and people for whom
English is a second language, try this site.
http://www.eslcafe.com/slang/slang.cgi
Mind Tools’ website is a resource when presenting
mnemonic devices and memory techniques in general.
You might want to visit the website prior to covering the
section titled “Remembering.”
http://www.mindtools.com/memory.html
Films
TEST ITEMS
Multiple Choice Items
1. Only eight hours after physically receiving a message, most people remember only about
what amount of the message?
a. 25 percent
b. 75 percent
c. 90 percent
d. 50 percent
e. 35 percent
2. Elliot is having trouble listening effectively in his political science class. The professor has
been presenting information quickly while simultaneously flipping through an abundance of
PowerPoint slides containing complex statistical data. Elliot doesn’t know where to focus his
energies. This is an example of
a. message overload.
b. preoccupation.
c. message complexity.
d. prejudgment.
e. lack of mindfulness.
3. As soon as the news program begins an interview with the President of the United States,
Dolores quits paying attention and she mumbles to herself, “I already know everything he has
to say and I don’t want to hear it again.” Dolores’s ability to listen is being hindered by
a. message overload.
b. prejudgment.
c. preoccupation.
d. message complexity.
e. noise.
4. While visiting her parents on a break from school, Deena doesn’t pay attention to much of
what they say. She lets much of their communication just come in one ear and out the other
without her ever listening. However, when her mother mentions going shopping to get some
new clothes and good novels for Deena to take back to school, Deena listens attentively. This
is an example of
a. defensive listening.
b. prejudgment.
c. selective listening.
d. mindless listening.
e. pseudolistening.
5. Mary is studying for her final exams and is quite stressed about getting good grades. Her
roommate Anne asks, “Have you finished studying yet?” Mary gets offended and verbally
attacks Anne by saying, “Get off my case. I’m doing the best I can to prepare.” Anne replies,
“Sorry, Mary, I was just checking to see how you were doing.” Mary’s dialogue to Anne
could be viewed as
a. defensive listening.
b. pseudolistening.
c. selective listening.
d. ambushing.
e. mindful listening.
6. Randy says “I am really bummed out about not getting any job offers.” His roommate Lance
responds, “Sounds as if you’re feeling pretty low about the response so far.” Lance’s
communication is an example of
a. pseudolistening.
b. relying on mnemonics.
c. paraphrasing.
d. elistening.
e. ambushing.
7. While listening to her friend Bill, Judy occasionally says, “tell me more” or “that’s
interesting; go on.” These are examples of what type of communication to demonstrate
interest and attentiveness?
a. mindful mnemonics
b. paraphrasing
c. monitoring
d. minimal encouragers
e. None of these answers are correct.
8. What are the two ways that mindfulness can enhance communication?
a. increases others’ understanding of how you feel and leads others to express
communication overtly
b. expresses communication covertly and increases our understanding of how someone feels
or thinks
c. increases our understanding of how someone feels and thinks about what they are saying
and leads others to express themselves in greater depth
d. helps others select information to communicate about and also helps them to be receptive
to messages
e. increases our satisfaction for communication by helping us to fully attend to the message
and leads us to think more critically about who and what
9. David had his laptop open, checking out his favorite websites. His mother calls, and during
the conversation, he answers by saying, “ummm hmmm,” “yeah,” “sure,” “ummm hmmm,”
all because he is really focused on the websites. David is engaged in
a. pseudolistening.
b. monopolizing.
c. selective listening.
d. defensive listening.
e. literal listening.
10. All of the following are part of the listening process EXCEPT
a. responding.
b. remembering.
c. interpreting.
d. judging.
e. being mindful.
11. Listening to enrich our lives so that we can enjoy conversations and music while not
concentrating on organizing and remembering is what type of listening?
a. informational listening
b. critical listening
c. relational listening
d. listening to discriminate
e. listening for pleasure
12. When we listen to a friend’s worries, let a romantic partner tell us about problems, counsel a
coworker, or talk with a parent about health concerns, we are engaging in
a. informational listening.
b. critical listening.
c. relational listening.
d. listening to discriminate.
e. listening for pleasure.
13. When doctors listen with a stethoscope to diagnose heart functioning of chest congestion,
they are engaging in which type of listening?
relational listening
a. informational listening
b. critical listening
c. relational listening
d. listening to discriminate
e. listening for pleasure
14. Kyla says to Diane, “I’m so stressed about my grad school applications. I haven’t heard back
from any of the schools.” Diane interjects stating, “Oh well, life will be fine, and you don’t
have to stress or talk about it anymore. I am so over hearing about those
applications!” Which of these is Diane doing?
a. diversionary interrupting
b. conversational rerouting
c. equivocational misdirecting
d. selectively directing
e. relational listening
15. A noisy room is an example of what obstacle to listening?
a. conversational distraction
b. diversionary distraction
c. environmental distraction
d. preoccupational distraction
e. message complexity
16. A neighbor asks Charles how the family is doing. There have been some family problems.
Charles takes offense, thinking that the neighbor is prying into personal business. Charles is
engaging in
a. selective listening.
b. preoccupational listening.
c. relational listening.
d. defensive listening.
e. informational listening.
True-False Items
17. We spend more time listening than we do talking.
a. True
b. False
18. Our ability to receive messages may decline when we are fatigued.
a. True
b. False
19. Both rerouting and diversionary interrupting are the antithesis of good listening.
a. True
b. False
20. Deciding to be mindful is the first step in listening and the foundation of all other steps.
a. True
b. False