Elizabeth Johnson

Listening in Interpersonal Communication

Objectives

 Benefits of listening

 The listening process

 Listening barriers

 Styles of effective listening

Benefits of listening

 Learn about people, information, and avoid problems

 Relate to friends, family, coworkers, partners, etc..

 Influence people’s attitudes, behaviors, etc..

 Play and to become more comfortable with others and yourself

 Help solve problems and be supportive

The listening process

 Step 1
 Receive- take note of what is and is not said

 Step 2
 Understand- learn what the speaker’s thoughts and emotions mean

 Step 3
 Remembering- is the lasting impression that the speaker had on you

 Step 4
 Evaluating- judging the message
Learning Barriers

 Physical and mental distractions

 Biases and prejudices

 Lack of focus

 Premature judgment
Styles of effective listening

 Empathetic Listening (understanding what a person feels and means) and

Objective Listening (go beyond empathy and measure their feelings
against a fact or reality)

 Nonjudgmental Listening (listening and suspending judgment) and

Critical Listening (making judgments while listening)

 Surface Listening (literal meaning of what is said) and Depth Listening

(reading between the lines)

 Active Listening (telling the speaker what you think their whole message
meant) and Inactive Listening (not giving feedback or paraphrasing their
message)
Activities

 On Tumblr answer the following questions:

 Name the four steps in the listening process
 Explain ways that you do these steps when listening to friends,
professors, or parents. (Ex: turning off your cell phone during class)

 Find a video showing a listening barrier, such as an outside

distraction for a student trying to study, and post it on Facebook. Be
sure to identify what type of barrier the person is facing.