FALCUTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIA SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNANCE PEACE AND SECURITY

TO : SCHOLASTICA JERE

FROM : OLIPA LIWONDE

REG NO : BAPG 1823

PROGRAMME : POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE

LEVEL : 1

SEMESTER : 1

COURSE TITLE : COMMUNICATION SKILLS 1

COURSE CODE : COMM 1101

ASSIGNMENT NUMBER : 1

TASK : FIVE TYPES OF LISTENING IN AN ESSAY FORM

DUE DATE : 12 APRIL 2024,

Listening is the process of receiving, interpreting, recalling, evaluating and responding to verbal
and non-verbal messages (Blair, 2021). Listening is very important for good communication on
campus and also important for understanding, caring and getting along well with others. Various
types of listening exist in communication, each serving different purposes and on different
environment. This essay will therefore explore five types of listening which are, comprehensive,
empathetic, critical appreciative and discriminative, explaining their application on campus
setting and with theoretical justifications.

Appreciative listening as a first type, this is also called listening for pleasure. Appreciative
listening is a way of enjoying and liking the beauty or fun in communication, it helps everyone
to feel happy and valued. This type of listening is evident during campus events, such as music
concerts, theatre performance, poetry reading and other entertainments that may occur on
campus for fun. For this information, on music concert as an example of appreciative listening
applied on campus, on 6th April during the weekend here at Mzuzu university, we had a music
concert that was themed “zalowa timwere za loan”, during this concert everyone appreciated the
fun and happiness they experienced. Entertainments like theatre performances and poetry
reading there are also campus application, they all improve the overall campus experience by
promoting a sense of enjoyment and appreciation. Wood (2000) highlights the role of
appreciative listening in improving wellbeing and promoting positive emotions, as individuals
deserve pleasure and satisfaction from engaging with aesthetically pleasing the stimuli.

Secondly, let us explore on empathetic listening. This refers to understanding other people´s
perspectives, feelings and emotions, this fosters trust, empathy and supportive relationships. An
individual engages in empathetic listening by using both mindfulness, which is fully engaged in
the moment (Wood, 2000). Rodgers (1957) emphasizes the importance of empathetic listening in
building positive relationships, as it demonstrates genuine concern and understanding for other
people´s experience and emotions.

Upon looking at empathetic listening, there is a way individuals listen for information and this is
called comprehensive listening. It refers to Understanding what others are saying because you
are aware of grasps and can make sense of the message, it also involves active engagement and
concentration (Morreable, Spitzberg & Barge, 2006).
On campus it can be applied during academic lectures, comprehensive listening helps students
understand difficult ideas and theories

better. It helps students to comprehend and retain information easily as suggested by

(Brownwell, 2017).

Fourthly is critical listening, is the listening that challenges the speakers message by evaluating
its meaningfulness and utility (Pearson, Nelson, Titsworth & Harter, 1994). Critical listening and
critical thinking really go hand in hand, one cannot listen critically without thinking critically.
This type of listening is essential during debates, where students critically evaluate arguments
and evidence. Rost (2011), argues that critical listening enhances cognitive abilities and
promotes

intellectual growth by encouraging individual to evaluate information and discern valid

information.

Lastly, is precision listening, this refers to details for clue to the speakers feeling or state of
mind. On school campus can be applied in ways like, in study groups, when students participate
in study groups they can use precision listening to understand different perspectives, ask
questions and discuss concepts discussed by their peers. It can also be applied during lectures to
distinguish the lectures voice from background noise. According to (Adler & Roman, 2016)
precision listening forms the basis of effective communication enabling individuals to
understand speech and nonverbal signals.

In conclusion, understanding the various types of listening, is essential for effective

communication and interaction on campus by applying, appreciative, empathetic, critical,
comprehensive and precision listening. Nicholas (2006) found that because of effective listening
we are able to improve relationships at workplace and also helps to be more productive (p.131
Human communication).
References

Adler, R.B, & Rodman G. (2016). Understanding Human Communication. Oxford University

Press.

Brownwell, J. (2017). Listening: Altitude, Principles and skills. Routledge

Blair, D. (2021). The Power of Listening. United Kingdom.

Morreale, S.P., Spitzberg, B.H. and Barge, J.K (2006), Human communication, Motivation

Knowledge and Skills, (2nd Ed) Thomson Wadsworth.

Rogers, C.R. (1957). The Necessary and Sufficient Condition of therapeutic personality change.

Journal of consulting psychology. 21(2),95-103.

Rost, M. (2011). Teaching and Researching and Listening (2nd Ed). Routledge.

Wood, j. T. (2000), Interpersonal Communication: Everyday encounters.