EFFECTIVE

 LISTENING  

A  lecture  prepared  and  presented  by  

HENRY  G.  MAGAT  
        Most  
misunderstandings  
that  arise  in  our  daily  
lives  occur  because  
of  poor  listening  
habits.  Poor  listening  
skills  can  create  
serious  personal,    pro
fessional    and  
financial  problems.    
          
       For  students,  poor  listening    
can  result  in  incorrect  
assignments,  missed  
appointments,  misunderstood  
direcJons,  lower  grades    and  
lost  job    opportuniJes.            
       Therefore,  listening  is  a  skill  
that  one  needs  to  be  
competent  in.    
To enhance your listening competence
you will need to understand the
importance of effective listening,
the stages of effective listening , the
functions of listening, the most common
barriers to listening, how to analyze and
evaluate what you listen to and specific
steps to improve your listening.
 Do  you  know?  
In  order  to  
become  an  
effecJve  speaker  
you  need  to  
become  an  
effecJve  listener.  
(Silver  W.J.  and  Beall  M.  L,  
2002)  
 
Listening  
May be defined as the
activity of paying
attention to and trying
to get the right
meaning from what we
hear.
Listening  
Listening is the
absorption of the
meanings of words and
sentences by the brain.
Listening leads to the
understanding of facts
and ideas
  
Listening      

To listen successfully
to spoken language,
we need to be able to
work out what
speakers mean when
they use particular
words in particular
occasions.
AcJve  Listening  
is a method of
responding to another
that encourages
communication.
Six  Stages  of  Listening  Process  
        Hearing  is  the  passive  registering  
of  sounds;  the  first  part  of  the  
1.  Hearing   listening  process  as  receiving,  
which  happens  when  you  hear.    
       You  may  sense  the  sounds,  but  you  
do  not  allow  them  to  penetrate  
beyond  a  superficial  level.    
 
       For  example,  when  you  lay  the  
radio  while  studying,  you  hear  the  
music  ,  but  are  you  really  listening  
to  it?    
 2.  SelecJng  

       SelecJng  is  choosing  which  sJmuli  we  will  

listen  to  and  which  we  will  ignore.    
 
       For  example,  at  a  party  a  friend  maybe  talking  
to  you  while  loud  music  is  playing  and  other  
people  are  talking.  In  order  to  listen  to  the  
friend  speak,  you  would  select  the  friend’s  
voice  and  ignore  the  other  sounds  and  sJmuli.  
3.  A%ending   Attending is a mental
process of focusing or
concentrating for a period
of time of a specific stimuli
that you have selected
while ignoring or
downplaying other
competing, internal and
external stimuli.
Your attention span normally ranges from a few seconds to a
much longer time period. The more things you notice around
you, the less able you will be to concentrate on a single thing
and listen to it effectively.
4.  Understanding  
The main difference between hearing and
listening is understanding. Once you
have heard, selected and attended to
sounds, you assign meaning to them.

       The  past  knowledge  that  

you  have  will  help  to  
increase  your  listening  
effec=veness.  
5.  EvaluaJng  

       In  the  evalua=ng  stage,  the  listener  analyzes  

evidence,  sorts  fact  from  opinion,  determines  
the  intent  of  the  speaker,  judges  the  accuracy  
of  personal  conclusions.    
 
       Once  we  begin  to  assess  the  message  we  
received  and  understood,  we  may  no  longer  
hear  and  a]end  to  other  incoming  messages.  
6.  Remembering  
Remembering is thinking of
something; recalling what was
said from stored memory.
Researchers have found that
25% of what most people
listen to can be recalled. Of
that 25%, 80% is distorted or
not received accurately; this
leaves only 5% of the total
message accurately received.
 6.  Rattend
We tend to select, emembering  
to, and
therefore, remember
Rememberingonly information
is thinking of
that supportssomething;
our view. recalling
Other what was
information issaid from stored memory.
forgotten.
Researchers have found that
25% of what most people
listen to can be recalled. Of
that 25%, 80% is distorted or
not received accurately; this
leaves only 5% of the total
message accurately received.
Responding:    Sending  Feedback  
Responding is the listener’s overt behavior
that indicates to the speaker what has and has
not been received. Examples of such
behaviors are total silence

smiling or frowning

and asking for clarification

of what was received.
Responding:    Sending  Feedback  

       Giving  feedback  is  an  important  part  of  being  

an  effec=ve  listener.  Feedback  was  defined  
as  the  response  to  a  message  that  a  receiver  
sends  back  to  a  source.  Feedback  
helps  ensure  understanding  and  also  helps  
speakers  determine  whether  they  have  been  
successful  in  communica=on.  
Listening  therefore  involves  mul=plicity  of  skills:  
 Studies  have  shown  that  effec=ve  
listening  will  result  in  increased  ability  to:  

1.  LEARN  –  where  acquisiJon  of  knowledge  in  

concerned,  listening  comes  a  close  to  second  
viewing,  observing,  and  reading  

 
2.  AVOID  PROBLEMS  –  Warnings  and  
precauJons  listened  to  and  followed  closely  
enable  one  to  avoid  problems  
3.  ARRIVE  AT  ENLIGHTENED  DECISIONS  –  To  
make  enlightened  decisions,  it  is  important  to  
get  input  concerning  the  issue,  discuss  it  with  
others  and  weigh  the  pros  and  cons  before  
making  a  final  decision.    Listening  therefore,  
plays  an  important  role  in  the  process.  
4.  RELATE  SOCIALLY  WITH  OTHERS  –  it  points  
out  to  interpersonal  relaJonships;    a  good  
listener  usually  gains  social  acceptance  and  
popularity.    This  is  especially  true  of  emphaJc  
listening.  
5.  INFLUENCE  OTHERS  –  Before  one  can  hope  to  
influence  the  aftude  and  behavior  of  others,  
he/she  first  has  to  listen  to  how  people  feel  
and  what  they  have  to  say.    This  way  he/she  
can  plan  how  best  to  approach  them  
6.  ENJOY  ONESELF  –  AppreciaJve  listening  
enables  one  to  enjoy  the  finer  things  in  life  
such  as  music  and  oral  interpretaJon  of  
literary  pieces.    These  in  turn  help  him/her  to  
relax  as  he/she  enjoys  what  he/she  is  listening  
to.  
7.  HELP  OTHERS  –  For  one  to  respond  to  those  in  
need  of  help  he  must  first  listen  to  their  
complaint  and  problems.    Then  and  only  then  
can  he/she  determine  how  he/she  can  be  of  
help  to  others.  
"We  were  given  two  ears  but  
only  one  mouth,  because  
listening  is  twice  as  hard  as  
talking.“    
                                                               Dr.  Larry  Allan  Nadig  
References    
•  Chang,  Liza,  Effec<ve  Speech  and  Public  
Speaking,  Manila,  2009.  pp  206-­‐209  
•  h]p://www.drnadig.com/listening.htm  
WriJng  AcJvity  
1.  DifferenJate  hearing  from  listening  using  the  
opposing  pa]ern  of  paragraph  development.  
 (use  a-­‐two  column  table)  
1.  In  100  words,  explain  the  importance  of  
learning  how  to  listen  well.    Provide  an  
example.  
2.  Explain  each  of  the  six  stages  of  listening