Listening�

• The word listening is derived from the German word ‘Hlysnan’ which means to pay attention.
• Listening is the act of comprehending the meaning of what someone is saying.

Process of listening

Receiving

This is the basic stage where an individual hears a message being sent by the speaker.

Understanding

The listener must understand the intended meaning and the context assumed by the sender.

Remembering

It means that the listener has not only received and interpreted a message but also added it to the mind’s storage bank.

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• Evaluating
• In this stage the listener starts judging the messages in some way.
• Responding
• Reacting to the message received from the speaker.

Types of listening�

• Active listening
• Active listening involves full attention and concentration.
• Passive listening
• Passive listening involves not giving full attention to the speaker, instead focusing on other thoughts or distractions.
• Critical listening
• This type of listening involves critical evaluation of the speaker’s thoughts and ideas.

• Biased listening /selective
• This type of listening happens when the person hears only what they want to listen.
• Discriminative listening
• This is the most basic form of listening and does not involve the understanding of the meaning of words or phrases.
• Informative listening (listening to get information)
• It is used when one wants to learn something and retain information. It takes a high level of concentration to perform.

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• Appreciative listening
• It happens when one listens to appreciate poetry, music and words of great leaders.
• Empathetic listening
• It involves attempting to understand the feelings and emotions of the speaker ie to put yourself into the speaker’s shoes and share theirthoughts.eg. Counsellors, doctors, lawyers use this and help their clients.

Barriers

• Physical &environmental
• It involves anything that physically makes it difficult to hear what is said. This might be too much distance between the speakers, excessive internal or external noise, dark room, hot temperature .
• Cultural
• When people have different backgrounds religiously, ethnically, culturally , it can create cultural barriers that make it difficult to listen.

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• Emotional and psychological
• It becomes difficult to receive and process information when a person is in extreme mood. Eg ; madly in love , love failure , stress.
• Physiological
• If a person is suffering from an injury, an illness, can’t listen and process what is being said.

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• Language
• Language barriers can also emerge within the same language if the parties involved are from different regions use expressions unknown to each other.

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Hearing vs Listening

• Hearing
• It is the act of receiving sounds.
• It doesn’t require concentration
• It simply happens
• It is a skill where you use only ears.
• It is an involuntary act.
• Physiological
• Subconscious level
• Concentration is not required.

Listening�

• Listening is an act of hearing and understanding what you hear.
• It requires concentration
• It leads to learning.
• It uses different senses .
• It is a voluntary act.
• Psychological
• Conscious level
• Concentration is required.