Listening

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e

Ch. 3, Slide 1

Oral Communication in the

Workplace

Private discussion
Telephone
Interviews
Trainings
Meetings
Seminars
Presentation
conferences

Gossiping
Talking in the
hallway

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e

Ch. 3, Slide 2

The Listening Process

1.Receiving
1.Receiving
2.2.Interpretation
Interpretation
3.3.Remembering
Remembering

4.4.Evaluating
Evaluating
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e
Ch. 3, Slide 3

The Listening Process

5.5.Responding
Responding
6.6.Acting
Acting

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e

Ch. 3, Slide 4

Listening Process Barriers

Mental Barriers
Prejudgment
Closed-mindedness
Selfishness
Selective Listening

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e

Ch. 3, Slide 5

Listening in the Workplace

Improving Listening in the Workplace

Prepare to listen
Control external and internal distractions.
Separate facts from opinions.
Identify important facts.
Ask clarifying questions.
Avoid pre-judgment.
Establish eye contact
Take notes to ensure retention.
Watch for signals
Give feedback

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e

Ch. 3, Slide 6

Listening in the Workplace

Defer judgment.
Pay attention to content (not to appearance, form, or
surface issues).
Listen completely.
Listen primarily for the main idea; avoid responding to
sidetracking issues.
Do only one thing at a time; listening is a full-time job.
Control your emotions.
Be silent for a moment after person finishes.
Make affirming statements and invite additional
comments.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e
Ch. 3, Slide 7

Barriers to Listening
Pre-judgment
Uninteresting
Topics
Speakers
Delivery
External
Distractions
Selfishness

Listening for
Facts
Selective
Listening
Personal Bias
Language/Cultu
re Differences
Faking
Attention

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e

Ch. 3, Slide 8

Most Irritating Listening

Habits
1. Rushing the speaker and making
him feel he is wasting the listeners
time.
2. Interrupting the speaker.
3. Not looking at the speaker.
4. Getting ahead of the speaker
(finishing her thoughts).
5. Not responding to the speakers
requests.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e
Ch. 3, Slide 9

Most Irritating Listening

Habits
6. Showing interest in something
other than what the speaker is
saying.
7. Saying Yes, but . . ., as if the
listeners mind is made up.
8. Topping the speakers story with
That reminds me . . . or Thats
nothing; let me tell you about. . . .
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e
Ch. 3, Slide 10

Most Irritating Listening

Habits
9. Forgetting what was talked about
previously.
10. Asking too many questions about
details.

Based on International Listening Association <

www.listen.org/pages/ irritating listening habits.html>, January 2001.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 5e
Ch. 3, Slide 11