Communication Chapter 5: Oral Communication

• Oral communication is covered in chapter 5.
• The content presented is from the textbook "Communication. Principles for a Lifetime," by Beebe S.A., Beebe S.J, and Ivy D.K.
• Communication time is divided into 55% listening, 17% speaking, 17% reading, and 11% writing
• Listening is the first and most important communication skill
• Listening enhances relationships, facilitates collaboration, and links speakers with their audience

Differences Between Hearing and Listening:

• Hearing is the psychological process of decoding sounds.
• Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to verbal and nonverbal messages.
• Listening involves selecting, attending, understanding, remembering, and responding

Listening Styles

• Relational listeners prefer listening to people's emotions and feelings, are interested in personal information, seek common interests, empathize, and understand others' feelings
• Analytical listeners listen for facts, withhold judgment, consider all sides of an issue before making a decision, and focus on facts and details rathe than emotions.
• Critical listeners evaluate information, focus on facts, note contradictions, catch errors in logic, and often second-guess the accuracy of what they hear.
• Task-oriented listeners focus on specific outcomes or tasks more than on the communication relationship, emphasizing problem-solving, taking action, and focusing on what needs to be done.

Listening Barriers

• Self Barriers: Include self-focus, emotional noise, and criticism
• Information-Processing Barriers: Encompass processing rate and information overload
• Receiver Apprehension: Fear of misunderstanding or misinterpreting messages
• Other Barriers: Include shifting attention, cultural differences, and context issues related to time and place

Improving Listening Skills

• Be aware of competing messages
• Stop internal noise and practice social decentering
• Attend to the meta-message and nonverbally show interest
• Identify your listening goal
• Summarize message details and link them to the main idea
• Practice with challenging material and work to overcome barriers
• Avoid interrupting
• Listen actively

Improving Listening Skills - Responding

• To clarify and confirm understanding, use descriptive, timely, brief, and useful responses: ask appropriate questions and paraphrase the message content
• To empathize with others, understand your partner's feelings and paraphrase emotions
• Respond to provide social support

Empathic Listening

• Empathetic listening develops relationships by better understanding the message to prevent misunderstandings
• Empathy allows us to understand someone's feelings, their way of thinking, and how they perceive the world, even if we have different viewpoints.