LISTNENING IS ONE OF THE COMMUNICATION COMPONENTS

OF THE COMMUNICATION SKILLS COURSE. EXAMINE ANY FIVE

STAGES OF LISTNENING [100 MARKS]

COMMUNICATION – Is a Latin drive word from the word communicare which means
to share or to make common. (Theordoson & theordosone) as quoted in McQuail
and Windal defines communication as the transmission of information, ideas
attitudes or emotions from one person or group to another(s) primarily through
symbols. Meanwhile James Storner and Freeman explained communication as a
process by which people attempt to share meaning via transfer of symbolic message
while Stephen Robin defines it as the transferring of understanding Meaning.

LISTENING Is a complex communication skill. It is the act in which within a defined

range a voice can be heard.

Components are artifacts that are one of the individual parts of which a composite
entity is made up.

There is little doubt that because of the lack of a proper understanding of the
principles and process of communication, many good ideas have never travelled
beyond the mind of its creator. (S. Michael). The understanding and knowledge of
speech behaviour is crucial. Communication competence thus includes not only the
mastery of grammar and lexicon, but also the rules of speaking (Jack .C. Richards
& Richard .W. Schmidt). In communication words become our main tools often
dulled by wrong usage and for many of us not always readily at hand. Our main
objective in communicating is to be understood, yet too many people communicate
to impress. The whole process of communication is concerned with transmitting and
receiving messages. It is undisputed that Listening is one of the communication
skills, this is a complex of process and skills and so it is convenient to divide
Listening into stages or steps. This is a five stage model and it seem to get at most,
if not all of the essential listening process and more important, enables us to identify
the relevant skills.
The first stage of listening is the hearing stage. It is also called the receiving stage.
S. Surbhi described hearing as the understanding of surrounding sound and put it
into meaningful information. Will Meek defines hearing as the physiological process
of registering sound waves as they hit the eardrum. I argue that these definitions
are not sufficiently describing communication enough as they does not cater for
impaired people like the deaf. I suggest that hearing is the receiving of the sound,
signs and signals with meaningful information and which are able to be translated
into meaningful words. At this stage you listen not only to what is being said verbally
and or non verbally but also to what is omitted and also what is being expressed.
For example some waves his or her hand it’s a sign of greeting and if some one does
that from a distance where sound can not be heard we concluded that greeting has
taken place and communication was complete if the other part responded by
weaving the hand in retain You receive for example your boss`s summary of
accomplishment as well as the omission of your short comings or perhaps vice versa.
Effective reception, the, consists of receiving what is well as what is not said. Here
are just three suggestion of improving your listening. Focus your attention on the
speakers ‘verbal and non verbal messages, on what is said and on what is not said.
Avoid focusing your attention on what you will say next, if you begin to rehearse
your response, you going to miss what the speaker say next. Avoid destructions in
the environment, if necessary, shut off the stereo and or turn off your cell phone.
Put down the newspaper or magazine, close your laptop. Maintain your role as a
listener and avoid interrupting as much as possible since this will only prevent you
from hearing what is being said. This is not to imply that you just not give feed back
cues but a minimal verbal or no verbal response like head nodding, widening your
eyes that is to say am listening.

The second stage is of listening is understanding the message. That is after

receiving the message, you process it, and you extract the meaning of the message.
Will Meek defines understanding as the process of accurately identifying particular
sounds we hear as words. He went on to express it as it also involves being able to
discern breaks between words, or speech segmentation. The sounds we hear have
no meaning until we give them their meaning in context. Listening is an active
process that constructs meaning from both verbal and nonverbal messages. You
must determining the context and meaning of each word is essential to
understanding a sentence. Understanding what we hear is essential to gathering
information. Asking questions can help a listener better understand a speaker’s
message or main point? You can improve your listening understand in a variety of
ways. At this stage we pay attention to both facts and opinions expressed. Avoid
assuming you understand what the speaker is going to say before he or she actually
say it. If you make assumptions, these will prevent you from accurately listening to
what the speaker wants to say. See the speaker`s message from the speaker`s
point of view. Avoid judging the message until you fully understand it as the speaker
intended it. Ask questions for clarification, if necessary ask for additional details or
examples if they are needed. This shows not only that you are listening but also that
you want to learn more. Material that is not clearly understood is easily forgotten.
Paraphrase the speaker`s ideas into your own words. This can be done silently or
loudly, it will help you rehearse and learn the material. If it is done loud it will helps
you confirm your understanding of what the speaker is saying and gives the speaker
an opportunity to clarify and misunderstandings.

The third stage of listening is the remembering of the message. It would help little if
you receive and understood the message but didn’t remember it. DR. DONIA
FAHIM said memory is essential throughout the listening process. Memory lets the
speaker put what she hears in the context of what she’s heard before. Using
information immediately after receiving it enhances information retention. Distracted
or mindless listening reduces information retention. If you want to remember what
some say or the names of various people, this information needs to pass from short
term memory ( the memory you use, say remember the phone number just long
enough top write it down) into a long term memory (or relatively a permanent
memory). Short-term memory if limited in capacity, you can only hold small amount
of information there. Long term memory is unlimited to facilitate them passing of
information from short term memory to long term memory you need to understand
the four stages of implementing process. Focus your attention to the main ideas.
Even in the most casual of conversation, there are central ideas, put those ideas in
your mind and keep them. Always repeats the ideas to your self as the conversation
progress. Avoid focusing on minor ideas that lead to detours in listening and in
conversation. Organise what you hear, summarise the message in a easier manner,
but take care not to ignore crucial details or qualifications. Unite new information
with the old information you have and relate to each other. Don’t separate new
information from what you already know. There is probably a relationship between
the old information you have and the new information. Repeat names and key
concepts of the information to what you already know. By repeating key concept and
names you find it easier to learn and remember
  The forth stage is the evaluation stage. Once you receive, understood and
have the message in memory, you need to evaluate it. Not all messages are
true some are lies, some are significant, some are trivial, some are
constructive, and some are destructive. The listener assesses the information
they have gathered from the speaker both qualitatively and quantitatively. This
stage allows the listener to form an opinion of what they heard. Evaluating is
important for a listener in terms of how what she’s heard will affect her own
ideas, decisions, actions, and/or beliefs. In evaluating the message, consider
the following suggestions. Don’t evaluate until you fully understand the
speaker`s poet of view. This will not be easy but it is very essential.
Ultraconservative bleeding-heart liberal, you will hear the reminder of the
message through these labels. Distinguish facts from opinions and personal
interpretations by the speaker. Identify any biases, self-interests or prejudices
that may lead the speaker to slant unfairly what is said. It is important to
identify weather material is presented fairly or if this person is slanting it in
some way. Realise fallacious forms of reason, speakers may use some of the
more popular one are.

The fifth stage of listening is the responding stage. This is after evaluating the
message; you are likely to responding in some way. Normally a speaker
expects a responds direct or indirectly. The speaker looks for responses from
the listener to determine if her message is being understood and/or
considered. When a listener responds verbally to what she hears, the
speaker/listener roles are reversed. Based on the listener’s responses, the
speaker can choose to either adjust or continue with the delivery of her
message. The following are the suggestions to a quality response. Support the
speaker through out the speech or conversation by using listening cues. On
your response take responsibility of what you say. Instead of assuming that
no body might want to hear this or I don’t want to say this. Resist to respond
to others` feelings with solving the person1s problems unless if asked for
advice. Focus on the conversation avoids malt tasking when listening. Show
the speaker that he or she is in you primary focusing. You can not be a
supportive listener when you are paying attention to other materials like music
or internet. Avoid being a thought- completing listener who listens a little and
then finishes the speakers thought. Completing someone`s thoughts often
communicates the message that nothing is going to be said.

BY DR. DONIA FAHIM AUGUST 2, 2016DR. DONIA FAHIM BLOGNO COMMENTS

Will Meek PhD(link is external) is a psychologist in Vancouver, Washington.

The Communication Cycle
"The Mathematical Theory of Communication Copyright 1949, 1998

(S. Michael) [EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN AN ORGANISATION].

(Jack .C. Richards & Richard .W. Schmidt) 1963 ENGALAND Pg 61

July 20, 2016 By Surbhi S