Preparing for listening

Preparing for listening

This involves the followings:

(i) Determining your purpose
Listening is three types – content listening, critical listening, and active/empathetic listening. Listening to a lecture in a classroom is content listening; listening to a political debate on TV is critical listening and listening to a speaker in the office or small groups, is active/empathetic listening.
Each one of these requires different skills and degree of attentiveness as good listeners. At any rate, in order to become good listeners, individuals must understand why they are listening!

(ii) Getting ready to listen
Good listening implies a readiness to listen. Individuals have to prepare themselves for listening physically, mentally and emotionally. It means shutting out all distracting sounds and signals, trying to sit nearest to the speaker so that speaker can be seen and heard clearly. Mental preparations give a purpose to listening, leading to emotional involvement in listening.

(iii) Accepting your share of responsibility
Listeners should share with the speaker the responsibility of communicating rather than behave as if they are daring him to make the audience take interest in the subject. In fact, the quality of listening improves the quality of speakers‟ delivery! Everyone has an innate desire to be listened to. Quality of listening by the audience influences not only the quality of delivery but also the length of speech.