Speech

Chapter 3: Listening

Overview

“Nature has given us one tongue, but two ears,” wrote the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “that we may hear twice as much as we speak." The importance of good listening skills in effective communication cannot be overstated. The loss of millions of dollars in business dealings and even the endangering of workers in construction sites have been attributed to poor listening. Part of the problem is that people listen much faster than they speak, so it's easy for the mind to wander when someone is talking. It is important to use this "spare time" to explore what lies ahead in the speech, analyze the speaker’s message, review what one has heard, and search for hidden meanings in what is being said.

Listening is more effective if one employs the right listening style for each situation. One should always determine whether to listen appreciatively, discriminatively, empathically, or critically. By choosing appropriate ways to listen, one can avoid poor listening habits, such as tuning out dull topics, faking attention, yielding to distractions, criticizing a speaker's delivery or physical appearance, jumping to conclusions, overreacting to emotional words, and interrupting. Another strategy that will improve listening skills is being aware of how speeches are typically organized from beginning, to middle, to end and paying close attention when it matters most.