There are six basic stages of the listening process: hearing, attending, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and
responding. These stages occur in sequence, but they generally
performed with little awareness an often rapid succession.
SIX STAGES OF LISTENING PROCESS: hearing, attending, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and responding. these stages occur in sequence, but they generally performed with little awareness an often rapid succession
HEARING
-
it refers to the response caused by sound waves stimulating the
sensory receptors of the ear; it is physical response; hearing is
perception of sound waves; you must hear to listen, but you need
not listen to hear (perception necessary for listening depends on
attention
ATTENTION-
brain screens stimuli and permits only a select few to come into
focus- these selective perception is known as attention, an
important requirement for effective listening; strong
stimuli like bright
lights, sudden noise…are attention getters; attention to more
commonplace or less striking stimuli requires special effort;
postural adjustments are
aided by physical changes in sensory receptor organs; receptor
adjustments might
include tensing of the ear´s tympanic muscle for better response
to weak sounds
UNDERSTANDING-
to understand symbols we have seen and heard, we must analyze the
meaning of the stimuli we have perceived; symbolic stimuli are not
only words but also sounds like applause… and sights like blue
uniform…that have symbolic meanings as well; the meanings
attached to these symbols are a function of our past associations
and of the context in which the symbols occur; for successful
interpersonal communication, the listener must understand the
intended meaning and the context assumed by the sender.
REMEMBERING-
it is important
listening process because it means that an individual has not only
received and interpreted a message but has also added it to the
mind”s storage bank; but just as our attention is selective, so
too is our memory- what is remembered may be quite different from
what was originally seen or heard.
EVALUATING-
it is a stage in which
active listeners participate; it is at these point that the active
listener weighs evidence, sorts fact from opinion, and determines
the presence or absence of bias or prejudice in a message; the
effective listener makes sure that he or she doesn’t begin this
activity too soon ; beginning this stage of the process before a
message is completed requires that we no longer hear and attend to
the incoming message-as a result, the listening process ceases
RESPONDING-
this stage requires that
the receiver complete the process through verbal and/or nonverbal
feedback; because the speaker has no other way to determine if a
message has been received, this stage becomes the only overt means
by which the sender may determine the degree of success in
transmitting the message.
More information on this subject can be found on my web site Rok Mejak. General information about mass communication can be found on Rok Mejak web site.
