three types of listening

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Listening is a very important skill to have, part of how you communicate with the world around you. A good listener will give eye contact, be responsive, shows interest in the speaker, and doesn’t interrupt. With the three kinds of listening, the situation determines which you will use that that given time. The following essay will describe all of the three different types of listening: active, critical, and emphatic, and give examples of each. As the most common type of listening, we are likely to use active listening more than the others. Active listening means to make a mental outline of important points, thinking up challenges to those points, and become mentally involved. We use this type of listening in college, for directions, solve problems, and share interests (Hybels and Weaver). This type of listening is effective because it’s simple, and straight forward. We take in the information, we process it by making a mental outline of the important parts, and then we start to challenge and question that information is how we get to truly understand the material. During this type of listening, you should identify the central idea. These tie fragmented ideas together and give them meaning (Hybels and Weaver). Next, you form a mental outline, as mentioned earlier, this will give you the full picture instead of just individual points. After that, you will predict what will come next. This will keep you focused, and force you to concentrate. This is important when you don’t have an interest in a class, but are required to take it. The fourth point is, relating points to experiences. Doing that will help you retain the information. Next, you will look for similarities and differences to what you already know. Finally, you will ask l... ... middle of paper ... ...f your friend is mad, you might say “You seem really angry!” and they would probably reply with the reason they are angry. Next, you would listen to the story, and be attentive. You don’t have to say much here, just listen, and look sympathetic. After getting the whole story, you should let the person sort out the problem, but not ignore the situation (Hybels and Weaver 95-97) In conclusion, by utilizing active listening, critical listening, and emphatic listening you will can learn more information. In a classroom setting, using active listening will be most effective, while critical listening is ideal for any communication setting, and emphatic listening is most effective for personal conversations. We need these because listening is extremely important for success. Without the proper listening skills, we could not accurately communicate with the world around us.

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