The Key elements of Listening (Page 91)
Matt listens intently as his wife Lisa describes a difficulty she is having with her sister. How will he most benefit from effective listening?
A: Improved Evaluation
B: Improved Information Gathering
C: Healthy Relationship
D: Helps Relax
C: Healthy Relationship
Matt displaying effective listening skills will support a more healthy relationship with his wife.
As Jolie sat in her psychology class and her teacher lectured, she continued to text and scan her Facebook page. At the end of the class session, Jolie was unaware that the instructor presented the homework for the week. Which of the following contextual barriers prevented Jolie from listening to her professor?
A: Message Complexity
B: Physical Noise
C: Communication Overload
C: Communication Overload
Jolie is experiencing communication overload, as she is ineffective in devoting her attention to all of the communication tasks.
Which of the following is an example of Sefl-Talk
A: “I am boring this audience!”
B: “I can do this!”
C: “I know she will like me; I have a lot of interesting things to say.”
D: “Why would I ever think a blind date was a good idea? I am unattractive and uninteresting.”
E: All of the above.
E: All of the above.
Self-Talk is the internal dialogue we have throughout our lives. This inner voice is a sort of running commentary on what we do and experience. Not only does self-talk have an impact on how we feel about ourselves, but it is also an important determinant of how we perceive, make sense of, and respond to everything we hear.
True of False.
The following IS an example of Active Listening.
Speaker: “This past weekend was just a whirlwind… so much happened. Get some coffee, because we are going to be here for a while as I tell you all the details.”
Listener: “Great. Let me grab something to drink and come sit closer to you so I can pay close attention.”
True
Your motivation to be an active listener can easily subside.
Each night when Troy arrives home from work, he listens to music. How will he most benefit from effective listening?
A: Improved Evaluation
B: Improved Information Gathering
C: Healthy Relationship
D: Helps Relax
D: Helps Relax
Listening to music likely relaxes Ben after a day at work.
Xavier is preparing for an annual fiscal presentation at work. He has been focusing on it for weeks and realizes now that he cannot recall what he and his wife talked about last night regarding their vacation plans. Which Personal Barrier to competent listening does the scenario best represent?
A: Passivity
B: Bias
C: Preoccupation
C: Preoccupation
Preoccupation involves becoming preoccupied with one’s thoughts and creating a barrier to effective listening.
Marc told Diane that he was going to shut off his phone until he was finished with an important project. Diane, who then felt abandoned by Marc and feared the worst, would have been well-advised to give herself a reality check: Marc just needed to finish his work. Which corrective action best supports effective communication?
A: Check Self-Talk
B: Check to see whether your responses are rational or emotional.
C: Check your perception further.
A: Check to see whether your responses are rational or emotional.
Waiting before you react to make sure that you are not making a snap decision based on emotion is the correct action here.
Which Active Listening Skill is being used in the following scenario?
Speaker: “I would like to come over on Tuesday to clean the house because Friday I am going to the movies.”
Listener: “Okay, just to be sure I understand your schedule, you are not able to clean the house on Friday, so you will be over on Tuesday?”
A: Providing Feedback
B: Paraphrasing
C: Practicing Empathy
B: Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing involves taking another’s message and restating it in your own words.
Dr. Evans makes her diagnosis after examining her patient and listening to the patient’s description of how he is feeling. How will she most benefit from effective listening?
A: Improved Evaluation
B: Improved Information Gathering
C: Healthy Relationship
D: Helps Relax
A: Improved Evaluation
By listening effectively, the doctor is likely better able to make an accurate diagnosis.
While listening to the evening news, Marcia found it difficult to make sense of the vast amount of and multi-layered information the two commentators were presenting related to a local community issue that had state implications. Which of the following contextual barriers is preventing Marcia from listening effectively?
A: Message Complexity
B: Physical Noise
C: Communication Overload
A: Message Complexity
Message complexity is connected to a message that is detailed or characterized by a number of arguments and related evidence might be difficult to follow and comprehend.
Trish noticed that Aaron had been rather cool and distant toward her for the past few days, and she thought, “Here we go again—he is mad at me.” In reality, Aaron was worried about his father’s impending health test results, and, in an effort to avoid unloading negative talk on Trish, he had not shared his concerns with her. Rather than assuming the worst, Trish talked to Aaron, and they were able to work through the problem.
A: Check Self-Talk
B: Check to see whether your responses are rational or emotional.
C: Check your perception further.
C: Check your perception further.
When we make assumptions, we are often not accurate and this can lead to ineffective interactions. Checking our perceptions of a situation is a more healthy process.
Which Active Listening Skill is being used in the following scenario?
Speaker: “I am pretty sure I am going to be taking a semester off this year from school to focus on my health.”
Listener: “It seems that focusing on your health is a good idea so that you can be in good health when concentrating on your studies.”
A: Providing Feedback
B: Paraphrasing
C: Practicing Empathy
A: Providing Feedback
Listeners can verbally and nonverbally offer feedback to the speaker in a number of other ways.
Margaret is on a call with a customer who is explaining a problem they are having with the product her company has provided.
How will she most benefit from effective listening?
A: Improved Evaluation
B: Improved Information Gathering
C: Healthy Relationship
D: Helps Relax
B: Improved Information Gathering
Gathering information is supported with effective listening.
Alicia had some friends over. During their visit, the television remained on as the group listened for updates on the local storm. Alicia’s son was scanning the internet and reporting on the storm also. As well, Alicia was carefully listening to the baby monitor for her 6 month-old daughter. At the end of the evening, Alicia was exhausted and could not recall much of the interaction with her friends. Which of the following contextual barriers to competent listening is Alicia experiencing in this scenario?
A: Message Complexity
B: Physical Noise
C: Communication Overload
C: Communicaton Overload
Communication overload occurs when we are exposed to more information than we can effectively process at one time.
Oscar is listening to Bert tell him about how much Oscar means to Bert. While listening to Bert, Oscar begins to engage in negative self-talk with messages like “Bert must be telling me this because he wants something… it can’t be because he really likes me.” To be a better listener when negative self-talk takes over, what should Oscar do?
A: Solidify his perception further.
B: Check for misunderstandings.
C: Oscar should seek out input from a third party.
D: Oscar should listen to his self-talk.
E: Accept that his responses are rational or emotional.
B: Check for misunderstandings.
Do not jump to conclusions and search for alternative explanations.
Which Active Listening Skill is being used in the following scenario?
Speaker: “I feel like my job is too taxing on my relationship and I am likely going to give my notice to quit.”
Listener: “I can sure appreciate your wanting to support your relationship and not jeopardize it with your long hours and work demands.”
A: Providing Feedback
B: Paraphrasing
C: Practicing Empathy
C: Practicing Empathy
Empathy allows you to deepen your understanding of the other person
Buddy and Samantha have been working together for a while. Buddy noticed that during her lunch break, Samantha often puts on earbuds and listens to music. Buddy thinks this makes Samantha a bit detached from her work priorities. Which of the following statements MOST illustrates why Buddy’s assumption is NOT correct?
A: Good listening can prevent communication overload.
B: Competent listening supports us in becoming better evaluators of what we hear.
C: Recreational listening can help us relax and divert our attention to something we enjoy.
D: Listening contributes to the health of our relationships with other people.
E: Good listening skills help us to gather information.
C: Recreational listening can help us relax and divert our attention to something we enjoy.
Because recreational listening often provides us with a break from the stress and difficulty of life, Samantha’s listening for enjoyment during her lunch break is likely to support her being less stressed and better able to concentrate during her work time.
Jamile is a student at the local community college. Jamile is paying his way through school with several part-time jobs. Lately, Jamile has been experiencing headaches and is concerned there might be something wrong. Because midterms are coming up, Jamile knows he cannot miss any class sessions. As his friend, what would you suggest to Jamile?
A: Given the many things on Jamile’s mind, it’s likely he’s suffering from preoccupation, which affects his ability to listen in class. Therefore, Jamile should address his headaches as soon as possible.
B: Jamile should see a doctor right away.
C: Jamile is experiencing what it’s like to be a college student and should learn methods for effective multitasking.
D: Because midterms are coming up, Jamile should take some headache medicine and try to get through his classes.
E: Jamile should quit at least one of his jobs so he can likely limit the amount of headaches he gets.
A: It is probably preoccupation, and he should address his headaches ASAP.
Our worries about paying bills, work-related deadlines, or health issues can be very consuming and inhibit our ability to listen to an instructor’s message during class, focus carefully on a news broadcast, or obtain necessary information from a sales presentation.
Pasquale grew up in a dysfunctional family. There was much turmoil and his parents often talked negatively toward each other and to Pasquale. During some interactions, Pasquale was left feeling less-than and not worthy of praise and love. Pasquale has taken a number of communication courses as a young adult. What is he likely to find out about the way his upbringing affects his communication? Which of the following is the MOST likely self-talk that Pasquale hears from himself?
A: "I probably shouldn’t be involved in this conversation, I don’t have anything to contribute, and even if I did, I wouldn’t know how to express it well.”
B: “I’ve been able to overcome an emotionally difficult childhood and I’m now a very effective communicator.”
C: “I have an important message that a lot of people should hear, so I should find a new platform for it that reaches a larger audience.”
D: “The contributions I have to make to a conversation are valuable, both to me and to the other people in the conversation.”
A: "I shouldn't be involved...."
Low self-esteem and poor self-concept are likely to affect a person’s perception of his or her effectiveness and value as a communicator.
To prime yourself to listen effectively and accurately and in a way that will help you communicate competently in all situations, make yourself aware of _______ self-talk.
A: Accurately
B: Competently
C: Negatively
C: Negatively
Negative self-talk is influenced by poor listening habits.