Listening Attitudes Principles Skills Chapter 7 Objectives After

Listening: Attitudes, Principles, & Skills Chapter 7 Objectives After completing this chapter, you will become more aware of: • The importance of critical listening in decision making and problem solving • The influence of speaker credibility on perceptions of the message • The ways in which communicators use logic and emotion to influence listeners

Listener Tasks for Evaluating Messages • Jude the validity of both main and supporting arguments • Distinguish statements of fact from opinions • Inspect, compare, and contrast ideas • Identify the use of logical fallacies • Detect speaker bias • Evaluate the speaker’s qualifications

Self Reflection for Critical Listening We need to watch ourselves being persuaded, and try to see why and how it happens so that we can be more conscious of our changes. Our knowledge will allow us to be more critical and therefore more effective in rejecting persuasive messages when appropriate—and in accepting others when it seems wise to do so. (Larson)

Influencing Attitudes • Get attention • Ensure listener’s understanding of the message • Convince listener to accept message • Ensure that listener remembers message • Describe the action listener should take

Balance Theory

Mentally Prepare to Listen Critically by Recognizing There’s always more to know May need to modify position Consider differences as well as similarities Recognize self-fulfilling prophacies May need to index to focus on an individual instance • Date information • There’s a lot of grey between black & white • Avoid selective perception • • •

Facts About Credibility • Greater the credibility, the more impact the message has • An effective introduction increases initial credibility • Most easily influenced by someone preceived to be similar to you • More difficult for women to establish credibility than men • Credibility is lost if information is not presented well

Gain Credibility • • Refer to personal experiences Cite reliable sources Deliver effectively Demonstrate knowledge of the listeners

Questions to Ask when Evaluating • • • How was the information gathered? Do the statistics cover a sufficient time period? Is it clear what the statistics represent? Can the results be verified in several ways? Is the information consistent with what I know? Is the information clear? Is the support related to the main point? Is the source of information reliable? Is the information recent enough to be valid?

Types of Evidence • • Statistics Testimony and quotations Literal comparisons Stories Deductive reasoning Cause to effect Reasoning from comparison Compelling reasons