74 5.3 Listening to speeches
that you can see the speaker’s mouth. A good view can increase your level of at-
tention and improve your understanding.
ADAPT TO THE SPEAKER’S DELIVERY Good listeners focus on a speaker’s
message, not on delivery style. To be a good listener, you must adapt to the
particular idiosyncrasies that some speakers have. You might have to ignore or
overlook a speaker’s tendency to mumble, speak in a monotone, or fail to make
eye contact. Perhaps more difficult still, you might even have to forgive a speaker’s
lack of clarity or coherence. Rather than mentally criticizing an unpolished
speaker, you might need to be sympathetic and try harder to concentrate on the
message. Good listeners focus on the message, not on the messenger.
Poor speakers are not the only challenge to good listening. You also need
to guard against glib, well-polished speakers. Just because a speaker has an
attractive style of delivery does not necessarily mean that the message is credi-
ble. Don’t let a smooth-talking salesperson convince you to buy something with-
out carefully considering the content of the message.Listen Mindfully
Mindful listeners are mentally focused on the listening task. Two listening
researchers found that good listeners do the following:^10- Put their own thoughts aside
- Are present mentally as well as physically
- Make a conscious, mindful effort to listen
- Invest time in listening, patiently letting the speaker make his or her point
- Are open-minded
Bad listeners do just the opposite; they are distracted by their own thoughts,
are mentally absent, are impatient, and are less open to what they hear. To be a
mindful listener is to be aware of what you are doing when listening to others.
How do you do that? Here are some specific strategies to help you be a mindful
listener.
BE AWARE OF WHETHER YOU ARE LISTENING OR NOT It’s vital that you
be aware of whether you are on-task or off-task when listening to someone.
Unmindful listeners are not conscious of whether they are paying attention or
daydreaming. As you are listening, occasionally take a moment to think about
your own thoughts. Pretend that you are in that class when the professor fires
the gun. At the moment, are you thinking about the message or have you
allowed your thoughts to stray off-task? If you become aware that you’re not
listening, research has found that you can increase your motivation to stay
on-task by reminding yourself why listening is important or useful to you.^11MONITOR YOUR EMOTIONAL REACTION TO A MESSAGE Yin Ping is an
Asian American who has distinguished himself as a champion debater on theM05_BEEB3981_05_SE_C05_065-094.indd 74 07/11/14 11:45 AM