Often in the basic communication class, much of the time is spent on the “sender” of the communication message. More than likely, in your basic communication course, you are going to be asked to “deliver” a speech, or presentation, or oration. However, in that same course, are you assessed on your ability to “listen?” Or in other words, how can you demonstrate that you are “improving” in the “receiver” part of the communicative message exchange? In our sender-oriented society, listening is often overlooked as an important part of the communication process (Craig, 2006, Talbot, 2023). Yet, research shows that children spend about 65% and adults spend about 45% of their time listening, which is more than any other communicative activity. In some contexts, managers report that active listening is an important tool to employ while talking to employees (Jonsdottir and Fridriksdottir, 2020). Listening is a primary means through which we learn new information, which can help us meet instrumental needs as we learn things that helps us complete certain tasks at work or school and get things done in general. The act of listening to our relational partners provides support, which is an important part of relational maintenance and helps us meet our relational needs.
Listening to what others say about us helps us develop an accurate self-concept (from Chapter 2), which can help us more strategically communicate for identity needs in order to project to others our desired self. Overall, improving our listening skills can help us be better students, better relational partners, and more successful professionals.
Craig, R. (2006). Communication as a practice. In G. Shepherd, G. St John, & T. Striphas (Eds.), Communication as . . . perspectives on theory (pp. 38–49). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Talbot, D. (2023). Listening statistics. (Web Page). https://wordsrated.com/listening-statistics/
