Owen Focht

Prof. McGrew

Com 2206

3 April 2020

Writing Assignment 2

Listening is defined as “the process of responding to others’ messages” (Adler et al.

197). One example of that would be to paraphrase what one has heard in a conversation to show

understanding. When it comes to interpersonal communication, there is no component more

important than listening. Adler et al. wrote that several studies have shown that people from

different environments ranked listening as the most important interpersonal communication skill

(196). In addition, Judi Brownell and Andrew Wolvin from Cornell University stated, “in

committed relationships, listening to personal information in everyday conversations is

considered an important ingredient of satisfaction” (qtd. in Adler et al. 196). This means that the

ability to listen is very important in preserving productive relationships. Hearing is another

important component of communication. On page 198, Adler et al. define hearing as “the process

in which sound waves strike the eardrum and cause vibrations that are transmitted to the brain.”

An example of that could be when one picks up the sound of a couple close to them that is

having a loud conversation. While both listening and hearing are important components, they are

not the same thing. Hearing is something that happens automatically while listening is something

that happens when one chooses it to occur. Listening also encompasses four different listening

styles. These constructs, which include task-oriented listening, relational listening, analytical

listening, and critical listening are all used to to listen in different situations.
 The first listening style is task-oriented listening. Adler et al. say that it is the listening

style “most concerned with efficiency and accomplishing the job at hand” (199). This means that

task-oriented listening is going to be used when someone is pressured to complete a task or when

a deadline is approaching. In other words, this will get used when a person is focused on getting

something done. For my results for this listening style, I scored a 26. This is a listening style that

I happened to score low in, and based on the numbers, it is because I find myself to be a patient

person. It is not a big deal to me if someone is rambling or getting off topic in a conversation.

However, I do enjoy when people give a short and concise presentation that gets straight to the

point. It is somewhat confusing that I like to-the-point presentations to make sure that time is not

wasted but, at the same time I do not get upset if people are wasting time in a conversation. By

looking at my score, I conclude that I am not a very task-oriented listener.

The next listening type is relational listening. This is defined as the listening type “most

concerned with building emotional closeness with others” (Adler et al. 199). This means that

people who use this type will be friendly, understanding, and supporting of who they are

listening to. As for my results for this style, I got a 36. My score for this one was decently high

and I expected it to be like that. I try to be a nice and understanding person as much as I can and

I think that my score for this reflects that. I also think that using relational listening can make the

message-sender feel happier and appreciated, especially if they are not used to someone listening

to them in that manner. Gearhart and Bodie stated that “relational listeners may lose their

detachment and ability to objectively assess information” (qtd. in Adler et al. 201), but I have not

noticed that with myself. After completing the questions and getting my score for this listening

type, I conclude that I use relational listening a lot.

as the listening type that “emphasizes attending to the full message before coming to judgement”

(Adler et al.). This means that people who use this type of listening are going to make sure that

they listen until the message-sender is done talking to ensure that they don’t jump to any

conclusions. In my evaluation for this listening type, my score was a 33. This is another listening

type that I scored pretty high in, and I believe it is because I fully listen to what people are saying

in order to completely understand what they are trying to say. I make sure that I do not form any

judgements about anything until I have heard the full story but, I have found that for the most

part, I can have a hard time considering all the sides of an issue before I respond to the message-

sender. Based on my score for this one, I use analytical listening in a good amount. This makes

good sense to me because while explaining analytical listening, Adler et al. state, “this thorough

approach can be time consuming and impractical at times, however, such as when a deadline is

fast approaching” (201). Because I do not use task-oriented listening all that much, it makes

sense that I would be an analytical listener.

The last listening type is critical listening. Critical listening is defined on page 201 as the

listening type that is “concerned not just with understanding messages but with assessing their

quality, focusing on accuracy and consistency” (Adler et al.). This means that the listener is very

critical of what the message-sender is saying and it can be used to solve problems. After

completing my evaluation for this listening type, I found that my score was a 32. During the

evaluation, I found that I was highly agreeing with the statements that were talking about

noticing errors and inconsistencies in what people were saying. I do not know why I do this but it

is something that I notice myself doing more often than not. However, one thing that I do not do

is catch contradictions in what people are saying. Based on my score for this evaluation, I can
conclude that I am a critical listener, and I am not surprised at all. One thing that interests me

about this is that I do not have to try and be a critical listener, it is something that comes

naturally to me. I would like to learn more about why I am like that.

Now that I have found that my lowest listening style score was in task-oriented listening,

I need to change some of my listening to make my interpersonal relationships stronger. First, I

would use the listening response called questioning. Adler et al. define questioning as “asking for

additional information” (209). This would make me a better task-oriented listener because I

would be able to get a clearer message from the speaker by asking them questions. Another

listening response I could use more would be silent listening. Silent listening is the act of

“[staying] attentive and nonverbally responsive without offering any verbal feedback” (Adler et

al. 208). This response would allow me to improve my task-oriented listening because I would

be able to understand the speaker without interrupting them. By leaving them uninterrupted, I

would be able to get a clear message from them.

I would also use nonverbal skills to better my task-oriented listening. The first nonverbal

skill I would use more would be kinesics. Afifi states that kinesics is “the study of how people

communicate through bodily movements” (qtd. in Adler et al. 178). By focusing more on

kinesics and body movements, I would be able to try and get a response out of the speaker

sooner to not waste time. Another nonverbal skill I would use more would be paralanguage,

which is defined as “not so much about what you say, but how you say it” (Adler et al. 182). If I

were to focus on paralanguage more, I could improve my task-oriented listening by getting a

point across better to who I am communicating with.

Listening is an extremely important part of communication. Task oriented listening,

relational listening, analytical listening, and critical listening can all be used in the correct
situation to improve a person’s listening abilities. If a person is lacking in a certain type of

listening, they can use different listening responses to improve in that area. They can also use

different types of nonverbal techniques to improve their listening as well. Once somebody is able

to use all of the listening types in the right manner, they will have mastered listening and have a

greater understanding of interpersonal communication.

Adler, Ronald B., et al. Interplay: the Process of Interpersonal Communication. 14th ed., Oxford

University Press, 2015.

Afifi, W. A., (2017). Nonverbal communication. In S. M. Yoshimura (Ed.), Nonverbal

communication research (pp. 5-21). San Diego, CA: Cognella.

Brownell, J., & Wolvin, A. (2010). What every student should know about listening. Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Gearhart, C. G., & Bodie, G. D. (2011). Active-empathic listening as a general social skill:

Evidence from bivariate and canonical correlations. Communication Reports, 24, 86-98.