Page 146 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Chapter 5 Listening 113

with a clear line of sight, comfortable (but not
too comfortable) chairs, and a pleasant temper-
ature allows you to concentrate on the speaker.
Although there is usually not much the listener
can do about the physical environment, being
aware of its impact on listening helps you know
how much you need to focus. In addition, you
can often choose your location to listen. Students
who sit in the back of the classroom, where their
view is limited, often are tempted to let their at-
tention drift. Those who move front and center
clearly are interested in listening to what is said.
The best speakers try to minimize the effects
of a troublesome physical environment on audi-
ence listening. If the acoustics are bad, they may Holding a large audience’s attention can be a challenge for
raise or amplify their voice so that it is more au- a speaker.
dible. If their line of sight is blocked from some
audience members, they may move toward audi-
ence members in the back of a room. If some loud activity is occurring within ear-
shot of the audience, they may make light of the situation rather than show that the
noise bothers them. No matter what a speaker does to overcome a problem envi-
ronment, however, audience members also bear some responsibility in this regard.

Cultural Differences

Communication patterns vary from culture to culture. Culture is a learned
culture
system of beliefs, customs, and values with which specifi c people identify. The
A learned system of
relative importance of the context in which listening takes place differs from
beliefs, customs, and val-
one culture to another. Anthropologists Edward T. Hall and Mildred Reed Hall
ues with which specifi c
defi ne context as the information that surrounds an event and contributes to people identify.
7
the meaning of that event. For example, suppose you receive a message on your
answering machine from a relative you almost never hear from except in an context
emergency. The message simply says, “Call me right away.” Needless to say, you information that sur-
would be alarmed because you know this person never calls you unless there is rounds an event and
a serious problem. On the other hand, if you received the same message from a contributes to the mean-
friend with whom you often get together, you might assume he or she just wants ing of that event.
to set up a meeting. The same message has a very different meaning because of
the context in which it occurs.
Some cultures rely more than others on unspoken information contained in the
context to determine the meaning of a message. In high-context (HC) cultures,
such as Japan, the Arab states, and the Mediterranean countries, the context of
statements can be extremely important. Much of the meaning in such cultures is
carried not only by the words that are spoken but also by the situation in which
they are uttered. In low-context (LC) cultures, such as the United States, Germany,
and most northern European countries, people rely less on the overall communi-
cation situation and more on the words spoken to convey meaning.
When low- and high-context people communicate with each other, the re-
sults can be frustrating. Hall and Hall note that HC people are apt to become
impatient and irritated when LC people insist on giving them information they
perceive they don’t need. Conversely, low-context people are at a loss when