Page 147 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

114 Part 2 Between Audience and Speaker

When high- and low-
context cultures meet,
listening may become
more diffi cult.

high-context people do not provide enough information. Too much information
frequently leads people to feel they are being talked down to; too little infor-
8
mation can mystify them or make them feel left out. For further discussion
of listening in different context cultures, see the box “Considering Diversity:
Listening in High- and Low-Context Cultures” on page 115.
Although we cannot give you any simple rule of thumb for dealing with cul-
tural differences in listening, our best advice is to be aware of the culture of the
person(s) to whom you are listening or with whom you are speaking. Then, take
differences from your own culture into account and try to adjust your behavior
accordingly. Finally, if you expect to be listening or speaking to someone from a
different culture, which is increasingly likely on a college campus, learn as much
as you can in advance about the person’s culture.

Personal Problems

Most people have had the experience of being so preoccupied with a personal
problem they couldn’t pay attention to what someone was saying. Personal prob-
lems can easily detract from listening to what is being said. The best advice for
overcoming this obstacle is to recognize the situation and to focus on what is
being said, as diffi cult as that may be. For example, if you were plagued by a per-
sonal problem prior to an important job interview, chances are you would tell
yourself to “get your act together.” You need to do exactly the same thing before
listening to (or giving) a speech.

Bias

As we have repeatedly said, bias gets in the way of listening. It predisposes us to
hear only what we want to hear. All people are biased, though not to an equal
degree. Bias refl ects an opinion formed without evidence, usually about a person