Page 152 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Chapter 5 Listening 119

Concentration
A second important factor in listening to understand is concentration. As we
know all too well, our minds are easily distracted from the task at hand. If you
doubt that, think back to the last time you immediately forgot the name of some-
one to whom you had just been introduced.
There are two types of concentration: wide-band and pinpoint. Pinpoint
pinpoint
concentration focuses on specifi c details. Wide-band concentration
concentration
focuses on patterns rather than details. As a result, wide-band concentration as-
Listening that focuses
si sts you in listening for the tone of the speech or for its larger meaning in a
on specifi c details
particular context. rather than patterns in a
Both types of concentration, however, demand that you try to block out message.
stimuli that compete with the message on which you are trying to focus. These
competing stimuli range from the obvious, such as a garage band playing in the wide-band
free-speech area outside your classroom, to the subtle, such as the gastrointesti- concentration
nal growls your stomach makes when you are hungry. Listening that focuses
on patterns rather than
details.
Memory

Closely related to concentration, memory is the third factor that infl uences listen-
ing to understand. Failure to remember often reflects the fact that you also failed

to concentrate. Consider again the example of forgetting the name of someone
to whom you have just been introduced. Although this very common experi-
ence simply may be the result of “mental laziness,” most often it is the product of
the anxiety accompanying the situation. Both anxiety and preoccupation with
feelings of anxiety have a devastating effect on our powers of concentration and
memory. As you are being introduced to someone, you may be too busy think-
ing about how you are being perceived to concentrate on the person’s name. It
isn’t that you forgot the name—it’s that you didn’t listen for and process the name
in the fi rst place.
Much of your day is spent in situations that require comprehensive listening.
And nowhere is this more likely to be true than in your speech class. Here are
some skills that will help you improve your listening to understand. 14

Tips and Tactics
Improving Listening to Understand
• Utilize the time difference between speech and thought effectively. Most people speak
at a rate of about 125 to 150 words per minute, but the human brain can
process 400 to 500 spoken words per minute, although that is possible only
with a special process known as “compressed speech.” By using the time dif-
ferential to think about what you are hearing, you can better interpret and
understand the signifi cance of what is said.
• Listen for main ideas. Don’t get bogged down in insignifi cant detail. Rather,
focus on understanding the main ideas and principles a speaker is discussing.
• Listen for signifi cant details. Though not as important as main ideas, some de-
tails are fairly signifi cant. Try to determine which details are illustrative
of the main ideas and have signifi cance for understanding what is being said.
• Learn to draw valid inferences. What does it all mean? Try to determine what

conclusions you can draw from the speech.