September Blog Post

Jorre Delgado

Communications 160

Blog #1

Position as listeners

            The statement in our readings that I have found to be the most important is this statement, “Our stance as listeners is always shaped by our individual position as listeners, depending on the context, we may have varying degrees of expertise in or knowledge about the modes of listening we enact.” (pg.67) This statement helps us look more deeply into one of the modes of listening.

            When reading the compassionate critical listening sections, it began to break down listening and explaining how modes can help us better listen and communicate. Modes of listening simply help to take in consideration how context, personal experiences, and our culture might affect the way we are listening to others. Modes of listening just help all of us realize that everyone is going to be different in the ways that we communicate or in this sense listen to one another. I think the modes of listening that we read about in our book can really help one pick the right way to listen and approach a situation.

            The part that I want to focus most on is the position that we take as listeners. The positon that we decide to take when having a conversation with someone or watching something really is important. It determines how we are going to respond and how closely we are listening. So many factors can take part in not fully listening, for example, if we are not interested in the topic we may tend to just listen to certain parts but say it was a topic that we were passionate about then we are most likely going to being listening closely and engaging in the conversation. Also, the environment takes a big tole on listening because not only do the things going on around us distract us but they take away from us listening and paying attention to whom we are listening to. And one last thing that plays an important role in listening is who it might be that we are having conversation with. For example, if we are having conversation with a teacher it may differ than from a friend or if we are having conversation with someone that we may like in a romantic sense then that might also make a difference on how closely we are listening.

            Position as listeners plays a really big role in my day to day life. I work for an Interior Design company and when people come in looking to make selections for their homes I need to make sure that I am listening to what they want and make sure that I am asking questions so that I can do my job to the best of my ability. Even if I may not connect with that customer and feel that I know what exactly they are looking for I still need to listen and help as much as possible. I also work a lot over the phone with clients and to make sure that I am getting their orders and requests put in correctly my position as a listener needs to be very active and attentive. This also has to do with the stance that I have when in the work environment.  A stance is just simply the way we approach others and other situations or experiences. And for me my stance while at work needs to be professional and my position as a listener needs to be very active. Overall this section in the book about compassionate critical listening has been very relatable to my day to day life in school and at work.

Reference:                              

McRae, Chris. “Compassionate Critical Listening”. Communication Processes and Skills.