Chapter 7 - Listening Functions

 Listening Functions

Everyone listens in different ways for different reasons, whether you are listening to a lecture to comprehend the information or music to appreciate, and we often do not even realize when we are doing so. The five common listening functions are described in Reflect & Relate as our purpose for listening that we experience daily: to comprehend, to discern, to analyze, to appreciate, and to support. 

When communicating, I often listen to appreciate. For example, I simply enjoy when listening to music, closing my eyes and slightly nodding my head in appreciation, enjoying the beat, the craft, the voice, and the lyrics. I also listen to appreciate when I am communicating with my grandaddy. He often tells me very long stories about his life, and I am not so much paying attention to what he is saying but rather how he says it, how he smiles and laughs when he's telling a funny story, his unique way of communicating, and how overall it makes him happy when he says it. He can go on and on about such simple and boring things and I just soak it up because I know one day, I am not going to have it anymore. 

I sometimes even listen to old voicemails of my mother's voice before she had her stroke. Her voice has changed drastically since then and even though her speech has gotten better, it is sometimes nice to appreciate her voice and how she used to sound because sometimes I forget, and it is nice to be reminded. 

It is important to know when and how to successfully switch your listening functions to the demands of everyday communication in order to become an effective listener. There are also ways to listening for negative purposes, such as eavesdropping which can be unethical.