Active Listening and Verbal Communication
For this week’s discussion, please share your thoughts on the extent that language influences your perceptions of reality. Here are some ideas to get you started:
In an average day, what percentage of your time are you listening? How do you know? What happens when you find yourself dominating a conversation?
Language, what we say and what we hear others say, often helps us understand events. What is an experience when communicating about it helped you to understand what happened? How did language help you clarify your experience?
How important is active listening to communication and does this change when you are at work or home?
In this discussion, you’ll look at how what is said and what is heard influence perceptions of reality.
What You Need to Know
Verbal Communication
Use your Communication in Our Lives text to read the following:
Chapter 4, “Listening Effectively,” pages 67–88.
Chapter 5, “The Verbal Dimension of Communication,” pages 89–108.