Why is listening to instructions important

They do not waste time asking a lot of questions prior to starting their work. When a student is not effectively listening, he could make unnecessary mistakes that require him to redo parts of the assignment. The exercises often carry over as homework, causing the student to devote even more time. Students realize the effect that listening has on time management. Students who listen in class gain a better understanding of the content the teacher presents and can identify the fundamental concepts.

Their concentration ultimately results in storage of information in memory. This helps the student when he needs to recall and build upon prior knowledge, especially in a subject such as math, which is based upon previous skill attainment.

Position yourself for success. Sit near the front of the class. It will be easier for you to make eye contact with the instructor as you ask the question. Ask your questions as soon as the instructor has finished a thought. In a lecture class, write your questions down.

Make sure you jot your questions down as they occur to you. Ask specific questions. Give the instructor guidance about what you are having trouble with. If you ask your question at the end of class, give the instructor some context for your question by referring to the part of the lecture that triggered the question. Was this throughout the Civil War, or only after Gettysburg? If your question is not thought out, or if it appears that you are asking the question to try to look smart, instructors will see right through you!

Guidelines for Participating in Classes Smaller classes generally favor discussion, but often instructors in large lecture classes also make some room for participation. Set yourself up for success by coming to class fully prepared.

Complete reading assignments. Review your notes on the reading and previous class to get yourself in the right mindset. Sit in the front with a good view of the instructor, board or screen, and other visual aids. In a lecture hall, this will help you hear better, pay better attention, and make a good impression on the instructor.

Remember that your body language communicates as much as anything you say. Sit up and look alert, with a pleasant expression on your face, and make good eye contact with the instructor. Show some enthusiasm. Except when writing brief notes, keep your eyes on the instructor.

Follow class protocol for making comments and asking questions. In a small class, the instructor may encourage students to ask questions at any time, while in some large lecture classes the instructor may ask for questions at the end of the lecture.

Most instructors have been teaching long enough to immediately recognize insincere flattery—and the impression this makes is just the opposite of what you want.

Does this instructor emphasize theory more than facts, wide perspectives over specific ideas, abstractions more than concrete experience? Many instructors invite challenges. Before speaking up, however, be sure you can explain why you disagree and give supporting evidence or reasons.

Be respectful. Pay attention to your communication style. Use standard English when you ask or answer a question, not slang. Avoid sarcasm and joking around. Be assertive when you participate in class, showing confidence in your ideas while being respectful of the ideas of others. But avoid an aggressive style that attacks the ideas of others or is strongly emotional. Before speaking, take a moment to gather your thoughts and take a deep breath.

Organize your thoughts to give a sufficient answer. Instructors seldom want a yes or no answer. Give your answer and provide reasons or evidence in support. Ask at the appropriate time. Wait for a natural pause and a good moment to ask. What evidence did he use to argue for that position? Lecture Hall Classes. Below are descriptions of some main teaching styles and how they relate to different learning modes: Authority style : Instructors with an authority style of teaching prefer to give lectures while standing in front of the class, often doing a combination of talking and writing information on the board.

Students are expected to listen and take notes. These students could take advantage of their learning style by drawing study guides in their notes and creating and playing review games when they study with friends.

While this teaching style may appeal to visual learners and auditory learners who can simultaneously hear and visualize the information, this approach may not be as appealing to kinesthetic learners. These students might offer to assist instructors during demonstrations, so they can be more active while learning. Facilitator style : Instructors with a facilitator style rely heavily on class discussion, asking students to participate a lot while they provide prompts and guiding questions.

Delegator style : Instructors with a delegator approach prefer to structure their classes around student-run projects and presentations—their own teaching takes a backseat to students teaching one another. While this learning style may be beneficial for auditory and kinesthetic learners, visual learners may need to take notes throughout the projects and presentations so that they have study guides they can visualize.

Hybrid style : Instructors with a hybrid teaching style use a combination of the learning styles above. For example, during an hourlong class session, they might schedule twenty minutes for a lecture, twenty minutes for class discussion, and twenty minutes for a class activity. While this teaching style can potentially appeal to all learning styles, some students may have trouble adjusting to the shifts in format or activities.

There are five stages to Active Listening: receiving, understanding, evaluating, responding and remembering. Learning is a cycle of four steps: preparing, absorbing, capturing and reviewing. Active Listening requires more than just class attendance. There are strategies to help you become an active listener. Participating in class, including answering and asking questions, is a vital part of the classroom experience. If you must miss a class, be proactive by making plans to get the missed materials and information.

Just like there are different learning styles, there are different teaching styles that you need to work with and respond to. What are two things you can do before class that can help you prepare for active listening? Where do you sit in a classroom? What are some advantages and disadvantages to where you are sitting? Would another location improve your active listening?

They organized the relations between individuals and the society to make it clear what is right and wrong and what happens if someone breaks the rules.

They are designed to ensure fairness, safety and respect for other people's right. How do you write a work instruction? Plan how to write steps in order. Write instructions beginning with a verb. Write each step as a small piece. Include warnings as pre-steps. Write the steps in logical order.

Review and edit instructions carefully. Express steps in the positive. How do you follow instructions at work? Tips on taking directions and fulfilling tasks: Actively listen: Try to listen intently, not just hear. Take notes: Instead of trying to remember everything, write it down.

Ask questions: If you are even slightly unsure of what you are being asked to do, don't be afraid to question. How do you communicate instructions to others? Here is the ultimate method for giving directions so that your employees understand and act—the first time.

Ask, don't command. Emphasize what to do, not what to avoid. Explain why it's important. Give freedom of action.

I am eager for your imminent success, fascinated by your struggles, forgiving of your mistakes, always expecting the best. I am your delighted listener. Lippman, D. This excerpt expresses the decency with which people should treat each other. We have all had the painful experience of being ignored or misunderstood. This is how we know that one of the greatest gifts one human can give to another is listening. You are sitting near the end of a row, so it would be possible to do so.

You notice that other people are listening intently. You hope others will not assume that by your presence, you show that you agree. What is the most ethical choice? Although you are a strong advocate of First Amendment rights, especially the protection of religious freedom, you find an exception to your beliefs when a speaker defends the rights of separatist religious sects to practice polygamy.

Which of these responses is most ethical? Previous Chapter. Table of Contents. Next Chapter. Hearing Learning Objectives Understand the differences between listening and hearing. Explain the benefits of listening. Listening or Hearing Hearing An accidental and automatic brain response to sound. Figure 4. Benefits of Listening Listening should not be taken for granted. You Become a Better Student When you focus on the material presented in a classroom, you will be able to identify not only the words used in a lecture but their emphasis and their more complex meanings.

You Become a Better Friend When you give your best attention to people expressing thoughts and experiences that are important to them, those individuals are likely to see you as someone who cares about their well-being.

People Will Perceive You as Intelligent and Perceptive When you listen well to others, you reveal yourself as being curious and interested in people and events. Good Listening Can Help Your Public Speaking When you listen well to others, you start to pick up more on the stylistic components related to how people form arguments and present information.

Learning how to be an effective listener has numerous advantages. First, effective listening can help you become a better student. Second, effective listening can help you become more effective in your interpersonal relationships. Third, effective listening can lead others to perceive you as more intelligent. Lastly, effective listening can help you become a stronger public speaker. What are some of the consequences of poor listening? Explain the people listening style.

Explain the action listening style. Explain the content listening style. Explain the time listening style. People The people-oriented listener Listening that is focused on the speaker.

Action Action-oriented listeners Listening focused on what is expected of the listener. Content Content-oriented listeners Listening focused on the information and meanings in the message. Time People using a time-oriented listening Listening focused on reaching the end of the message. Key Takeaways A listening style is a general manner in which an individual attends to the messages of another person. Action-oriented listeners pay attention to the physical actions a speaker wants the listener to engage in.

Time-oriented listeners pay attention to messages that are short and concise as a result of limited attention spans or limited time commitments. Under what circumstances might you practice a different listening style? Make a list of benefits and drawbacks to each of the listening styles discussed in this section.

As you prepare for your next speech, identify ways that you can adapt your message to each of the listening styles noted in this section. Noise Noise Any internal or environmental factor that interferes with the ability to listen effectively. Attention Span A person can only maintain focused attention for a finite length of time.

Receiver Biases Good listening involves keeping an open mind and withholding judgment until the speaker has completed the message. Key Takeaways Listeners are often unable to accurately attend to messages because of four types of noise. Physical noise is caused by the physical setting a listener is in. All audiences have a limited attention span.

As a speaker, you must realize how long you can reasonably expect an audience to listen to your message. Listeners must be aware of the biases they have for speakers and the topics speakers choose. Receiver apprehension is the fear that a listener might be unable to understand the message, process the information correctly, or adapt thinking to include new information coherently.

Exercises In a group, discuss what distracts you most from listening attentively to a speaker. Have you found ways to filter out or manage the distraction? This chapter refers to psychological noise as one of the distractions you might experience.

Identify strategies you have successfully used to minimize the impact of the specific psychological noises you have experienced. Make a list of biases you might have as a listener. Who would I reject as a trustworthy person to help if I were in danger? What topics do I refuse to discuss? The answers to these questions might provide useful insights into your biases as a listener. Explain the understanding stage of listening.

Explain the remembering stage of listening. Explain the evaluating stage of listening. Explain the responding stage of listening. Understand the two types of feedback listeners give to speakers. Remembering Remembering The ability to recall accurately the content of a message. Responding Responding The verbal and nonverbal feedback given by listeners during and after the presentation of a message.

Formative Feedback Not all response occurs at the end of the message. Summative Feedback Summative feedback is given at the end of the communication. Key Takeaways The receiving stage of listening is the basic stage where an individual hears a message being sent by a speaker.

The understanding stage of listening occurs when a receiver of a message attempts to figure out the meaning of the message. The remembering stage of listening is when a listener either places information into long-term memory or forgets the information presented.

The evaluating stage of listening occurs when a listener judges the content of the message or the character of the speaker. The responding stage of listening occurs when a listener provides verbal or nonverbal feedback about the speaker or message. During the responding stage of listening, listeners can provide speakers with two types of feedback designed to help a speaker know whether a listener is understanding and what the listener thinks of a message. Formative feedback is given while the speaker is engaged in the act of speech making.

Summative feedback is given at the conclusion of a speech. Exercises Make a list of some of the abstract words you have misunderstood. What were the consequences of the misunderstanding? Reflect on your listening in class or in other settings where remembering information is important.

What keeps you from remembering important information accurately? Give an example of a time when you felt that your message was misunderstood or treated with shallow attention. How did you know your message had been misunderstood or rejected? What does this mean you must do as a student of public speaking? Understand six distinct ways to improve your ability to critically listen to speeches.

Evaluate what it means to be an ethical listener. Six Ways to Improve Your Critical Listening Critical listening is first and foremost a skill that can be learned and improved. Uncovering Assumptions If something is factual, supporting evidence exists. Table 4. Assumptions Facts Assumptions Facts are verified by clear, unambiguous evidence. Assumptions are not supported by evidence. Most facts can be tested. Assumptions about the future cannot be tested in the present. Be Open to New Ideas Sometimes people are so fully invested in their perceptions of the world that they are unable to listen receptively to messages that make sense and would be of great benefit to them.

Rely on Reason and Common Sense If you are listening to a speech and your common sense Common sense in listening is an approach to considering the ideas in a speech. Relate New Ideas to Old Ones As both a speaker and a listener, one of the most important things you can do to understand a message is to relate new ideas to previously held ideas. Take Notes Note-taking is a skill that improves with practice.

Listening Ethically Ethical listening Courteous attention to a speaker and thoughtful consideration of the message. When listeners are not critical of the messages they are attending to, they are more likely to be persuaded by illogical arguments based on opinions and not facts.

Critical listening can be improved by employing one or more strategies to help the listener analyze the message: recognize the difference between facts and opinions, uncover assumptions given by the speaker, be open to new ideas, use both reason and common sense when analyzing messages, relate new ideas to old ones, and take useful notes.

Being an ethical listener means giving respectful attention to the ideas of a speaker, even though you may not agree with or accept those ideas.