COM2006 WK 2 Project
Listening Conversation 1 Sarah was tired and depressed because her boss reprimanded her at work about an error that she made in the accounting report. When she came home, she related what happened to her husband, Josh. Josh asked Sarah several questions about the work situation. He then proceeded to give her instructions about how she should fix the error with her boss. Sarah became very frustrated and stormed away, telling Josh that he just doesn’t understand. Expert Feedback This example illustrates how different listening styles affect a conversation. Often, listening styles are gender related. In this example, Josh’s listening style is task oriented. He wanted details of the situation to figure out what Sarah should do next. Sarah, on the other hand, is a relational-oriented listener. She just wanted Josh to understand her hurt feelings and didn’t want Josh to tell her what to do to fix the problem. Sarah was upset because her boss didn’t recognize all the extra work that she does but, instead, reprimanded her for one small error. Conversation 2 Maria sits down at the breakfast table to talk to Javier, her husband, about her problems with her girlfriend Sally. Maria explains that Sally is insensitive to Maria’s feelings because she doesn’t respond to Maria’s stories about her boss. Javier listens and then questions Maria about her assumption that Sally is not a good friend just because she isn’t sympathetic about Maria’s troubles. Javier asks Maria questions about the situation with her boss. He proposes that maybe Maria is in the wrong and that Sally agrees. Maria is furious because she feels that Javier should be on her side and not on Sally’s side. Expert Feedback Again, this example illustrates that men and women can have different listening styles. Javier, in this example, is a critical listener. He is listening more for the facts and second-guesses Maria’s explanation. In other words, he questions Maria’s assumption that she is in the right and suggests that Sally knows that Maria’s recounting of the situation is flawed. Maria’s listening style is relational, and what she hears is that Javier is taking the side of Sally and her boss and not her side.
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