BASIC CONCEPTS OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
COM 100 - INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION
ASSIGNMENT 2024
A. Brief Overview of Course Content
This chapter discusses the nature, components and purpose of human communication.
B. Guidelines for Studying the Material
Understand with clearly content material about the nature, components and purpose of
human communication.
C. Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, students are expected to:
1. Students are able to recognize the nature of communication between people.
2. Students can identify components that exist in human-to-human communication.
3. Students can explain the purpose of of human communication.
D. Course Content:
1.1 The Nature of Human Communication
Communication is a very important and useful knowledge and skill for everyone. By
communicating, one can communicate intrapersonally or communicate with oneself, know
oneself, convince oneself to prepare messages that will be conveyed to others, make
decisions after consideration and assess or evaluate oneself. In addition to intrapersonal
communication, one can also communicate interpersonally, namely interacting with others,
assessing others, and revealing oneself to others. With this communication, a person can get
to know other people, have friends, lovers, and strengthen the relationship with the family.
Through this communication, a person must maintain, maintain, foster, and may damage and
repair personal relationships that have been established.
One can also communicate with groups and organizations. With this communication,
a person can solve problems, develop new ideas, get new ideas from others, and share
information or knowledge and experience with others. Through this communication, a
person establishes working relationships both in the workplace and in the social
environment that can be lived in groups or organizations. This communication will bring
someone to be able to think, act, through direction and guidance from others to do
something, buy something, persuade others, change the attitude of others to do something.
Communicating with others is not only done with There are also codes or symbols that can
be categorized as communication called non-verbal. This is what will be discussed in this
basic book. Intercultural and mass communication will be discussed in human
communication volume II.
For more details about human communication, the author provides a definition of
communication both in etymology and terminology.
Etymologically, communication comes from English communication (noun) and
communicate (verb). Both have the same meaning, namely making the same (to make
common). In detail, communication (noun) means the exchange of symbols, messages or the
same information, the process of exchange between individuals through the same symbol
system, the art of expressing ideas, the science of sending messages. Whereas communicate
means to exchange thoughts, feelings, information, make understand, make the same, and
have a sympathetic relationship.
Terminology is stated by experts as follows:
a. Communication in practice will always involve, namely the existence of a message
as a tool for exchanging information, the creation of togetherness between the
communicator (message sender) and the communicant (message recipient).1
b. Communication refers to the act, by one or more people, of sending and receiving
messages that distorted by interference, occurs in a certain context, has a certain
influence, and there is an opportunity for feedback.2
c. Communication can be seen from two schools, the first school sees communication
as the transmission of messages. This school focuses on how senders and receivers
send and receive messages. This school is very concerned with things like efficiency
and accuracy. It sees communication as the process of someone influencing the
behavior or way of thinking of others. If the effect is different or less than desired. It
also tends to speak in terms of communication failure and looks at the various stages
in the communication process to find failures that occur in communication. The
second school sees communication as the production and exchange of meaning. It
focuses on how messages, or texts, interact with people in order to produce meaning,
meaning it pays close attention to the role of texts in a person's culture. This school
uses terms such as significance or meaning, and does not consider misunderstandings
as important evidence of communication failures, communication misunderstandings
may be the result of cultural differences between the sender and receiver.3 So the
first school sees communication as a process, and the second school sees
communication as a study of text and culture.
d. Communication is a means of sending messages of orders or orders and others such
as telegraphs, telephones, couriers, radios and others.4 The definition of
communication here emphasizes more on channels, tools or paths.
e. Communication is the process of transferring understanding in the form of ideas or
information from one person to another, which involves more than just the words
used in conversation, facial expressions, intonation, local breaking points, and so
on.5
f. Communication is basically the deliberate delivery of messages from a source to a
recipient with the aim of influencing the behavior of the recipient.6 So
communication is more focused on purpose or intentionality.
Thus communication is defined as a process of interaction that occurs between
communicators and communicants in the delivery of information or messages using certain
channels to achieve goals. Furthermore, human communication is a communication process
that occurs through intrapersonal, interpersonal, small groups and organizations, public,
intercultural, and mass in a good communication environment. physical, social-
psychological, or temporal that is distorted by disturbances and has a certain influence, and
feedback occurs to achieve certain goals.
1.2 Components of Human-to-Human Communication:
There are several components or elements that exist in every act of communication,
namely:
a. Environment
The communication environment has three dimensions: physical, social-
psychological, and temporal. The physical environment is the real or tangible environment.
This physical environment, whatever form it takes, has a certain influence on the content of
the message (what is conveyed) and the form of the message (how it is conveyed). The
social-psychological dimension includes the status relations among those involved, the roles
and games people play, and the cultural rules of the society in which they communicate. The
temporal dimension includes the time of day or time in history in which the communication
takes place. These three dimensions interact with each other, each influencing and being
influenced by the others.7
b. Source-Recipient
Source-receiver as an inseparable entity to emphasize that everyone involved in
communication is a source or speaker as well as a receiver or listener. Order A message is
defined as anything (verbal or nonverbal) that is conveyed by the communicator to the
recipient of the message. Messages are also referred to as messages, content, information or
content conveyed by communicators to message recipients.8 Messages are the main product
of communication. Messages are symbols that carry ideas, attitudes, feelings, practices or
actions. Messages can take the form of written, spoken words, pictures, numbers, objects,
gestures or behavior and various other forms of signs.9
c. Channel
A communication channel is the medium through which a message travels.
Communication usually takes place not only through one channel, but may be two, three or
four different channels simultaneously. For example, in face-to-face interaction a person
speaks and listens (voice channel), gestures, receives visual cues (visual channel), emits and
smells odors (olfactory channel), often also touches each other (tactile channel).10 All of
these are channels in communication.
d. Disorder
Interference (noise) is a disturbance in communication that distorts the message.
Interference prevents the receiver from receiving the message and the source from sending
the message. This interference exists in a communication system when it makes the message
delivered different from the message received. It can be physical (other people talking),
psychological (preconceived notions), or semantic (misinterpretation of meaning). This
interference is inevitable. All communication contains interference and its effects. In order
to avoid interference in communication, we should use clearer and more accurate language,
learn the skills of sending and receiving nonverbal messages, improve listening and
receiving skills, send feedback,11 and use certain media in communication. These are ways
that can be done to avoid interference in communication.
e. Conveying/Encoding process and Reception/Decoding process
As well as source-receiver, encoding and decoding as an inseparable entity to
emphasize that a person performs these functions simultaneously. There is the speaker
(encoding) and there is the receiver (decoding).response from the speaker called the listener
(decoding)
f. Feedback and Feed Forward
Feedback is the response of the message receiver to the content of the message
conveyed.12 Feedback is information sent back to the source. Feedback can come from
yourself or from others. Meanwhile, feedforward is information about the message to be
conveyed.
Feedback has both main and auxiliary functions. The main function is to help the
communicator to adjust the message according to the needs and responses of the message
recipient. While its additional function is to help message recipients to feel involved in
communication.13 With feedback and forward feedback, the message delivery process can
be more efficient.
g. Impact
Communication always has an effect or impact on one or more people involved in
the act of communication. In every act of communication there are always consequences.
h. Ethics
Communication has an impact. Because there is impact, there will be ethics.
Communication is also There are consequences, so there is an aspect of right and wrong in
every act of communication. Ethics is concerned with moral norms and values that by their
nature are general, and on the other hand there are special situations that by their nature are
specific... ethics not only mentions rules, guidelines, or norms that never seem to change,
but also critically questions how humans should be responsible for the results of the latest
technology, especially those that have proven to affect the morals of the nation.14
The ethical dimension of communication is further complicated because ethics is so
intertwined with one's personal philosophy of life that it is difficult to suggest guidelines that
apply to everyone. Despite the complexity, ethical considerations are integral to every act of
communication. Decisions made in terms of communication should be guided by what is
considered right, in addition to what is considered effective.
Communication can be said to be ethical if it guarantees the freedom to choose by
giving the person an accurate basis for choosing. Whereas communication is unethical if it
interferes with a person's freedom of choice by preventing that person from obtaining
information that is relevant in making choices.
Ethics based on freedom of choice has certain requirements, namely being of legal age,
being in a mentally sound state allows them to exercise their choices freely, and does not
hinder the freedom of choice of others, and is not in an environmental situation that can limit
freedom of choice.15 Thus, when someone communicates, it is necessary to pay attention to
ethics.
1.3 Communication Objectives Between People
There are several general goals in communication, namely discovery, building
meaningful relationships, persuasion and play.16 The explanation of the purpose of this
communication is as follows:
a. Discovery
One of the main purposes of communication is related to personal discovery. When one
communicates with others, one actually learns to know and recognize oneself and others.
Another way of doing self-discovery is through the process of social comparison, our
abilities, achievements, attitudes, opinions, values, and failures with others. Thus, when we
evaluate ourselves, we compare ourselves with others.
By communicating, we can better understand ourselves and the other person we are
communicating with. In addition to self-discovery, communication also It makes it possible
to discover the outside world, a world filled with objects, events and other people.
Nowadays, various communication media emerge and are used as tools to get information
about various things in the fields of sports, health and nutrition, entertainment, economic
development, politics, social, religion and others.
b. Meaningful Relationship Building
Communication aims to foster and maintain meaningful relationships with others. A
person spends time and energy communicating in order to foster and maintain social
relationships. One can communicate with coworkers in the office, chat with parents,
children, siblings, and others. This is the purpose of a person communicating, which is to
establish, foster and maintain a good relationship between them.
c. Persuasion
Communication seeks to convince to change attitudes and behavior both for oneself
and for others. Communication with mass media, mostly seeks to change human attitudes
and behavior. Media can live because of funding from advertising, which is directed at
encouraging people to buy various products.
There are many times a person performs interpersonal persuasion, both as a source and as a
receiver. When a person encounters another person, he or she tries to change the person's
attitude and behavior others. He tries to get them to do things and so on.
d. Play
Communication behavior is mostly for play and entertaining oneself and others.
Entertainment is the ultimate goal and a way to bind the attention of others so that one can
achieve other goals.
The purpose of communication is not only what is described above, there are many other
goals. However, these goals are general and primary. Communication is not only driven by
one goal, but is driven by a combination of several goals.
1. What is human-to-human communication?
2. What are the components of human-to-human communication!
3. Give one example of physical, psychological, and semantic interference that occurs in
communication!
4. Explain the difference between ethical communication and unethical communication!
5. Name and explain the main purpose of communication!
Intrapersonal Communication
2.1 Self in Communication
One of the most important components of communication acts is the self. Who you
are, how you perceive yourself and others will affect your communication and your response
to other people's communication. Self-communication or called intrapersonal
communication is a communication process that occurs within a person, in the form of
processing information through the five senses and the nervous system. A person involved
in this communication with oneself gives meaning to an object that is observed or imagined
in his mind.17 Examples of thinking, contemplating, listening to something, drawing,
writing something, understanding something, and others.
There are two aspects to the self: self-awareness and self-disclosure. These two
aspects can be explained below:
a.
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the foundation for all forms and functions of communication. This self-
awareness can be seen through the Johari Window. This window is divided into four
regions, each containing a different self. The four windows are the open region, the closed
region, the blind region and the dark region.
The open self contains all information, behaviors, attitudes, feelings, desires,
motivations, ideas, and so on that are known by oneself and by others. Each person's open
area is different in size, depending on who he communicates with. There are people who
make us comfortable and support us, towards them we open ourselves wide.18 So, when we
open a wide open area, the communication that will be established will be better. Vice versa,
when the open area gets smaller, the communication gets worse.
The blind self contains information about ourselves that others know but we don't know
about ourselves. This can be small habits such as scratching your head when you are angry,
or more significant things such as defensive attitudes, or hidden experiences.
Communication demands openness from the parties involved, if there are blind spots then
communication will be difficult. However, this area will always exist even if we try to
eliminate it.
The unknown self is the part of us that is unknown to ourselves and others. It is
information that is submerged in the subconscious or something that goes unnoticed. This
area will be revealed through temporary changes due to taking medications, conditions
special experiments such as hypnosis or sensory deprivation or through various projective
tests or dreams. This area will be explored through open, honest and empathic interactions in
mutual trust with others. This is an effective way of knowing this area.
The Hidden Self is all the things that you know about yourself and others, but you keep
to yourself. This is the area where you keep everything about yourself and others secret. In
this area, there are overdisclosers and underdisclosers. Those who are overdisclosers tell
everything. Those who are overdisclosers say nothing. Most of us fall between these two
extremes. We keep certain things secret and we reveal other things. We are open to certain
people and we are not open to others. Therefore, we are selective open people.
There are several ways to cultivate self-awareness, namely dialoguing with oneself,
listening or feedback that others give us is necessary to increase self-awareness, reducing
blind areas, observing different selves or the importance of seeing oneself through the eyes
of others, and expanding open areas. Expanding the open area will increase the opportunity
to develop a meaningful and intimate dialog. Through these interactions, one gets to know
oneself best.
b.
Self-Disclosure
Self-disclosure is a type of communication. Unintentional statements about ourselves,
unconscious non-verbal gestures, and open confessions can all be classified into self-
disclosure communication. There are several properties of self-disclosure, namely:
1) Self-disclosure is also used to refer to the conscious disclosure of information.
2) Self-disclosure is information that is previously unknown to others. This information
is new knowledge. For self-disclosure to occur, new knowledge must be
communicated.
3) Self-disclosure is information about oneself, about one's thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors or about other very close people one thinks about. So self-disclosure can be
defined as your own actions or the actions of those closest to you because they have a
direct relationship with you.
4) Self-disclosure concerns information that is usually and actively hidden. This
information is usually not disclosed and attempts to remain unknown to others or kept
private.
5) Self-disclosure involves at least one other person. In order to be self-disclosure,
information must be received and understood by the other person.
So self-disclosure is information and actions that are expressed (verbal) or not expressed
(non-verbal) to others. In order for self-disclosure to run smoothly, there are several factors
that influence it, namely:
1) Group size
Self-disclosure happens more in small groups or groups of two. One person self-
discloses and one person listens to what is disclosed. With this one listener, the self-
disclosing party can carefully absorb the response. With support or without support,
people can monitor this self-disclosure, continuing it if the situation is favorable and
stopping it if the situation is unfavorable.
2) Feelings of Favor
Self-disclosure is done to people one likes or loves and people one trusts. It is also
common in temporary relationships, such as fellow passengers in a transit car, plane,
train, or passengers with a driver. In these situations, two people develop an intimate
self-disclosure relationship during a short trip and usually do not continue after this
situation.
3) Dyadic Effect
Self-disclosure occurs when we reveal ourselves to others and others also reveal
themselves. With this effect, we and others will feel safe and reinforce self-disclosure
behavior.
4) Competence
Self-disclosure is usually done to people who have competence. Competent people
have a lot of knowledge and positive things about what will be revealed so that people
who will reveal themselves will be more confident and not reluctant to convey their
problems.
5) Personality
Self-disclosure occurs in people who are sociable and extroverted (open). People who
are less sociable, less talkative and introverted find it difficult to express themselves.
6) Topic
Self-disclosure is about certain topics, such as work or hobbies. Topics about sex life,
finances are less likely to be disclosed, and good and beautiful things are often
disclosed, while things that are less good and very personal, are less likely to be
disclosed.
7) Gender
Gender affects self-disclosure. Men are less open than women.
These are the factors that influence self-disclosure. Therefore, self-disclosure occurs
in certain situations and conditions and the information conveyed will be accepted and
understood by others.
Self-disclosure also has benefits. The benefits are that by disclosing ourselves, we
will gain a new perspective on ourselves and a deeper understanding of our behavior self,
being able to overcome difficulties, improving communication/communication efficiency,
and fostering meaningful and deep relationships between two people.
In addition to having benefits, there are also risks or dangers in self-disclosure,
namely personal and social rejection (people we trust and the closest people, when we
disclose ourselves may reject us in certain matters, for example we disclose ourselves to
marry a different person, change religion and so on), material loss (when we disclose
ourselves at work that we are drug addicts, drink, and other bad actions, we will be fired or
transferred), and intrapersonal difficulties (other people's reactions are not as expected, we
may disclose ourselves so that others support us but instead make it difficult and reject us).
Self-disclosure is irreversible, that is, information conveyed to others cannot be
canceled or withdrawn. Therefore, caution must be prioritized in self-disclosure and self-
disclosure must be truly trusted people so that the expected things will not happen later.
There are various benefits and dangers involved in self-disclosure, therefore there are
guidelines that a person must know in order to decide whether or not he needs to disclose
himself and how to disclose it.
The guidelines for self-disclosure are:
1) Self-Disclosure Motivation
Self-disclosure should be driven by a sense of importance to the relationship, both to
the other person involved and to oneself.
2) Appropriateness of Self-Disclosure
Self-disclosure should be appropriate to the environment and the relationship between
the person disclosing and the person listening to the disclosure. Therefore, self-
disclosure should look at the situation and conditions of the person who will listen to
the disclosure. The more personal the issue to be disclosed, the closer the relationship
required.
3) Other People's Self-Disclosure
When we reveal ourselves to others, we must also be ready to listen to their self-
disclosure. Thus, a person who reveals himself to another person, then he must give
the other person the opportunity to reveal himself.
4) The Burden that Self-Disclosure May Create In disclosing oneself to others, one must
consider the difficulties or burdens that will arise after such disclosure.
In addition to the guidelines in self-disclosure, there are also guidelines that must be
known in responding to other people's self-disclosure, namely:
1) Utilize effective and active listening skills
When people express themselves to us, we should be active listeners, empathetic and
open-minded.
2) Support and strengthen whistleblowers
We should provide support to the person who is self-disclosing to us. Do not evaluate
during self-disclosure. Provide support both verbally and non-verbally.
3) Maintain confidentiality
In the self-disclosure of others, we must maintain confidentiality. Self-disclosure
usually happens to certain people who are trusted and able to keep what is disclosed
a secret. Thus, choose certain people who are able to maintain your confidentiality.
4) Don't Use Others' Self-Disclosure to Their Detriment
If we take advantage of the other person's self-disclosure to bring down their
disclosure, then the relationship will be damaged.
In addition to intrapersonal communication, interpersonal communication is also part of
human communication. Interpersonal communication is the most powerful communication
in persuading others to change the attitudes, opinions, behavior of communicants and if done
face-to-face it will be more intensive because there is personal contact, namely between the
communicator and communicant.
In interpersonal communication has characteristics, namely:
a. Interpersonal communication always begins with communication with oneself, so there
is no reason why humans cannot communicate.
b. Interpersonal communication is transactional, because the parties involved will be
associated with the relationship that is built will benefit or not.
c. Interpersonal communication has a relationship in the message or includes message
content that is interpersonal in nature.
d. Interpersonal communication involves physical proximity between the people
communicating.
e. Interpersonal communication is dependent or involves interdependent parties.
f. Interpersonal communication cannot be changed or repeated or returned to the
beginning.
Interpersonal communication tends to take place dialogically and shows more
interaction. Those involved in this communication are dual forms of communication,
because they take turns as speakers and listeners. Marry B. Cassata and Malep K Asante in
Mulyana suggest that designing the context of interpersonal communication as an
independent communicator involvement with the communicator is a form of
communication. The message is personal or limited, the channel is vocal, it consists of an
individual or small group audience, which in turn gets immediate feedback due to its
primary contact, for example, discussions in the family.20 Thus, if someone wants to
influence or persuade others immediately then use interpersonal communication.
2.2 Perception
Perception is the process of a person becoming aware of the many stimuli that affect
the senses. Perception affects the stimulus or message that is absorbed and the meaning that
is given to a person when he or she reaches consciousness. Perception is very important in
communication both in form and function.
Perception has properties such as:
a.
Perception is experience. To get meaning, humans must have experience. This
experience is the basis for the formation of perception. For example, if one has no
experience of bicycles or cannot ride a bicycle, then one will not comment on bicycles.
b.
Perception is selective. Humans give perception according to their needs. Thus, a
perception is selective according to its needs.
c.
Perception is a provisional conclusion. This is the logical working of the system of
induction. Thus, meaning can be obtained by jumping directly to conclusions. For
example, politics is a struggle for power, so politics is dirty.
d.
Perception is not accurate. Accuracy in perception is strongly influenced by the nature
of previous perceptions, experience, selectivity and inferences that are sometimes rash
and therefore inaccurate.
e.
Evaluative perception. This is related to the subjectivity of the "subject" who gives
perception to an object.21
The process of perception has three steps. These steps are interrelated, continuous,
intermingled and overlapping with each other. This process starts from the occurrence of
sensory stimulation, for example listening to the sound of music, seeing people who have
met him for a long time, smelling perfume with people who are close to us, tasting cakes and
feeling wet palms when we shake hands. Therefore, we have the sensing ability to feel
stimulus or stimuli, but we do not always use it, for example if someone is daydreaming in
class and he does not listen to the teacher and only realizes when his name is called. Thus it
can be understood that a person will capture what is meaningful to him and not capture what
is not meaningful to him.
In the second process, the stimulation of the sensory organs is organized according to
various principles. One of the principles often used is the principle of proximity or
resemblance. People or messages that are physically similar to each other are perceived
together or as a unit. For example, perceiving people who are often seen together as a
couple. Another principle is completeness or closure, which is viewing or perceiving an
image or message that is incomplete in reality as a complete image or message. For
example, perceiving a picture of a cut circle as a full circle even though part of the picture is
missing. With these two principles, we must organize what appears in our perception and
must be arranged in a meaningful pattern, because this pattern is not necessarily correct or
logical in terms of certain objects.
The last process is the perceptual process where the stimulation of the sensory organs
is interpreted or evaluated (interpretation-evaluation). These terms are combined to
emphasize that they cannot be separated. This step is a subjective process that involves
evaluation on the part of the receiver. Interpretation-evaluation is not only based on external
stimuli, but is also influenced by past experiences, needs, desires, value systems, beliefs
about what should be, physical and emotional states at a particular moment, and other
conditions that occur to a person.
There are many possibilities in interpreting things. Although everyone receives a
message, the way each person interprets-evaluates it is not the same. This interpretation-
evaluation will also be different for one person from time to time. For example, to one
person a dangdut song sounds beautiful, but to another it sounds raucous, and the fragrance
of a particular perfume will be pleasing to one and nauseating to another.
These individual differences should not blind us to the validity of some
generalizations about perception. While these generalizations may not necessarily apply to a
specific person, they do seem to apply to some people.
There are several processes that affect the perception of others, namely:
a. Implicit personality theory
This theory refers to the individualized personality theories that a person believes in
and which influence how they perceive others.
b. Self-fulfilling prophecy
This divination occurs when one makes a prediction or formulates a belief that comes
true because one makes the prediction and acts as if it were true.
c. Perceptual accentuation
This process makes one see what is expected and desired. For example, for an aspiring
actor, even the smallest role in a movie is better than not getting any role.
d. Pre-review
This process refers to the relative influence of stimuli as a result of the order in which
they appear. If what comes first is more influential, we experience the primacy effect.
If the later appearing
have a greater influence, we experience the review effect.
e. Consistency
This process refers to the tendency to feel what allows us to achieve balance or
psychological comfort among various attitudes and the relationships between them.
f. Stereotype
This process refers to the tendency to develop and maintain fixed and unchanging
perceptions of a group of people and to use these perceptions to evaluate members of
the group, disregarding unique individual characteristics.
All of the above processes strongly influence what we see and what we don't see, what
we infer and what we don't infer about others. These processes help explain why we make
certain predictions and not others about people. They also help us organize the vast amount
of data that enters our sensory apparatus. However, keep in mind that the above six
processes are also potential barriers to accurate perception. These barriers greatly affect both
your perception and your interpersonal perception. As such, it is important to consider these
barriers together with the processes themselves.
2.3 Listening
Listening is defined as the active process of receiving stimuli or ear stimulus (aural) or
cues (sound waves) received by the ear. Listening is not only limited to verbal cues (words)
but includes all audible cues, including noise, words, music and prose. Listening is the most
important communication activity and the most important skill in all forms of human
communication. There are two studies conducted by experts on the time used by adults or
students for listening activities. The first research result was conducted by Rankin in 1929,
that the time used by adults in listening activities is 45%. Compared to other skills, speaking
30%, reading 16% and writing 13%. While the results of Barker's research in 1980 showed
the results that students as objects, listening spent the most time, namely 53%, and other
skills speaking 16%, reading 17%, and writing 14%.
Thus, listening skills are the skills that use the most time, so there must be an effort
to utilize these skills. It takes time and energy to listen effectively.
Listening has purposes, namely for pleasure or entertainment, information and
helping others.24 There is effective and active listening. Effective listening involves
adjusting our behavior based on four dimensions: participatory and passive listening,
empathic listening, listening without judging and being judged, and shallow and deep
listening. Active listening is listening by sending back to the speaker what you think the
speaker is saying and feeling. Active listening allows the listener to check understanding,
express acceptance and stimulate the speaker to explore their feelings and thoughts.
There are three active listening techniques, namely repeating the speaker's thoughts,
expressing understanding of feelings In the first technique, the listener should repeat the
speaker's thoughts by providing objective descriptions. When the speaker conveys
something to the listener, the listener should express understanding of the speaker's feelings
by echoing the speaker's feelings accurately and not exaggerating or underestimating. In the
third technique, the listener should ask questions to ensure your understanding of what the
speaker is saying. The questions should be designed to provide support and encouragement
to the speaker to express his/her thoughts and feelings, and the questions asked should not
go beyond the issue under discussion.
In this skill, there are many obstacles that occur to us, these obstacles are :
a.
Pseudolistening
Pseudolistening is pretending to listen. When we engage in pseudolistening, our minds are
elsewhere, even though we are paying attention to what the speaker is saying. This usually
happens when the listener is not interested in what is being discussed and does not want to
hurt the speaker's feelings.
b.
Monopolize
Monopolizing continuously focuses the communication on oneself, not the person who is
speaking. Two tactics are typical in monopolizing. One of them among them is rerouting the
conversation. This happens when someone shifts the topic back to themselves. Rerouting
takes the conversation away from the person who is talking and focuses on themselves.
Another tactic is interrupting. Interrupting is diverting or redirecting the conversation to a
new topic.
c.
Selective Listening
Selective listening is filtering out parts of the message that do not interest us or with which
we agree. Selective listening also occurs when we reject communication that is boring or
makes us uncomfortable.
d.
Defensive Listening
Defensive listening involves observing personal attacks, criticism or a hostile tone when
there is nothing to like. Defensive listening can eliminate valuable information and insights.
e.
Ambushing
Ambushing is listening carefully for the purpose of attacking the speaker.
f.
Literal Listening
Literal listening is listening only to content and ignoring the meaning of relationships.
Thus, in order to reduce the above obstacles, one should be an effective listener and
active listener.
