Chapter 07 Assessing Your Communication

Assessing Your Communication: Your Listening Styles

Record your first impression to each of the following statements by indicating the degree to which you agree or disagree. Use a scale ranging from 1 to 7, where 1 = “strongly disagree” and 7 = “strongly agree.”

Relational Listening
1. When listening to others, it is important to understand the feelings of the speaker.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
2. I listen to understand the emotions and mood of the speaker.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
3. I listen primarily to build and maintain relationships with others.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
4. I enjoy listening to others because it allows me to connect with them.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Analytical Listening
5. I tend to withhold judgment about another’s ideas until I have heard everything they have to say.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
6. When listening to others, I consider all sides of the issue before responding.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
7. I fully listen to what a person has to say before forming any opinions.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8. To be fair to others, I fully listen to what they have to say before making judgments.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Task Listening
9. I get frustrated when people get off topic during a conversation.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
10. I prefer speakers who quickly get to the point.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
11. I find it difficult to listen to people who take too long to get their ideas across.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
12. When listening to others, I appreciate speakers who give brief, to-the-point presentations.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Critical Listening
13. I often catch errors in other speakers’ logic.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
14. I tend to naturally notice errors in what other speakers say.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
15. I have a talent for catching inconsistencies in what a speaker says.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
16. When listening to others, I notice contradictions in what they say.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

This measure presents 16 of the 24 items of the original instrument developed by Graham Bodie and his colleagues: Bodie, G. D., Worthington, D. L., & Gearhart, C. C. (2013). The Listening Styles Profile–Revised (LSP–R): A scale revision and evidence for validity. Communication Quarterly, 61, 72–90.

Relational Listening

You have a below average relational listening score for an undergraduate. Relational listening is about building emotional closeness with others. Relational listeners are responsive and are most likely to draw out responses from the message sender. Too much emotional closeness, however, can cause an inability to objectively assess information. Do you think you have the right amount of emotional closeness in your listening behavior?

Relational Listening

You have an above average relational listening score for an undergraduate. Relational listening is about building emotional closeness with others. Relational listeners are responsive and are most likely to draw out responses from the message sender. Too much emotional closeness, however, can cause an inability to objectively assess information. Do you think you have the right amount of emotional closeness in your listening behavior?

Analytical Listening

You have a below average analytical listening score for an undergraduate. Analytical listening emphasizes attending to the full message before coming to judgment. This type of listening is great to investigating difficult questions and taking into account a wide variety of perspectives. This approach, however, can be impractical at times such as when a deadline is fast approaching. Are you able to adjust your analytical listening to the context?

Analytical Listening

You have an above average analytical listening score for an undergraduate. Analytical listening emphasizes attending to the full message before coming to judgment. This type of listening is great to investigating difficult questions and taking into account a wide variety of perspectives. This approach, however, can be impractical at times such as when a deadline is fast approaching. Are you able to adjust your analytical listening to the context?

Task Listening

You have a below average task listening score for an undergradute. Task-oriented listening is most concerned with efficiency and accomplishing the job at hand. It’s most appropriate when the focus is on taking care of business, but the downside is that is can alienate others when it seems to ignore their feelings or perspectives. How confident are you that you know when to employ task-oriented listening?

Task Listening

You have an above average task listening score for an undergraduate. Task-oriented listening is most concerned with efficiency and accomplishing the job at hand. It’s most appropriate when the focus is on taking care of business, but the downside is that is can alienate others when it seems to ignore their feelings or perspectives. How confident are you that you know when to employ task-oriented listening?

Critical Listening

You have a below average critical listening score for an undergraduate. Critical listening evaluate message for quality, accuracy, and consistency. This style is great for investigating problems but be careful trying it out as others can be frustrated if it seems like the listener is finding fault with minor details.

Critical Listening

You have an above average critical listening score for an undergraduate. Critical listening evaluate message for quality, accuracy, and consistency. This style is great for investigating problems but be careful how you use it as others can be frustrated if it seems like the listener is finding fault with minor details.

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