Communications 4

Please type a 2-5 sentence response to each discussion prompt and a 2-5 sentence to each peer response on that discussion:
Prompt 1)The text mentions that we should try to minimize distractions when listening. What are your biggest distractions?
Peer Respose 1) My biggest distraction is my phone. I always find myself playing on my phone and not paying attention to the speaker. It is almost second nature to be on my phone that I don’t even think about what I SHOULD be doing. Another major distraction is my hair. I’m constantly picking split ends and running my fingers through my hair. It is hard to stay focused on someone who is speaking when I am concentrated on something else.
Peer Response 2)Most of my problems with listening when people are talking to me are that I think to myself while they are talking. I always find myself listening and then blocking the person out and thinking of something else. While in the middle of them talking I will interrupt and ask or start a new conversation. I will quickly apologize and ask them to keep talking. I know this is a habit I need to break because I feel it truly frustrates my friends.
Peer Response 3)My biggest distractions when listening would be the movement or people around me. If I see something going on in the background I am tempted to look at that. Or if someone just joins in the conversation that is a large distraction as well.
Discussion Prompt 2) Tell us about a person you know who has very poor listening skills. What do you find most frustrating about communicating with that person?
Peer Response 1) I work for my High School’s Technology Department. Sometimes when I am trying to explain a solution to a staff member for a problem they are having, there is one person who doesn’t seem to listen to what I am telling. (I think there are some staff members that don’t like having a student telling them what to do.) It seems like I go to the staff member’s room at least twice a week for the same issue. I keep on telling them the problem will continue until you use the solution that is provided. It’s frustrating because I tell this person the exact same thing every time they ask me why it isn’t working.
Peer Response 2) My older brother is a terrible listener in my life. We will have a conversation and then two minutes later he will totally forget what I had just said. Sometimes I feel like he is just blocking me out but there have been numerous times where I say “Hey do you remember when we were talking about…” and he will have no clue what I am talking about. He says he just forgets or that it never happened but he would not have just forgot he is just a bad listener.
Peer Response 3)I think of myself to be a very good listener, however I have met some people that irk me so badly by not listening to what I have to say and it can be very frustrating at times. Now, I love my boyfriend to death, but there are times where he is a terrible listener. He is really bad about not making eye contact but that is partly my fault too because I am not too fond of making eye contact with anyone no matter how close I am to them. He sometimes will not respond to what I have said to him and it is SO annoying when I feel like I am talking to a brick wall. Another thing he will do while I am in the middle of a sentence or in the middle of a story is he will interupt me with something that is irrelevant to the subject I was just talking about. I will then have to back up my story to remember where I was and they take forever for me to tell.

Overall, I do love talking to him and he is my best friend, but a lot of the time he’s only listening with one ear rather than two.

Please Provide a 3-6 sentence answer to each of the following questions
1. What is the difference between listening and hearing?

2. Analyze the role of listening in human communication. Discuss the benefits of listening that DeVito lists, providing examples from your daily life.

3. Compare and contrast empathic and objective listening. When have you found each of these listening styles useful and appropriate?

4. Discuss listening in relation to culture and gender. Relate your comments to practical experience in the US.