Problem
Being OTHER-Oriented-Preferred Listening Styles
It is important to know your own preferred listening style, but it is also important to understand the listening style of your communication partner. How can you do this? Look for clues that help you identify your partner's listening style. Relational listeners want to hear stories and anecdotes about others. Analytical listeners will be interested in facts. Critical listeners will be more focused on errors, inconsistencies, and discrepancies when listening. Task-oriented listeners will be focused on verbs; they want to know what to do with the information they hear.
In this journal entry:
First, identify and then define the four styles of listening (according to your text). For each style, define it, and give an example.
Second, based on the definitions of each style, describe your listening style. This may be more than one style, and you may have a different style for different communication contexts. Describe if necessary.
Lastly, think of someone you communicate with on a daily basis. Identify this person, what is his or her preferred listening style? Does this person have more than one? What clues helped you make this identification?