Unit 2: Listening critically

When you listen passively, you get the meaning of the speech and are sometimes even able to repeat the gist of it. However, good listening is listening actively. It means that you are “involved in the process of determining meaning” (Verderber, 2011). You repeat to yourself what you heard, you question what was said, and you may paraphrase or take notes while listening. (Verderber, 2011). This will help you to evaluate the speech later on, and take action based on it.

All the effort we put into listening better will not bear fruit, if we listen to bad speakers. Hence, we need to become better speakers ourselves, taking into account the hard work that the audience has to put in. So, when we prepare for public speaking, it is best to remember what Guy Benzeno said, “Keep in mind the audience is a passive listener: it’s not up to them to listen better”. (https://www.centerstage.lu/ ).