Reacting To Verbal And Nonverbal Messages

On average, listening is described as the process of receiving, deciphering, interpreting and reacting to verbal and nonverbal messages. Whereas hearing is a psychological process, listening is a complex concept which is made up of affective behavioral and cognitive course of actions. In particular, affective courses are elements that stimulate a person into speaking while behavioral processes are affiliated to reacting with through oral and nonverbal response and cognitive processes describes the ability to understand and interpret what is spoken. As such, the behavior, cognitive and affective factors are some of the major factors that affect the listening capabilities or motives of an idea person. Typically, there are four major listening approaches, which are affected by the situation and the primary objective of interaction. These styles include content-oriented, time-oriented, people oriented and action-oriented.
Subsequently, listening requires a person to process information, which can either take active or passive approaches. Passive listening occurs in an unconscious state, where a person listens without paying much interest or when performing other tasks. Active listening, on the other hand, involves the full conscious of a person, ensuring that they keenly understand, decode and react to the message being conveyed. Steps involved in listening include attending, comprehending, remembering, assessing and responding to the information being processed.
Evidently, people react when actively or passively listening to a given message.

More often than not, these listening response strategies are broadly classified as nonverbal and verbal feedback indications. Irrespective of whether verbal or nonverbal comments, responses are aimed at achieving different goals. For instance, responses are relayed to give emotional support, formal constructive speech appraisal and constructive criticism. The objective of these goals is often to enhance or improve the methods used in the delivery of the messages received. These strategies also promote the continuity of the message.
Listening Skills Application
Listening skills are paramount in life. They outline or influence how a person responds to information processing and the image portrayed to other people. In fact, it stipulates how a person relates to others. As such, having excellent listening skills promotes the social life of a person. It also increases the ability to understand and interpret different messages, allowing a person to react accordingly. The skills learned from the listening chapter can be applied in various ways in life. First, understanding the concept of listening enables a person to develop some degree of alertness when attending to essential functions or even lessons.
Moreover, this knowledge enables one to understand the importance of paying keen attention to the speaker, speech or the message so as to remember major concepts being relayed. Precisely, it guides the person on how to retain key points of the message being delivered. This is achieved through understanding, remembering, evaluating and making appropriate responses. Subsequently, making appropriate responses to the message conveyed is vital as it enhances the ability of the person delivering the information improve their communication skills. By supporting a person emotionally, it boosts their confidence and concentration when communicating.
Lastly, constructive criticism and formal constructive speech critique play a central role in developing the skills of communicating. It also promotes the construction and integrations of various signs to reinforce various points. By understanding the concept of listening, it enables a person to remove distracters and increase the ability of understanding and remembering the main message point being communicated.