The questions below correspond to each of the six listening components in HURIER: Hearing, Understanding, Remembering, Interpreting, Evaluating, and Responding.
Before answering the questions, first guess which of the six you will do best at. In which area will you likely score lowest?
Now, respond to the following prompts gauging your listening behavior on a five-point scale (1= almost never, 2=infrequently, 3= sometimes, 4= often, 5= almost always).
____ 1. I am constantly aware that people and circumstances change over time.
____ 2. I take into account the speaker’s personal and cultural perspective when listening to him or her.
____ 3. I pay attention to the important things going on around me.
____ 4. I accurately hear what is said to me.
____ 5. I understand the speaker’s vocabulary and recognize that my understanding of a work is likely to be somewhat different from the speaker’s.
____ 6. I adapt my response according to the needs of the particular situation.
____ 7. I weigh all evidence before making a decision.
____ 8. I take time to analyze the validity of my partner’s reasoning before arriving at my own conclusion.
____ 9. I can recall what I have heard, even when in stressful situations.
____ 10. I enter communication situations with a positive attitude.
____ 11. I ask relevant questions and restate my perceptions to make sure I have understood the speaker correctly.
____ 12. I provide clear and direct feedback to others.
____ 13. I do not let my emotions interfere with my listening or decision-making.
____ 14. I remember how the speaker’s facial expressions, body posture, and other nonverbal behaviors relate to the verbal message.
____ 15. I overcome distractions such as the conversation of others, background noises, and telephones, when someone is speaking.
____ 16. I distinguish between main ideas and supporting evidence when I listen.
____ 17. I am sensitive to the speaker’s tone in communication situations.
____ 18. I listen to and accurately remember what is said, even when I strongly disagree with the speaker’s viewpoint.
Add your scores for 4 + 10 + 15. This is your hearing total.
Add your scores for 5 + 11 + 16. This is your understanding total.
Add your scores for 1 + 7 + 8. This is your evaluating total.
Add your scores for 3 + 9 + 18. This is your remembering total.
Add your scores for 2 + 14 + 17. This is your interpreting total.
Add your scores for 6 + 12 + 13. This is your responding total.
In which skill area do you score highest? Which is your lowest? How would these listening behaviors affect your interactions with peers, parents, instructors, or professional co-workers?
Source: Adapted from J. Brownell, (1996), Listening: Attitudes, Principles and Skills, pp. 29 – 31, Boston: Allyn & Bacon.