How to Communicate
Alisha Will
ENGC 1101.01
03/05/2013
Unit Two Final Draft
In order to be an effective communicator, first you must be an effective listener. Everyday people throughout the world confuse hearing with listening. Listening is described as the process of making meaning out of another person’s spoken message whereas hearing is the physical process of perceiving sound according to Kory Floyd author of Interpersonal Communication. Jodi Brownell is a professor of organization communication and is an expert on listening. She has also created the HURIER model which describes the six steps of effective listening. Although each step plays an important role in the listening process they may be used interchangeably.
The first step in the HURIER model is hearing which has been described as the physical process of perceiving sound. (Floyd, 223) It is important to know that hearing is not the same as listening. A person can hear without listening however, they cannot listen without hearing. (Floyd, 223) It is also important to remember that hearing is not enough; you must understand what you are hearing to effectively listen.
In order to fully understand what is being conveyed to you through a message you need to be able to comprehend it. Let’s pretend that you are calling into your phone company’s customer service line. If the representative picks up and asks “how I may help” you with a strong accent you may not be able to understand it. To get over this hurdle it is the listener’s duty to ask questions and find a way to gain a base understanding.
Once you have found the base understanding of the context the next step in the HURIER model is remembering. Also known as “being able to store something in your memory and retrieve it when needed” (Floyd, 223). The information that is retained during the listening process is how we create meaning from the words that we hear. According to Management: A practical introduction written by Angelo Kinicki and Brian Williams most
ENGC 1101.01
03/05/2013
Unit Two Final Draft
In order to be an effective communicator, first you must be an effective listener. Everyday people throughout the world confuse hearing with listening. Listening is described as the process of making meaning out of another person’s spoken message whereas hearing is the physical process of perceiving sound according to Kory Floyd author of Interpersonal Communication. Jodi Brownell is a professor of organization communication and is an expert on listening. She has also created the HURIER model which describes the six steps of effective listening. Although each step plays an important role in the listening process they may be used interchangeably.
The first step in the HURIER model is hearing which has been described as the physical process of perceiving sound. (Floyd, 223) It is important to know that hearing is not the same as listening. A person can hear without listening however, they cannot listen without hearing. (Floyd, 223) It is also important to remember that hearing is not enough; you must understand what you are hearing to effectively listen.
In order to fully understand what is being conveyed to you through a message you need to be able to comprehend it. Let’s pretend that you are calling into your phone company’s customer service line. If the representative picks up and asks “how I may help” you with a strong accent you may not be able to understand it. To get over this hurdle it is the listener’s duty to ask questions and find a way to gain a base understanding.
Once you have found the base understanding of the context the next step in the HURIER model is remembering. Also known as “being able to store something in your memory and retrieve it when needed” (Floyd, 223). The information that is retained during the listening process is how we create meaning from the words that we hear. According to Management: A practical introduction written by Angelo Kinicki and Brian Williams most
Cited: PAGE Floyd, Kory. Interpersonal Communicatoins. 2ND ED. New York. The McGraw Hill Co. 2009. Print Knicki, Angelo, and Williams, Robert. Management: A practical introduction. 5th ed. USA.: The McGraw Hill Co. 2008. Print