Listen to this!

Recently in Comm class we had a discussion open up about Listening. Can you remember a time when you listened poorly? How could you have listened better?

There's no way I'm the only one, but I can't remember every conversation I've ever had. Of the bad ones, I'm sure my brain has been like "nope, we're gonna throw that one out of the memory bank... that was pretty embarrassing." Of the good ones, I can't remember the exact words that were used but definitely the outcome (getting a job after the interview, or winning a scholarship.)

So how do you remember a time when you listened badly? Immediately the first thing that pops to mind is when you break up with someone, or perhaps when you got in a fight with your roommate. But those could have been caused by actions, not poor listening. But then again, couldn't poor listening explain a bad action? For example, maybe you were talking to your roommate about a problem he's been having with his girlfriend, and being a dude you suggested advice (action-oriented) when he was expecting empathy (people-oriented.)

Roommate: "Dude, my girlfriend got mad at me for asking the chick librarian for help today"

You: "Well maybe you shouldn't be so stupid and not need help from the librarian"

The above "example" would probably result in a swift smack from your roommate. 

Even writing out this post right now, I'm having an extremely hard time trying to figure out a time where I listened badly, or what type of listening style I used. I supposed listening badly doesn't have to have a bad reaction or a bad outcome, it could just be a misunderstanding. Maybe you didn't write your blog bio correctly the first time. So here's a scenario for you: I completely misunderstood Mr. Bryce's outlines for our blog bio. It was supposed to be professional and concise, instead I went to gonzo humour with too many superlatives and adjectives. Luckily, Mr. Bryce is an exceptionally considerate grader and let me redo it with no penalty. To summarise, I was most likely pseudo-listening in class when he was going over the assignment guidelines (I was looking at camera sales on the computer in the lab.) A more appropriate style would've been comprehensive listening; the style you use when communicating with instructors and learning basic skills.

It won't happen again Mr.Bryce!