Ethical Listening
...A. Give the person the same courtesy and attention you would want from them when you are giving a speech 1. You and your classmate are in a learning situation in which you need to support one another, professional are trained to deal with inconsiderate or unresponsive audiences, but novices need encouraging, sympathetic listeners to help maintain their moral and confidence. B. Listen and learn from the speech C. Be conscious of the feedback you are sending to the speaker 1. Sit up straight in your chair. 2. Keep good eye contact with your speaker, so he knows you are paying attention. D. Show support and encouragement in facial expression 1. Keep in mind the power you have as a listener over the speaker’s confidence and composure, and exercise that power with a strong sense of ethnical responsibility. II. Avoid prejudging the speakers A. We have all heard that you can’t judge a book by its cover. The same is true of speeches. You can’t judge a speech by the name, race, lifestyle, appearance, or reputation of the speaker. 1. Jumping to conclusion is a major barrier to be an effective listener B. As the National Communication Association states in its Credo for Ethnical Communication, speakers should “strive to understand and respect” speakers “before evaluating and responding to their messages.” 1. Your aim is to listen carefully to the speaker’s ideas, and to assess the evidence and reasoning offered in support of those ideas, and to reach an intelligent judgment about the speech. C. If you prejudge a speaker-either positive or negatively-you will fail in one of your ethnical responsibilities as a listener III. Maintain the free and Open Expression of Ideas A. First Amendment allow for freedom of speech B. Allow for open debate C. There are speech that are not protected in the First amendment 1. This includes: destroying a person’s reputation, threa...