Robert Bostrom's seminal contributions to listening theory and research represent an impressive legacy and provide listening scholars with important perspectives on the complexities of listening cognition and behavior. Bostrom's work provides a solid foundation on which to build models that more realistically explain how listeners function…

Robert Bostrom has not only left a listening legacy, but he was also a pioneer in the larger discipline of communication. Bostrom was one of the first scholars to focus on the dynamics of interpersonal contexts, thereby directly contributing to the transition of our field from "speech" to "communication." Early on he recognized the importance of…

Many people influence us throughout our lives, and sometimes we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to reflect upon the influence. Often, this is more challenging than it sounds, as some people become a part of our DNA, inextricably linked to who we are, what we believe, and how we work. Such is the case of the influence of Robert (Bob)…

Generally speaking, Generation N students are known to enjoy working in groups yet they often do not communicate effectively when measured by traditional expectations. This activity calls into question the impact that our daily nonvocal digital communicating has on our ability to empathetically listen.

This sequenced activity encourages active engagement with the idea that listening and speaking are not inherently separate or one-way activities. Listening involves both verbal, and nonverbal responses and perceptions of effective listening are tied to these patterns of response. These patterns of response impact both the immediate communication…

Research supports the point that listening skills play an important role in 21st century personal, academic, and professional success. This article argues that educators should include listening, a critical communication competency, in the oral communication course in the general education curriculum. (Contains 1 table.)

This article details the use of field recorders as part of a soundwalk intended to make listening itself an object of scrutiny. A soundwalk is an outing wherein one concentrates on listening to certain aspects of the soundscape, just as one might take a guided tour to admire the landscape. However, as scholars of sound and listening are well…

This simple exercise, performed in teams, gives students practice in listening to instructions, particularly when there are restrictions for the communication. The teams compete in a limited amount of time to build a Lego[TM] structure based on the instructions of one team member. Which team listens the best and is most successful?

This classroom activity allows students to observe how a troubled friend reacts to seven listening responses that are unhelpful in therapeutic contexts (interrupting, unrelated comments, focusing on self, discounting, blaming, evaluating, and giving advice). Students also have the opportunity to experience how probing, feeling responses, and…

This article proposes the use of a one-page listening inventory sheet that helps students explore five dimensions of listening competency: cognitive, affective, behavioral, contextual, and ethical. After crafting their own responses, students will have the opportunity to engage in a class discussion about the impact of various dimensions of…

This exercise is designed to illustrate how challenging it is to listen. Although listening is an activity that people use more than speaking, reading, or writing, it is typically not afforded the same level of instruction and focus (Adler & Rodman, 2011). In addition, humans are subject to such continual and diverse stimuli; most do not even…

Hearing levels are threatened by modern life--headsets for music, rock concerts, traffic noises, etc. It is crucial we know our hearing levels so that we can draw attention to potential problems. This exercise requires that students receive a hearing screening for their benefit as well as for making the connection of hearing to listening.

In ordinary life we are constantly imbued by listening, and we seem to interact in different contextual dimensions of culture and society (Adelmann, 2002; Linell, 1998), both verbally and nonverbally. "Life by its very nature is dialogic. To live means to participate in dialogue," according to the Russian scholar Mikhail M. Bakhtin (1984, p.…

The Listening Circle is a learning activity that is designed to provide students with the opportunity to connect listening knowledge with observed behaviors and to strengthen student peer feedback. Not knowing how to give feedback can result in messages that are confusing, tactless, and counter-productive. Many feedback messages leave the receiver…

"Listening" is a multidimensional construct that consists of complex (a) cognitive processes, such as attending to, understanding, receiving, and interpreting messages; (b) affective processes, such as being motivated and stimulated to attend to another person's messages; and (c) behavioral processes, such as responding with verbal and nonverbal…