Question

What is “active listening”?

What strategies can we use to listen actively? Responses should include five techniques.
What are the three different types of public speech?
What makes a good informative speech?
How did Mel Gibson’s character in Braveheart achieve such a powerful motivational effect in just a few sentences?
Critical Thinking Questions
What do you think causes listeners to “zone out” during a speech? Explain your answer using at least three examples.
Why can it be distracting to look around a room instead of directly at a speaker during a speech? Explain your answer.
Do you think it’s helpful to create mental pictures while listening to a speech? Explain your answer.
Do you think all speeches contain a persuasive element? Explain your answer.
Do you think the structure of a speech is important? If so, why?

Answer 1

1. What is “active listening”?

A. Active listening is the act of listening attentively to the speaker. The speaker observes the body language of the speaker and interprets the message being delivered by him. This allows a more productive outcome from the listeners along with a more accurate understanding of the content being delivered.

2. What strategies can we use to listen actively? Responses should include five techniques.

A. Following are the five strategies that can be used to listen actively;

1. Pay Attention: Listen to the speaker attentively making sure that you are giving your complete attention.
2. Show That You're Listening: Make sure that you let the speaker know you are listening through eye contact and participation.
3. Provide Feedback: Once the speaker is done, provide feedback and your point of view on the speech being made.
4. Defer Judgment: Do not interfere while the speaker is speaking. let them finish to make judgments about the content.
5. Respond Appropriately: Respond respectively without a judgmental tone. Keep the discussion strictly professional.

3. What are the three different types of public speech?

A. Following are three types of speeches;

1. Speaking to Inform: It consist of speech forms such as informative and argumentative speeches.
2. Speaking to Persuade: This type is used to deliver persuasive, argumentative, controversial and policy speeches.
3. Speaking to Entertain: Usually stand up comedies come into this category when you make a speech to make people laugh.

4. What makes a good informative speech?

A. A good informative speech should not be saturated with extensive information which becomes hard to absorb by the listeners. It should be kept light and interesting, which would grab the attention of the listeners and keep them glued till the end, making sure people leave learning something from it.

5. How did Mel Gibson’s character in Braveheart achieve such a powerful motivational effect in just a few sentences?

A. Mel Gibson's character used the persuasive technique. He made sure what he spoke was full of confidence and pride. His words felt like they meant something due to the way he delivered the speech. His speech consisted of emotions that touched the hearts of the people.

6. What do you think causes listeners to “zone out” during a speech? Explain your answer using at least three examples.

A. People zone out because they tend to loose interest in the discussion taking place. They might be physically present but their minds are thinking about something else. For example;

1. While watching a t.v show, you might be watching it but your mind is somewhere else.
2. Another example would be a student in class. He is not interested in the lecture therefore he zones out in another world.
3. Listening to a speech. Once you loose interest, you are no longer mentally present.

7. Why can it be distracting to look around a room instead of directly at a speaker during a speech? Explain your answer.

A. Looking around the room instead of actively listening to the speaker can be distracting. You might start to wonder about the elements of the room, or other people in the room which takes away your attention from the speaker. By the end of it, you wouldn't have learned anything because you were too busy analyzing the room.

8. Do you think it’s helpful to create mental pictures while listening to a speech? Explain your answer.

A. Yes. It is helpful to creative a mental imagery while listening to a speech. It helps you to engage in the content being delivered and enhance the level of understanding. It provides both visual and audio experience and the learning becomes more effective and long lasting.

9. Do you think all speeches contain a persuasive element? Explain your answer.

A. No. All speeches do not contain a persuasive element. There are different kinds of speeches, each with a different purpose. Some speeches are just to impart knowledge while others are for entertainment purposes. Similarly some occasions require persuasive speeches and only then such type is used.

10. Do you think the structure of a speech is important? If so, why?

A. Yes. The structure of speech is important so that the listeners can keeps track and are not confused as to what is being said. A speech must have an introduction of the topic and what is to come, a detailed body consisting of all the knowledge and then a conclusion that should summarize everything for the listeners and also help them recall what they heard.