6.4: Listening Styles

Attitudes and Beliefs about Listening

Now that we have a better understanding of the importance of listening, the stages, and functions, let’s learn about four different listening styles. Just as there are different types of listening, depending upon the context of the situation, there are also different styles of listening. More often than not, we as competent communicators will adjust and switch our styles of listening depending upon the context of the situation. First, we need to define what a listening style is before we define the different types. A listening style is “a set of attitudes and beliefs about listening” (Floyd, 1985, p. 136). Researchers Kittie Watson, Larry Barker, and James Weaver III (1995) identified four distinct listening styles: people-oriented, action-oriented, content-oriented, and time-oriented. You might have a dominant style that can be seen on multiple occasions, but you can adjust to the situation. Tables \(\PageIndex{1–4}\ break down the four types of listening styles, list some of the common positive and negative characteristics, and provide strategies for communicating with different listening styles. (These tables are used with permission from their author, Kina Mallard, 1999.)

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): GPS Train the Trainer on Flickr is licensed CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0

People-Oriented

If you are a people-oriented listener you tune in to people’s emotions, feelings, and moods (Bodie & Worthington, 70). You relate more to relationship building when listening to someone communicate with you, often being considered the type of person who will “lend an ear.” You try to find common interests with the other person and listen to others without judgment. As a people-oriented listener, you allow emotional space for people to express themselves, which is particularly valuable in interpersonal relationships.

For example, if your significant other comes home in a bad mood, venting to you about their challenging workday and lack of sleep, you might respond with “I’m so sorry you had a bad day. I can see how frustrating that situation is for you. I know when I haven’t had enough sleep, everything seems ten times as frustrating, too. Tell me more about what’s going on. How are you feeling?” This is an empathetic response, typical of a people-oriented listener, that demonstrates compassion and understanding without judgment.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Understanding the Four Listening Styles—People-Oriented Listeners

Positive Characteristics of People-Oriented Listeners	Negative Characteristics of People-Oriented Listeners	Strategies for Communicating with People-Oriented Listeners
Show care and concern for others	Overly involved in feelings of others	Use stories and illustrations to make points
Are nonjudgmental	Avoid seeing faults in others	Use “we” rather than “I” in conversations
Provide clear verbal and nonverbal feedback signals	Internalize/adopt emotional states of others	Use emotional examples and appeals
Are interested in building relationships	Are overly expressive when giving feedback	Show some vulnerability when possible
Notice others’ moods quickly	Are nondiscriminating in building relationships	Use self-effacing humor or illustrations

Action-Oriented

This type of listener values clear, organized, and error-free messages. Typically, action-oriented listeners are listening as though they are organizing their “action” list to make things happen, like a builder or engineer. If you are an action-oriented listener watching a presentation, you will most likely notice errors and inconsistencies throughout the presentation. In fact, an action-oriented listening style is common when receiving instruction (i.e., What are the directions? What do I need to do next? When’s my next deadline? etc.). However, with interpersonal relationships, an action-oriented listener is likely thinking “What can I do about this?” and not necessarily connecting with the other person’s emotions. This style contrasts that of a people-oriented listener. It can be highly beneficial in task-oriented situations, such as the workplace, but has different effects on interpersonal relationships.

For example, Tanika exemplifies action-oriented listening. She likes it when her assistant presents her daily activities in a clear, easy to follow, and straightforward manner. If they are delivered any other way that is not purposeful, such as with embellishments or superfluous information, Tanika gets frustrated. At home, when Tanika’s girlfriend wants to discuss a recent conflict about household responsibilities between them, instead of saying “I’m sorry you feel that way,” Tanika often responds with action, saying “OK, I will start doing the dishes three times a week.” She is looking for the solution with action as opposed to connecting to her partner through an emotional exchange. Her response, however, is still beneficial to the relationship; it is simply less empathetic than that of a people-oriented listener.

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\): Understanding the Four Listening Styles—Action-Oriented Listeners

Positive Characteristics of Action-Oriented Listeners	Negative Characteristics of Action-Oriented Listeners	Strategies for Communicating with Action-Oriented Listeners
Get to the point quickly	Tend to be impatient with rambling speakers	Keep main points to three or fewer
Give clear feedback concerning expectations	Jump ahead and reach conclusions quickly	Keep presentations short and concise
Concentrate on understanding task	Jump ahead or finishes thoughts of speakers	Have a step-by-step plan and label each step
Help others focus on what’s important	Minimize relationship issues and concerns	Watch for cues of disinterest and pick up vocal pace at those points or change subjects
Encourage others to be organized and concise	Ask blunt questions and appear overly critical	Speak at a rapid but controlled rate

Content-Oriented

Individuals who favor technical, complex or challenging information tend toward this style of listening. Content-oriented listeners prefer to hear all of the information being presented before forming any sort of judgment. A content-oriented listener is constantly evaluating and analyzing the information received. Common professions for the content-oriented listener are politicians, judges, and academics, particularly those in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. As an example, you are likely a content-oriented listener if you enjoy hearing presidential debates to evaluate your political views. In interpersonal relationships, a content-oriented listener will want to “hear out” the other person, ask for elaboration, details, and clarifications in an objective manner, and may challenge the other person’s thinking with the “other side of the argument.” Content-oriented listeners likely need time to process information before making decisions or committing to any sort of action.

For example, when Arturo and his brother discuss making plans for a vacation to Mexico, Arturo asks about all of the possible venues to stay, costs of food and travel, and events happening. He wants to read reviews on all of the different options, and he needs time to evaluate the pros and cons before committing to a plan with his brother. Arturo is not spontaneous, as he wants to make the best possible choices using all of the information he can get his hands on. If his brother says, “This venue I’m looking at has a 4-star review. Let’s go there.” Arturo will counter with, “Okay, but what do the 1, 2, and 3-star reviewers have to say? How many reviews has it had? It’s not reliable unless there are at least 100. Plus, who knows how many of those are paid reviews. We need to read them to be sure.” In other words, content-oriented listeners like Arturo have an analytical nature.

Table \(\PageIndex{3}\): Understanding the Four Listening Styles—Content-Oriented Listeners

Positive Characteristics of Content-Oriented Listeners	Negative Characteristics of Content-Oriented Listeners	Strategies for Communicating with Content-Oriented Listeners
Value technical information	Are overly detail oriented	Use two-sided arguments when possible
Test for clarity and understanding	May intimidate others by asking pointed questions	Provide hard data when available
Encourage others to provide support for their ideas	Minimize the value of nontechnical information	Quote credible experts
Welcome complex and challenging information	Discount information from nonexperts	Suggest logical sequences and plan
Look at all sides of an issue	Take a long time to make decisions	Use charts and graphs

Time-Oriented

If you are efficient with your use of time, then you are likely a time-oriented listener. When you are communicating with someone, you want the person to get to the point of their story quickly while you are checking the clock to be sure to make your next appointment on time or get going on your next task. If you are a time-oriented listener, you might even avoid eye contact, or interrupt to move the conversation along and end it promptly. As a result, this type of listener can appear insensitive or uncaring toward others. A prime example of a time-oriented listener is an emergency room doctor who wants you to get to the point of the matter quickly so they can do a proper diagnosis before moving on to the next patient. They are bound to serve patients in rapid succession due to the time-sensitive climate of an emergency room. To some, this approach may come off as uncaring, although that is not necessarily how the doctor feels.

In an interpersonal relationship between close friends, an exchange with a time-oriented listener might look something like this:

Friend 1: "Hey, good to see you. How was your day?"

Friend 2: "It was great. How was yours?"

Friend 1: "Oh, you won’t believe what happened with Celia today! I had to review the meeting notes with her, and she started to…"

Friend 2: (Interrupts Friend 1 while checking the time) "Actually, tell me about it over dinner, so we’re not late for our reservation. We need to be there before five o'clock."

Although the interruption may be perceived as insensitive, the time-oriented listener (Friend 2) is communicating that they are not ready to fully listen until their perceived time constraints have been met. People often confuse time-oriented with action-oriented listeners, but the action-oriented listener does not mind taking time on a matter if it is focused on action-oriented solutions, whereas the time-oriented listener’s predominant focus is meeting time constraints efficiently.

Table \(\PageIndex{4}\): Understanding the Four Listening Styles—Time-Oriented Listeners

Positive Characteristics of Time-Oriented Listeners	Negative Characteristics of Time-Oriented Listeners	Strategies for Communicating with Time-Oriented Listeners
Manage and save time	Tend to be impatient with time wasters	Ask how much time the person has to listen
Set time guidelines for meeting and conversations	Interrupt others	Try to go under time limits when possible
Let others know listening-time requirements	Let time affect their ability to concentrate	Be ready to cut out unnecessary examples and information
Discourage wordy speakers	Rush speakers by frequently looking at watches/clock	Be sensitive to nonverbal cues indicating impatience or a desire to leave
Give cues to others when time is being wasted	Limit creativity in others by imposing time pressures	Get to the bottom line quickly

Combining Styles

People tend to have one dominant listening style; however, most research indicates that people will use at least two different listening styles. That being said, people are not typically comfortable using all four styles. For example, a person who is predominantly a content-oriented listener but also people-oriented would want to hear everything out and take time to analyze the details while acknowledging other people’s feelings or challenges with empathetic language. That same person is likely not comfortable as an action-oriented or time-oriented listener. Likewise, an action-oriented listener who also has time-oriented tendencies will usually shy away from people-oriented or content-oriented listening styles. Different combinations of listening styles can exist within each person. Once you identify your listening style(s), you can create awareness around how and why you listen the way you do and work to make adjustments where necessary to improve your listening skills.

Gender Spotlight

There has been much debate over the impact of gender on listening. Research from the 20th century has resulted in stereotypes that should be re-examined. The initial research into what was called “masculine” or “feminine” speech focused on the speech communities in which we are raised. Research suggested that masculine communicators engage in “report” talk, whereas feminine communicators engage in “rapport” talk (Tannen, 1986, 2013). Those who engage in report talk are said to be concerned with the exchange of information and getting things accomplished. Those who engage in rapport talk are concerned with establishing connections and maintaining the relationship (Fixmer-Oraiz & Wood, 2019).

This area of research has also been explored from a scientific perspective. According to audiologist Beth McCormick (2018):

Research findings suggest that men do in fact listen differently than women. But are the identified differences straightforward, clear cut or even black and white? Actually they might be—gray and white that is. Our brains are composed of both gray matter and white matter.

A study between University of California, Irvine, and University of New Mexico researched differences and found that “The amount of gray matter was six times greater in the brains of the male research participants, while the women participating in the study had 10 times the amount of white matter the men did.” This finding supported the notion that men and women may “listen and assimilate information differently, [but] the difference does not appear to affect cognition or our ability to listen.”

What does all of this mean in terms of listening? People do have different styles of communication, and as a result, may engage in different listening styles, regardless of gender. We may prefer to engage in report talk when we are conversing with someone at work and may choose to engage in rapport talk when we are with our partners or friends. Although there are scientific differences from a biological perspective, one’s identified gender also impacts how they may listen. Having moved beyond binary views of gender, we know that our style of communication is as fluid as our gender.

Fundamentals of Public Speaking, Florida State College at Jacksonville and Mary Lee Cunill, PhD. CC BY 4.0.