10.7: Summary

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Chapter Takeaways

Listening

Learning involves following a cycle of preparing, absorbing, recording, and reviewing.
The most important difference between high school learning and college learning is that colleges expect you to take full responsibility for your learning. Many of the support mechanisms you had in high school do not exist in college.
Listening takes place in two primary situations: where there can be open interaction with the speaker (social conversation, small group discussions, business meetings, and small classes) and where there is limited interaction with the speaker (lectures, online courses, and podcasts).
In situations where interaction is allowed, active listening principles work well.
In lecture situations, additional strategies are required. They include physical preparation, seating for listening, eliminating distractions, thinking critically about the material as it is presented, taking notes, and asking appropriate questions.
Prepare for listening by completing all assignments for the class and reviewing the syllabus. Ask yourself what you expect to gain from the class and how that ties in to the rest of the course material.
Think critically about what you are listening to. Do you agree with what the instructor is saying? How does it tie to the rest of the material in the course? What does this new material mean to you in “real” life?
Actively engaging in your college education is essential for success, including attending classes, participating, and communicating with your instructors.
Students benefit in several important ways when they participate in class and feel free to ask questions.
Successful participation in class and interaction with your instructor begin with fully preparing for class and working on communication skills.
Networking with instructors has additional benefits for your future and may lead to finding a helpful mentor.
Both impromptu speaking in class and more formal class presentations help develop key skills.
Learning to work well in a group is an element of college success.

Communication is one of the basic components of how we live our lives. It’s a foundation of society and civilization as a whole. And the better we become at navigating through all of our various communication options, the more fulfilled and productive we will become. You have the capability to communicate with myriad people and groups in faraway places, as well as just next door or the room down the hall. In all of those interactions, the sender and recipient of each message brings their own context, purpose, and perspective. Your communication will be much more effective if you think about those differences before sending and especially before responding to people.

Sometimes thinking so deeply about a simple conversation seems overwhelming and unnecessary, but keeping in mind the reasons you’re communicating and focusing on the words you use can lead to better relationships and outcomes. Listening, practicing empathy, and working on your cultural competence will enrich you and the people around you.

Chapter Activities

Chapter Review

List as many benefits of participating in class as you can think of.
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Consider the instructors in your current classes. Which instructor have you spoken with the least (in or outside of class)?
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Are you hesitant to speak up in this class—or to see the instructor outside of class? Why?

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When you have a question for this instructor about an assignment or reading, which form of communication would be most appropriate?

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List ways to be prepared if you have a question to ask in a large lecture class.
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Think ahead through to the end of your college experience. If you were to develop a mentoring relationship with one of your present instructors, what sorts of things might you talk about in the future with that instructor after the current class has ended?
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Review the six stages for preparing and giving a class presentation. Which stage(s) do you feel you personally need to pay special attention to next time you are assigned a presentation?
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What specifically can you plan to do to ensure your success in those stages in your next presentation?

Outside the Book

Choose your current class with the largest enrollment and decide to ask the instructor a question in the next class or during office hours. Prepare by carefully reviewing your class and reading notes and select a subject area that you do not feel confident you fully understand. Focus in on a specific topic and write down a question whose answer would help you better understand the topic. Go to class prepared to ask that question if it is relevant to the day’s discussion or lecture; if it is not relevant, visit your instructor during office hours and ask the question. If this is your first time talking with this instructor, remember to introduce yourself and explain your interest in the topic as you ask the question. Remember that your second goal is to begin establishing a relationship with this instructor.

Make an Action List

Attending Class

I sometimes don’t go to class because

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I’ll keep myself motivated to go to every class by

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Participating in Class

I tend to participate most in this class:

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I need to make an effort to participate more in this class:

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I need to participate more because

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I will take the following steps to be ready to ask a question:

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Attending Lecture Classes

I tend to do these nonproductive things if I feel bored in a lecture:

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I will work on staying more actively engaged in lectures in these ways:

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Talking with Instructors Outside of Class

I have not yet spoken to this instructor outside of class:

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Within the next two weeks, I will stop by during office hours to talk about the following:

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This instructor’s office hours are

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Using E-mail

The following are my worst e-mail habits:

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The following current instructors prefer student questions through e-mail:

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I will follow these professional e-mail practices:

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Speaking Publicly

I am nervous about giving class presentations because

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I realize that the best way to overcome my anxiety about public speaking and succeed in class presentations is to

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Career Connection

Check the methods of communication you would most likely use for each of the following. Then write an explanation for why you have chosen the various forms of communication and how your choice had a link to the purpose of communicating with these different people.

Career Connection
	Face-to-Face	Email	Letter	Phone	Facebook	Instagram	Snapchat
Parent
Peer
Sibling
Boss
Doctor
Professor
Waitress
Office assistant
Significant other

Take a close look at how you filled out the above chart. Do you find that there were definitely different purposes to how and why you used email instead of the phone, or Snapchat instead of a letter? It is good for you to reflect on your communication choices so that they are always most effective.

Look at the forms of communication you chose for “boss.” Perhaps you chose face-to-face and email as the two forms of communication you would use with your boss. Think through how those might have had an effect on the success of your communication with them. Now select two other forms of communication. Would you have been able to get the same response from your boss?

Rethinking

Revisit the questions you answered at the beginning of the chapter, and consider one option you learned in this chapter that might change your answer to one of them.

I think my mobile device is effective and appropriate for most communication.
I have a good sense of how to communicate in different environments/situations.
I listen more than I talk.
I have a lot of experience with research projects and essays.

Where do you go from here?

Staying aware of how and when you communicate is important to every aspect of your life. As you learned throughout this chapter, there are many variables that come into play when you communicate. Most of the time none of us really think about all of these before we send out some kind of communication. Perhaps you would like to learn a little more about how to be mindful of your methods of communication. It will serve you well throughout your life.

Choose a topic that interests you from the list below. Then search for sources that inform this topic and create an annotated bibliography that would be useful to someone who is interested in doing further research.

Communication using social media can be detrimental to mental health.
It is imperative that you pay attention to cultural norms when trying to communicate with others.
Listening is important to successful communication, and there are steps that can be taken to hone listening skills.
Men and women are said to communicate differently.

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Chapter Review

Outside the Book

Make an Action List