Topic outline

  • BADGE – Becoming a Digital Global Engineer


  • Objectives

    • After studying this unit you will be able to:

      1. understand the importance of listening well (actively);
      2. explain the connection between listening and speaking;
      3. identify listening barriers and learn how to counteract them;
      4. describe the stages of the listening process.

  • Discussion questions

      1. Do you think you are a good listener? What kind of strategies and techniques do you use to help you listen more attentively?
      2. Think of a time when you were distracted while listening to someone. Why did it happen? Think of a few reasons.
      3. As a speaker, what kinds of audience behavior do you find annoying or distracting?

  • Did you know?

    • 1. The process of communication consists of four basic elements:

      • the sender,
      • the message,
      • he receiver,
      • feedback from the receiver.
      The sender needs to choose appropriate language to be well understood; he/she also needs to be confident and present the facts in a way that is meaningful to the receivers. The message not only consists of ideas presented by means of words, but also gestures and facial expressions. The receiver can comprehend the ideas from the message if he has specific abilities, attitudes and experiences relating to the topic. And, last but not least, feedback provides the sender with reactions to the message he has sent.

    • 2. The stages of the listening process include:  

      1. receiving the message,
      2. understanding it
      3. remembering the message,
      4. evaluating it,
      5. responding to it.


      Unfortunately, we do not always understand what is said, and may only remember 50% of the speech right after hearing it. This falls to 25% on the following day, and we remember just 10% a week later. (jackmalcolm.com)

    • 3. The barriers to effective communication can be varied, but some of the obvious ones are:

      1. Overuse of abstract forms when communicating. Abstract forms are necessary and useful but can lead to misunderstandings.
      2. Confusion between the symbol and the thing symbolized (Words are only representations of ideas!)
      3. Lack of common experience (Do you share some core experiences with your audience?)

  • Reading

  • Activities

  • Further practice

  • Bibliography and references

      1. Atkinson, M., Lend Me Your Ears: All You Need to Know about Making Speeches and Presentations, Oxford, 2004.
      2. Benzeno G., Take Center Stage, Learning to Speak So People Listen, https://www.centerstage.lu/.
      3. DeVito, J.A., The Essential Elements of Public Speaking, Pearson, 2014.
      4. Kushner, M., Presentations for Dummies, Wiley, 2004.
      5. Malcolm, J., Memory, retrieved August 18, 2020 from http://www.jackmalcolm.com.
      6. Stanton, N., Mastering Communication, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
      7. Verderber, R., Verderber, K.S., Sellnow, D. D., The Challenge of Effective Speaking, 15th ed., Cengage Learning, 2011.

    • Intellectual Output