The listener to whom I would feel confident to relay my thoughts and feelings should first of all refrain from engaging in any other activity besides listening. When a person listens to other individuals while performing some task he or she may be distracted from the speaker which results in reduced understanding and the lack of constructive feedback. In addition, the listener needs to sit with his body and face turned towards me.
The reason is that I subjectively feel distractedness or lack of desire to listen if a person sits half-turned. The listener I would appreciate should also wait before I finish my speech or at least come to a certain logical pause to ask a question or insert a quick remark. Yet, I understand that I may occasionally lack eloquence and cohesion in conveying thoughts, so a clarification question might indeed be appropriate. I would perceive that also as a good listening trait that demonstrates that an individual is attentive to detail and is interested in apprehending the information I deliver.
On the other hand, Wood (2015) suggests that the organization of communication and selective listening is a core part of becoming a mindful listener. This might indicate that if a person chooses to grant me only half his or her attention, I might have selected the wrong time to approach them with my speech. Wood (2015) also notes, that responding correlates with being a good listener as well. This means that asking appropriate questions at the right time could indeed be a verbal indicator of the other person’s interest. Thus, my image of an ideal listener to some extent corresponds to the scholarly theories of speech reception.
Work Cited
Wood, Julia T. Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters. 8 ed., Cengage Learning, 2015.