The ability to listen is primarily one of the indicators of communicative competence, that is, a set of personality qualities, skills, and abilities that ensure an effective communication process. However, people tend to pay more attention to what interests them rather than what is important (Gamble, T. K. & Gamble, M. W., 2017). Consequently, a conversation about college life with parents and students will contain different topics in order to maintain interest in a certain social group.
The difference in the mentalities of generations leads to a logical opposition of opinions and emotional reactions to the same statements. Every listening stage is influenced by emotional and intellectual biases, which can prevent people from impartially perceiving the speaker’s message (Gamble, T. K. & Gamble, M. W., 2017). Along with the difference in cultures, lifestyles, and backgrounds, this aspect can also be influenced by age characteristics. Therefore, choosing words to use and topics to mention when conducting a conversation with college students will be different from what could be used in a conversation with parents.
Modern socio-economic development conditions require students to have a high level of listening skills since it is closely related to responsibility for the quality of educational work and, ultimately, for the quality of professional training. The formed ability to listen critically acts as a kind of indicator of the humanitarian culture of students in the educational process. It can be difficult to adapt to a professional environment without developed communication skills and the ability to listen. However, during a speech, the speaker should not rely on a high level of listening skills. Adapting speech to a specific social group, whether it is cultural and ethnic minorities, various age or gender representatives, will significantly increase the message’s effectiveness.
Reference
Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2017). The public speaking playbook (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.