Listening is one of the first things we learn to do and one of the things we

Listening is one of the first things we learn to do and one of the things we do most. The average person spends 9 percent of their daily communication time writing, 16 percent reading, 30 percent speaking, and a whopping 45 percent listening. Students spend most of their school time listening— up to 60 percent, according to some studies. Yet despite its importance, we usually take our ability to listen for granted. As we have already said, though, listening isn’t easy.
    The fact is, we have different listening styles for different occasions. How successful we are as listeners may depend in part on choosing the right listening style for the situation.
    Perhaps the most basic listening style is appreciative listening. We listen appreciatively when we enjoy music, a bird’s song, or the murmur of a brook. We need a different style, one called discriminative listening, when we want to single out one particular sound from a noisy environment. You discriminate, for example, when you listen for a friend’s voice in a crowded room. We use a third style of listening, comprehensive listening, when we want to understand. When we listen to directions or instructions, we are using this style.
    The fourth learning style is more complex. Therapeutic listening, the style practiced by counselors, psychiatrists, and good friends, encourages people to talk freely without fear of embarrassment. Friends act as our sounding boards when we just want someone to listen. The therapeutic listener in conversation with a troubled friend accepts what is said, tries hard to understand, and above all, makes no judgment.
    The fifth style, critical listening, is the one we will examine most closely. Critical listeners are the most active of all listeners because they are working hard to decide whether what someone else says makes sense. Critical listeners evaluate what they hear and decide if another person’s message is logical, worthwhile or has value. We need to be critical listeners when someone wants us to buy some things, vote a certain way, or support a particular idea. We also need to be critical listeners in school, where listening and thinking are almost synonymous.