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Listening Audience

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Submitted By ssapp94
Words 1141
Pages 5
Shawna Sapp Sapp 1
Listening Audience Essay
2/4/14
SPC2017
Ms. Sullivan

Throughout my career, I have attended many meetings and functions, each having different topics or atmospheres. Generally, I focus on the speakers or material, more than what the listening audience does. My experiences with these types of events were peaceful and without conflict. I had never thought watching people listen would give me any information on anything. However, I recently attended a meeting I was looking forward to watching the audience. I recently began working for a new agency, an agency that has many conflicts between management and employees; there have even been grievances filed. It is because of this I chose to observe the listening audience of a meeting we held in our Jacksonville office on December 31, 2013. This meeting had me interested in the audience due to the variety of speakers we had, from management to Union representatives and because we were addressing resolution of issues. As I began reading the Human Communication textbook, I was able to relate what I was reading in chapter 4 to what I had seen. Often, the importance of listening is taken for granted; we hear things throughout the day without even noticing. We listen to friends, family, and nature; whatever it may, be we hear it without thinking about it. This is such an unconscious occurrence we sometimes forget how important it is not to just hear but really listen. To appreciate the importance of listening one must consider the benefits, they are numerous and never ending. From an early age, we learn by listening and we continue to learn this way throughout our lives. Listening also helps us relate, Sapp 2 this is the easiest way to get to know someone. Being able to relate to someone is very a very important factor when it comes to properly receiving ones message. Another

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