Appreciative listening is a type of listening behavior where the listener seeks certain information which they will appreciate, and meet his/her needs and goals. One uses appreciative listening when listening to
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
or the stirring words of a speech.
[{{cite book, title=A Team Approach to Behaviour Management , page=43 , first1=Chris , last1=Derrington , first2=Barry , last2=Groom , publisher=Paul Chapman Publishing , year=2004 , url=http://childhealthanddevelopment.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/different-types-of-listening.pdf]
It involves listening to music that one enjoys, people the listener likes to listen to because of their style and the choices the listener make in the films and television he/she watches, radio programmes and plays and musicals in the theatre. Unlike
informative listening or
relationship listening, appreciative listening does not rely on the message from the speaker it is how one responds as a listener. Our appreciation of what we hear will vary depending on our individual tastes, but will also be affected by three different factors:
Presentation
There are many different factors that encompass
presentation
A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...
including the medium, the setting and the style and personality of a presenter. Of course this works both ways and equally you will have been entranced by others because of the force of their personality and their delivery style.
The environment can also impact your appreciation of the presentation. Seating, temperature, clarity and volume of sound will all impact on whether it’s a good or poor experience.
Perception
Perception is an important factor in appreciative listening. As one is exposed to different experiences his/her perceptions can change. For example: individual's taste in music. We need to listen to various
types of music to have a preference over other types and appreciate them. An individual's expectations also affects our perception.
An individual's perception and expectations are driven by his/her attitudes which determine how he/she reacts to and interact to the world in which he/she lives.
Previous experience
Some of our perceptions are clearly influenced by our previous experience and impact on whether or not we enjoy listening to something, or whether we are even willing to listen. Whether our memories evoke pleasant or unpleasant reminders will affect our appreciation. However, it’s important to remain open to new experiences. We can develop our appreciative listening skills.
See also
*
Dialogic listening
*
Informative listening
*
Active listening
Active listening is the practice of preparing to listen, observing what verbal and non-verbal messages are being sent, and then providing appropriate feedback for the sake of showing attentiveness to the message being presented. This form of liste ...
*
Workplace listening
References
Interpersonal communication
Behavioural sciences