Listening is a fundamental part of the process of communication. Adults spend about 42 percent of their time in listening activities, and children spend about 58 percent of the time in the same activity (Lederman, 1977). Listening is a complex facet of the communication process, and it is considered by some communication researchers to be a more difficult activity than speaking. While the word "listening" is used interchangeably with some other words, such as "hearing," it is a unique process, unlike any other.

Definition

To define "listening" entails comparing and contrasting it with some other similar activities: "perception," "attention," and "hearing."

"Perception" has been defined as a process of extracting information from the world outside oneself, as well as from within. When perceiving something, a person is able to note certain stimuli and draw some kind of information from them. One type of perception is...