Learning About Communication

I watched a movie called “Panic in the Streets” staring Richard Widmark, Paul Johnson, and Jack Parlance. This movie was made in 1950, years before I was born in black and white and it started off with a little murder. But my impression were the police was apparently looking for the killer, and I thought perhaps the killer was in the armed services because Richard Widmark was in a uniform and in most of the scenes. Later when I listened to the movie I found out that Richard Widmark was a doctor and he was looking for the man who was a carrier of the Bubonic Plague. Without a doubt the movie was better with sound, I have watched silent movies but they would have a few words to tell what was happening. Without the sound I had to presume the characters roles and imagine the plot. The lesson I learned from this exercise and reading this week is that I could have heard and watched the whole movie and still not understand or recall what it was about.  According to O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, & Teven (2015), there are three parts to listening, sorting out what you hear and see, and   comprehending enough to give feedback(p.152).  I have listened to people without hearing them before, other things were on my mind, or my mind drifted aimlessly. After learning the importance of listening to children their families, and my colleagues I have changed my lackadaisical attitude of skip listening. Which is listening to some and skipping over the rest, I had to change that so I could communicate with understanding and respect. According to O’Hair, Friedrich,& Dixon (2011), the name for playing at listening is called “pseudolistening’ and it can be highly dangerous depending on your career. It was tragic to read of the 911 call which lead to death because of poor listening skills. This week’s insights have led me to realize that I need to listen carefully as if my life depended on it, indeed it could be someone else’s life.