How Do I Use Critical Listening Skills in Order to Analyze and Evaluate a Speech?

Critical listening skills are often emphasized in college-level speech classes because they facilitate the development of critical thinking skills. Critically analyzing a speech is an excellent exercise to challenge your ability to logically analyze a persuasive argument. Beyond college, critical listening skills can help you distinguish between fact and fiction in such diverse areas as marketing campaigns and political speeches.

Instructions

1

Record the speech if possible. This will allow you to listen multiple times until you become more skilled at critical listening.

2

Write down questions while you listen. Do not stop listening to focus on the questions. Write them down and evaluate them at the end of the speech.

·  3

Evaluate the speaker's credibility. Consider his background. Does his training or experience qualify him as an expert? If not, does the quality of his research suggest that he is a credible source?

·  4

Assess the speaker's trustworthiness. Ask yourself why she is giving this speech. Imagine that you are having a conversation and ask what reaction she wants from you. Does she have an underlying motive that would cause you to question her motives? For example, an expert in cancer research might give a compelling speech about a new medicine. She is an expert and gives a compelling argument, but all of her research is funded by a pharmaceutical company. Does that affect her trustworthiness?

·  5

Consider the logic of the argument. Evaluate the quality of the supporting arguments. Assess the supporting data and/or statistics. Do they appear logically connected, well organized and carefully constructed? Are you left with multiple unanswered questions?

·  6

Explore your reaction to the speech. Consider the possibility that the speaker's purpose was to evoke an emotional reaction rather than to inform you. Critical listening requires that you separate yourself from your reaction to determine the validity of the arguments logically. For example, the cancer doctor working for the pharmaceutical company may be a powerful speaker, evoking strong images of cured children. A critical listener should ignore emotional reactions in favor of analyzing the strength of the research behind the treatment being discussed.

·  7

Check the facts. Critical listening implies the need to question the arguments presented, data and statistics. Answering the questions brought up during listening helps you assess the accuracy of your critical listening skills by both confirming your suspicions and your assessment of the expert status of the speaker.