The Ethics of Listening

It always interests and surprises me, the lack of attention people give to the ethical responsibilities of listening. A fairly standard question I ask on my exams revolves around ethical listening. I describe a situation in which a speaker is talking about abortion and how most of the class is listening attentively and a couple of audience members even change there position on abortion, due to the speech. I also say that two members of the audience are so put off by the speech, they pass notes back and forth, the entire time of the speech.

I then ask the students, via multiple choice, which answer is correct when it comes to ethical listening. The first is that there are no ethical responsibilities of the listeners. The second choice is, only those who were persuaded to the speaker's side acted ethically. The next choice is, the two students who passed notes back and forth acted unethically. My last choice is, since the two students who passed notes back and forth did not talk during the speech, they were not engaged in unethical listening procedures.

Tracking the answer to this question is interesting. While a number of students get it right, usually about half of the class gets it wrong. To suggest there are no ethical responsibilities of the listener is ludicrous. Likewise, to suggest that only those who were persuaded acted ethically is ludicrous. Ethical listening is about the listener, not about the speakers ability to persuade. You can listen ethically and still not accept the speaker's premise. Finally, part of ethical listening involves actually listening to the speech. If you are engaged in note passing, while your behavior MAY not be distracting to the speaker, it does prevent you from listening.

The answer to the question has to be the choice that says the students engaged in note passing acted unethically. There is a protocol for listening, and it is important to know that. Ethical listening includes being courteous and attentive. You do not have to agree with what the speaker is saying, but you should not tune out. If you listen and follow the arguments, you may find that you change your position. You may also find that your original position becomes strengthened. In either event, a speaker has put time and effort into a speech and deserves to have the entire audience paying attention.

I have seen students engage in unethical listening behavior and I have seen adults, in various situations engage in unethical listening behavior. There are those who might even suggest, I at times, have engaged in unethical listening procedures. We should all learn and strive to improve, to fully focus on what the speaker is saying, when we are a member of the audience.