Willingness to Listen Measure

Listening is one of the skills which potential employers often indicate as being critical to effective communication. Hence, many training programs and college classes provide instruction in listening. For many people, however, it is not a lack of skill that makes them a poor listener, it is their orientation toward listening. Some are just not willing to work at listening. They frequently claim (rightfully?) that they don't listen because of the poor communication skills of the speaker. This instrument is designed to measure this kind of an orientation. Alpha reliabilities for this instrument should be expected to be well above .85.

Directions: The following twenty-four statements refer to listening. Please indicate the degree to which each statement applies to you by marking whether you:

Strongly Disagree = 1; Disagree = 2; are Neutral =3; Agree = 4; Strongly Agree = 5

_____1. I dislike listening to boring speakers.

_____2. Generally, I can listen to a boring speaker.

_____3. I am bored and tired while listening to a boring speaker.

_____4. I will listen when the content of a speech is boring.

_____5. Listening to boring speakers about boring content makes me tired, sleepy, and bored.

_____6. I am willing to listen to boring speakers about boring content.

_____7. Generally, I am unwilling to listen when there is noise during a speaker's presentation.

_____8. Usually, I am willing to listen when there is noise during a speaker's presentation.

_____9. I am accepting and willing to listen to speakers who do not adapt to me.

_____10. I am unwilling to listen to speakers who do not do some adaptation to me.

_____11. Being preoccupied with other things makes me less willing to listen to a speaker.

_____12. I am willing to listen to a speaker even if I have other things on my mind.

_____13. While being occupied with other things on my mind, I am unwilling to listen to a speaker.

_____14. I have a willingness to listen to a speaker, even if other important things are on my mind.

_____15. Generally, I will not listen to a speaker who is disorganized.

_____16. Generally, I will try to listen to a speaker who is disorganized.

_____17. While listening to a non-immediate, non-responsive speaker, I feel relaxed with the speaker.

_____18. While listening to a non-immediate, non-responsive speaker, I feel distant and cold toward that speaker.

_____19. I can listen to a non-immediate, non-responsive speaker.

_____20. I am unwilling to listen to a non-immediate, non-responsive speaker.
_____21. I am willing to listen to a speaker with views different from mine.

_____22. I am unwilling to listen to a speaker with views different from mine.

_____23. I am willing to listen to a speaker who is not clear about what he or she wants to say.

_____24. I am unwilling to listen to a speaker who is not clear, not credible, and abstract.

SCORING:

Scores can range from 24 to 120. To compute the score on this instrument complete the following steps:

Step 1: Add scores for items 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, and 23

Step 2: Add scores for items 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, and 24

Step 3: Total score = 72 - Total from Step 1 + Total from Step 2.

Scores above 89 indicate a high willingness to listen. Scores below 59 indicate a low willingness to listen. Score between 59 and 89 indicate a moderate willingness to listem.

Source:

Richmond, V. P., & Hickson, M. III. (2001). Going public: A practical guide to public talk. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.