Did you know there is an official National Day of Listening in the United States? It is the Friday after Thanksgiving. It’s a day when Americans are encouraged to spend time talking with their families and recording their stories.

Critical listening involves focusing on and paying attention to a speaker. It also calls for the ability to evaluate the credibility of the speaker, logically evaluate her statements, and differentiate between emotional and logical arguments. Critical listening is an important part of the critical thinking process, and plays a crucial role in accurately analyzing and interpreting data. Several jobs rely heavily on critical listening skills. Such as:

• Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians

• Marriage and Family Therapists

• Physicians

• Judges