Oral Communication · Oral Communication: Seminars, Speeches and Critical Listening

Critical Listening: Point of View, Omission and Whose Interests Are Served

1.8About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify the point of view in an oral text and the values it rests on.
I can analyse what information is omitted to sustain a point of view and whose interests it serves.
I can track how a character's opinions change across a play and explain the causes.
I can comment on the questions a text raises about beliefs, values, identity and power, fairly and respectfully.

Words to know

point of view
The perspective from which a speaker presents an issue.

bias
A one-sided presentation that unfairly favours one view, often through omission or loaded language.

omission
Information, voices or consequences left out of a text.

vested interest
A personal stake, such as money or a job, in an outcome.

dominant perspective
A view so common in a community or the media that it sounds neutral.

duty to consult
The legal duty of the Crown (federal, provincial and territorial governments) to consult First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, and accommodate where appropriate, when a decision may adversely affect their Aboriginal or treaty rights.

critical literacy
Analysing texts for perspective, bias and power, and the questions they raise.

Remember from Grade 10

In Grade 10 you learned that perspective is normal but bias is a problem, spotted loaded language and testimonials, and asked critical questions such as Whose voice is heard? Who is missing? Who benefits? Grade 11 asks you to analyse perspectives and biases more deeply and to comment on the questions they raise about beliefs, values, identity and power. Two new skills: tracking how a perspective changes across a long text such as a play, and analysing omissions: what a speaker leaves out to keep their point of view intact.

Let's start with a radio interview

A (fictional) company spokesperson is interviewed about a new gravel quarry: "This project will create 80 local jobs and bring $2 million a year into the region. It's a win for everyone."

Everything she says may be true. But listen to what she doesn't say: nothing about trucks on local roads, dust, the lake next to the site, or the First Nation whose traditional territory includes the land. "A win for everyone" hides the question a critical listener must ask: everyone who?

Three critical questions for Grade 11

Your curriculum frames critical listening around three linked questions:

What point of view is represented? Whose perspective does the speaker take, and what values does it rest on?
What information is omitted to sustain it? What facts, voices or consequences would complicate the message if they were included?
Whose interests does it serve? Who gains if listeners accept this view? Who might lose?

Then comment on the questions it raises about:

beliefs (what is assumed to be true),
values (what is assumed to matter most: jobs, the environment, tradition, safety),
identity (who counts as "we", "locals", "everyone"),
power (who has the platform, who makes the decision, who must live with it).

Work through the four boxes in order. The second box is often the most revealing: what's left out shows how a perspective is held in place.

Bias, vested interest and fairness

A vested interest is a personal stake in an outcome: money, a job, reputation. A speaker with a vested interest isn't automatically wrong, but listeners should weigh their claims carefully and look for independent sources.
Dominant perspectives are views so common in a community or in the media that they sound "neutral". Critical listening asks whose experience is treated as normal.
Fair critique focuses on the message and its evidence. It doesn't dismiss a speaker because of who they are.

In Canada, some issues also involve rights and responsibilities that a one-sided message may leave out. For example, Canadian courts have ruled that governments (the Crown) have a duty to consult First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, and to accommodate where appropriate, when a decision such as approving a project may adversely affect their Aboriginal or treaty rights. A message that presents a project on traditional territory as "a win for everyone" without mentioning the community omits more than an opinion.

Tracking a perspective across a play

In drama, characters' opinions often change. Tracking a character's view across scenes lets you analyse what causes the change and what the play suggests about beliefs and power. Choose a question (for example, How does Macbeth feel about murder?), then note his words at key points, with act and scene.

Macbeth moves from horror at the idea of murder to numbness. Tracking his words shows the change is not a straight line: he hesitates, is persuaded, then is horrified again after the murder before becoming hardened.

Worked example

Let's track a character's opinions in a play

Track Macbeth's attitude toward murder using these lines, and comment on what the change shows.

Act 1, Scene 3 (after the witches' prophecy): "Present fears / Are less than horrible imaginings."
Act 1, Scene 7: "We will proceed no further in this business." Later in the scene: "I am settled."
Act 2, Scene 2 (after killing Duncan): "I am afraid to think what I have done."
Act 5, Scene 5: "I have almost forgot the taste of fears."

1.3: he is frightened by his own thoughts of murder: imagined horrors are worse than real dangers.
1.7: he decides against it, then, after Lady Macbeth's challenges to his courage and manhood, reverses: "I am settled."
2.2: right after the murder, he is horrified by what he has done.
5.5: he has become numb; fear no longer touches him.
What causes the change? Ambition, pressure from Lady Macbeth (who questions his identity as a man), and the momentum of one crime leading to more.
Questions raised: about power (what does seeking it do to a person?), identity (Lady Macbeth links courage and manhood to violence), and values (what is lost when conscience fades?).

Macbeth's view moves from horror, to hesitation, to decision, to horror after the act, to numbness. The play raises questions about how ambition and pressure, including pressure tied to ideas of manhood, can wear down conscience.

Worked example

Let's audit a speaker's point of view on a controversial topic

Return to the quarry spokesperson: "This project will create 80 local jobs and bring $2 million a year into the region. It's a win for everyone." Complete an omission audit.

Point of view: the company's: the project is an economic benefit. Values: jobs and income are what matter most.
Omitted: truck traffic, noise and dust; effects on the lake and wildlife; how long the jobs last; whether the First Nation whose territory includes the land was consulted and what it thinks.
Interests served: the company (profit, approval); possibly workers who get jobs. Who may lose: nearby residents, users of the lake, and the First Nation if its rights and views aren't considered.
Questions about identity: "everyone" treats the region as one group with one interest; it erases people who disagree.
Questions about power: the company has a public platform (the interview); other groups may not. Who decides, and who is consulted?
Fair critique: the jobs and income may be real benefits. The problem is not the perspective but the claim that it speaks for everyone.

The spokesperson presents the company's economic perspective as universal. Omitting environmental effects, residents and the First Nation sustains the "win for everyone" claim. A fair critique accepts possible benefits but asks who was left out and who holds the power to decide.

Ask "everyone who?"

Whenever a speaker says "everyone", "we all", "ordinary people" or "common sense", ask who is included in that group, and who isn't. These words often hide a perspective inside a claim that sounds neutral.

Hands-on activity

Omission audit on the news

You need: a radio or TV news report, or a podcast segment, about a local or national issue (ask a parent which sources are fine), paper and a pen.

Listen to the segment and write the speaker's main claim and point of view.
Draw the four boxes from this lesson: point of view, omitted, interests, questions raised.
Fill each box. For omitted, list at least three voices or facts that could change the message.
Look for another source on the same issue that includes one omitted voice. What does it add?
Discuss with a family member: Was the original segment biased, or just limited by time? How can you tell?

Just for fun

A cereal company spokesperson announced that its new cereal is "the most important part of the most important meal of the day."

Omission audit: no comment yet from toast, eggs or oatmeal.

Your turn

What are the three critical questions in this lesson?

What is a vested interest?

Does having a vested interest make a speaker wrong? Explain.

A sports-drink ad says "Real athletes choose our drink." What does it suggest about identity?

In the quarry example, list two omitted voices.

What changed Macbeth's mind at the end of Act 1, Scene 7?

Why should you ask "everyone who?" when a speaker says a plan is good for everyone?

More practice: warm-up

What is the difference between perspective and bias?

Name the four areas you comment on after analysing a perspective.

What is a dominant perspective?

What legal responsibility do Canadian governments have toward First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities when decisions may affect their rights?

Which box of the omission audit asks who gains and who loses?

More practice: on your own

A school principal announces: "Starting next month, we're removing the vending machines to promote healthy choices." Complete a short omission audit.

Explain how tracking one character's opinions across a play is a form of critical literacy.

A podcast about housing interviews three homeowners and one real-estate agent. Analyse the perspectives represented.

Write a fair critique (2 sentences) of a speech by a farmer arguing against a new highway through farmland.

Lady Macbeth links courage and manhood to committing murder. What questions does this raise about identity?

Challenge

Choose a public message you've heard recently (an ad, a speech, a news interview). Write a full omission audit with at least two comments about beliefs, values, identity or power.

Argue whether every omission is a sign of bias.

Track a character's opinion on one issue across a novel or play you know, at four points. Then comment on what causes the change.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which question asks about omission?

A speaker who works for the company proposing a project has a:

"This plan is a win for everyone" should prompt a critical listener to ask:

In Act 5 of Macbeth, "I have almost forgot the taste of fears" shows Macbeth has become:

A fair critique of a one-sided speech:

Which best describes a dominant perspective?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: ENG3U expectation 1.8 asks students to identify and analyse the perspectives and/or biases evident in oral texts and comment on the questions they raise about beliefs, values, identity and power. The curriculum's teacher prompt asks: what point of view is represented, what information is omitted to sustain it, and whose interests does it serve?

How to help at home:

When an ad or interview says "everyone" or "common sense," ask together: "Everyone who?"
Compare two news sources on the same local issue and look for voices one includes and the other doesn't.
Talk about your own perspective on an issue and what you might be leaving out; it models honest critical thinking.

Common difficulties:

Calling everything biased. All texts have a perspective; bias is about unfair, one-sided presentation.
Dismissing speakers because of who they are instead of examining what they say.
Stopping at identification. Push for comments on beliefs, values, identity and power.

Discussions involving First Nations, Métis and Inuit rights should present communities as present-day nations with their own range of views, not as a single opinion.