Here's why:
* Hearing: This is the initial stage where you simply pick up the sounds of the speech. It's not about comprehension.
* Attending: This is where you focus on the speaker and the message, but it doesn't guarantee understanding.
* Understanding: This is the crucial stage where you make sense of the information you've heard. You process the language, decode meaning, and connect it to your existing knowledge. This is where you determine if you've grasped the speaker's ideas.
* Remembering: This stage involves storing the information for later use. It's separate from understanding, though understanding usually helps with remembering.
* Responding: This is how you react to the speech, whether it's verbally, nonverbally, or through action.
To assess your understanding, you might ask yourself questions like:
* What was the main point of the speech?
* Can I summarize the key arguments or ideas?
* Do I have any questions or areas of confusion?
If you can answer these questions, then you've likely achieved a good level of understanding.