Research in training subjects to comprehend compressed speech has led to deeper studies of basic listening skills. The connected discourse is produced by a technique which deletes segments of the speech record and joins the remainder together without pitch distortion. The two problems dealt with were the sources of individual differences in the ability to understand time-compressed speech and the temporal characteristics of language which facilitate or impair listening comprehension. By reducing the amount of time available for the listener to process speech, the nature of listening priorities emerges. The insertion of temporal spacing at linguistically strategic locations have enabled the experimentors to determine whether they are behaviorally strategic. The identification of behaviorally strategic locations has, in turn, enabled them to further understand the nature of those activities which are necessary for processing speech and to what aspect of speech they are directed. The correlates and predictors of success at these tasks further enrich the picture of what underlies successful listening. (MM)