Active listeners pay attention to what is spoken and which of the following?
Signs of Active ListeningNon-Verbal Signs of Attentive or Active ListeningThis is a generic list of non-verbal signs of listening, in other words people who are listening are more likely to display at least some of these signs. However these signs may not be appropriate in all situations and across all cultures. Show
SmileSmall smiles can be used to show that the listener is paying attention to what is being said or as a way of agreeing or being happy about the messages being received. Combined with nods of the head, smiles can be powerful in affirming that messages are being listened to and understood. Eye ContactIt is normal and usually encouraging for the listener to look at the speaker. Eye contact can however be intimidating, especially for more shy speakers – gauge how much eye contact is appropriate for any given situation. Combine eye contact with smiles and other non-verbal messages to encourage the speaker. PosturePosture can tell a lot about the sender and receiver in interpersonal interactions. The attentive listener tends to lean slightly forward or sideways whilst sitting. Other signs of active listening may include a slight slant of the head or resting the head on one hand. MirroringAutomatic reflection/mirroring of any facial expressions used by the speaker can be a sign of attentive listening. These reflective expressions can help to show sympathy and empathy in more emotional situations. Attempting to consciously mimic facial expressions (i.e. not automatic reflection of expressions) can be a sign of inattention. DistractionThe active listener will not be distracted and therefore will refrain from fidgeting, looking at a clock or watch, doodling, playing with their hair or picking their fingernails. See our pages: Non-Verbal Communication, Body Language and Personal Appearance for more information. Be Aware That: It is perfectly possible to learn and mimic non-verbal signs of active listening and not actually be listening at all. It is more difficult to mimic verbal signs of listening and comprehension. AttentionWe know now that attention is the fundamental difference between hearing and listening. Paying attention to what a speaker is saying requires intentional effort on your part. Nichols, credited with first researching the field of listening, observed, “listening is hard work. It is characterized by faster heart action, quicker circulation of the blood, a small rise in bodily temperature.”[1] Consider that we can process information four times faster than a person speaks. Yet, tests of listening comprehension show the average person listening at only 25% efficiency. A typical person can speak 125 words-per-minute, yet we can process up to three times faster, reaching as much as 500 words-per-minute. The poor listener grows impatient, while the effective listener uses the extra processing time to process the speaker’s words, distinguish key points, and mentally summarize them.[2] Hoppe[3] advises active listening is really a state of mind requiring us to choose to focus on the moment, being present and attentive while disregarding any of our anxieties of the day. He suggests listeners prepare themselves for active attention by creating a listening reminder. This might be to write “Listen” at the top of a page in front of you in a meeting. While reading a book, or having a discussion with an individual, you can go back and reread or ask a question to clarify a point. This is not always true when listening. Listening is of the moment, and we often only get to hear the speaker’s words once. The key then is for the listener to quickly ascertain the speaker’s central premise or controlling idea. Once this is done, it becomes easier for the listener to discern what is most important. Of course, distinguishing the speaker’s primary goal, his main points, and the structure of the speech are all easier when the listener is able to listen with an open mind. “American Government class lecture” by United States Navy. Public domain. Active Listening Skills for Successful CommunicationBy Indeed Editorial Team December 8, 2021 TwitterLinkedInFacebookEmailCopy to Clipboard This article has been approved by an Indeed Career Coach Show Transcript Related video: Top Resume Skills Communication skills are beneficial in and out of the workplace. Having the ability to clearly communicate instructions, ideas and concepts can help you find success in any career. With practice, anyone can develop their communication skills. One of the most critical skills in effective communication is active listening. Developing this soft skill will help you build and maintain relationships, solve problems, improve processes and retain information such as instructions, procedures and expectations. To help you understand active listening skills and learn how to improve your own, consider the following background and examples. Looking to Hire? Post a Job on Indeed.com. How to Practice Active ListeningActive listening involves more than just hearing someone speak. Here are some active listening techniques to master. Pay Attention (and Show It)Concentrate fully on what is being said. Listen with all your senses and give your full attention to the speaker. Put away your phone, ignore distractions, avoid daydreaming, and shut down your internal dialogue. To show the person you're truly turned in, look at them and be mindful of nonverbal behaviors. Use open, nonthreatening body language. Avoid folding your arms. Smile, lean in, and nod at key junctures. Consciously control your facial expressions, avoiding any that convey negative impressions. Making eye contact is especially important. In general, aim to maintain it for 60% to 70% of the time you spend listening. Reflect What You HearParaphrase what the person has said, rather than offering unsolicited advice or opinions. For example, you might say, "In other words, what you are saying is that you're frustrated" or "I'm hearing that you're frustrated about this situation." Summarize what you've heard. Mirroring what the person has said helps them feel validated and understood. Withhold JudgmentRemain neutral and non-judgmental in your responses so that the person feels safe enough to continue sharing their thoughts. Make the conversation a safe zone where the person can trust they won't be shamed, criticized, blamed, or otherwise negatively received. Ask Open-Ended QuestionsAvoid "yes or no questions"; they often produce dead-end answers. Instead, ask open-ended questions about the person to show you are interested in them and to encourage thoughtful, expansive responses. If you'd like to better understand something the person has said, ask for clarification. Don't focus so much on insignificant details that you miss the big picture. Be PatientDon't interrupt, fill periods of silence with speech, finish the person's sentences, or top the story (for example, saying "that reminds me of the time I..."). Similarly, listen to understand, not to respond. That is, don't prepare a reply while the other person is still speaking; the last thing they say might change the meaning of what they've already said. Don't change the subject abruptly; this conveys boredom and impatience. When you listen actively, you are fully engaged and immersed in what the other person is saying. Much like a therapist listening to a client, you are there to act as a sounding board rather than to jump in with your own ideas and opinions about what is being said. Content: Active Listening Vs Passive Listening
Comparison Chart
Definition of Active ListeningActive listening as the name suggests is the process wherein the listener, carefully hears what the speaker says, processes the message and then responds to the message so as to lead the conversation further. Active Listening involves paying full attention to the speaker, showing interest in what he/she is saying through expressions, body language and asking questions at timely intervals, to make a good conversation. He/she consciously makes effort to:
Both verbal and non-verbal clues play an important role in active listening, wherein verbal clues involve repeating the lines or summarizing the matter spoken, providing suggestions or disagreeing with the thoughts and asking suitable questions, whereas non-verbal clues include nodding, eye contact, etc. For Example: Active listening can be found in a press conference, debate, etc Who are Active Listeners?Active Listeners are those individuals who are actively involved in the process of communication, not just by attentively listening to the message but also by carefully noticing the manner in which the message is delivered. In other words, active listeners pay attention to the content and manner, i.e. the tone, pitch, body language, facial expressions, etc. of the speaker, when the message was delivered. Active Listeners often seek clarifications, nod their head at timely intervals, ask leading questions and also summarize the content to exhibit that they followed the speaker. Also Read: Difference Between Hearing and Listening Definition of Passive ListeningPassive Listening means listening to the speaker during the communication but in an unconscious manner. He/She sits quietly without responding to the speaker. It is silent and patient listening, wherein the listener neither interrupts nor participates in the conversation. This means that the listener is present physically, but may not be paying attention to the speaker’s speech due to which the message is not absorbed by the listeners as well as he/she may not be able to recall it in future. The causes of passive listening are:
Simply put, in passive listening, the listener is just listening to the words but not the message. This often leads to a misunderstanding between the speaker and listener, as the speaker would think that the listener has got the message accurately. For example: Passive listening is seen during Seminar attended by the students Who are Passive Listeners?Passive Listeners are the ones who listen to the message partially. Moreover, there is also the absence of sensitivity to nuances, hidden meanings, nonverbal clues which are involved in the communication. Basically, what a passive listener do is they let the other person speak without any interruption or clarification. Hence, communication with a passive listener is ineffective and incomplete. Active Listening Skills, Examples and ExercisesSeptember 20, 2017 - Sophie Thompson In today's world of high tech and high stress, communication is more important than ever, however we spend less and less time really listening to each other. Genuine, attentive listening has become rare. Active listening skills can help build relationships, solve problems, ensure understanding and avoid conflict. By becoming a better listener, you’ll improve your workplace productivity, as well as your ability to lead a team, persuade and negotiate. Active listening definition Active listening requires the listener to fully concentrate, understand, respond and then remember what is being said. You make a conscious effort to hear and understand the complete message being spoken, rather than just passively hearing the message of the speaker. In this article, we'll cover the following:
Why is listening important?Listening is the most fundamental component of communication skills. Listening is not something that just happens, listening is an active process in which a conscious decision is made to listen to and understand the messages of the speaker. Active listening is also about patience, listeners should not interrupt with questions or comments. Active listening involves giving the other person time to explore their thoughts and feelings, they should be given adequate time for that. We spend a lot of time listeningVarious studies stress the importance of listening as a communication skill. The studies on average say we spend 70-80% of our waking hours in some form of communication. Of that time, we spend about 9 percent writing, 16 percent reading, 30 percent speaking, and 45 percent listening. Studies also confirm that most of us are poor and inefficient listeners. Most of us are not very good at listening, research suggests that we remember less than 50% of what we hear in a conversation. Benefits of active listeningThere are many important benefits of active listening, these include:
Professional Development CoursesFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Explore CoursesWhat makes a good listener?Good listeners actively endeavour to understand what others are really trying to say, regardless of how unclear the messages might be. Listening involves not only the effort to decode verbal messages, but also to interpret non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and physical posture. Effective listeners make sure to let others know that they have been heard, and encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings fully. You also need to show to the person speaking that you’re listening through non-verbal cues, such as maintaining eye contact, nodding your head and smiling, agreeing by saying ‘Yes’. By providing this feedback the person speaking will usually feel more at ease and communicates more easily, openly and honestly. Listening vs. hearingHearing is an accidental and automatic brain response to sound that requires no effort. We are surrounded by sounds most of the time. For example, we are accustomed to the sounds of cars, construction workers and so on. We hear those sounds and, unless we have a reason to do otherwise, we learn to ignore them. Hearing is:
Listening, on the other hand, is purposeful and focused rather than accidental. As a result, it requires motivation and effort. Listening, at its best, is active, focused, concentrated attention for the purpose of understanding the meanings expressed by a speaker. Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages. Listening is:
Verbal and non-verbal signs of active listening skillsIt’s a horrible feeling talking to someone and realising that they are not really listening. There are some simple steps you can take to let the speaker know you are actively listening, such as asking relevant questions, positive body language, nodding and maintaining eye contact. Non-verbal signs of active listeningThe people are listening are likely to display at least some of these signs. However, these signs may not be appropriate in all situations and across all cultures.
Verbal Signs of active listening
Four different listening stylesIf listening were easy, and if all people went about it in the same way, the task for a public speaker would be much easier. 1. People orientedThe people-oriented listener is interested in the speaker. They listen to the message in order to learn how the speaker thinks and how they feel about their message. For instance, when people-oriented listeners listen to an interview with a famous musician, they are likely to be more curious about the musician as an individual than about music. 2. Action or task orientedAction-oriented listeners are primarily interested in finding out what the speaker wants. Does the speaker want votes, donations, volunteers, or something else? It’s sometimes difficult for an action-oriented speaker to listen through the descriptions, evidence, and explanations with which a speaker builds his or her case. For example, when you’re a passenger on an airplane, a flight attendant delivers a brief safety briefing. The flight attendant says only to buckle up so we can leave. An action-oriented listener finds buckling up a more compelling message than a message about the underlying reasons. 3. ContentContent-oriented listeners are interested in the message itself, whether it makes sense, what it means, and whether it’s accurate. Content-oriented listeners want to listen to well-developed information with solid explanations. 4. TimePeople using a time-oriented listening style prefer a message that gets to the point quickly. Time-oriented listeners can become impatient with slow delivery or lengthy explanations. This kind of listener may be receptive for only a brief amount of time and may become rude or even hostile if the speaker expects a longer focus of attention. To learn more about listening styles, read The Importance of Listening - Listening Styles Professional Development CoursesFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Explore CoursesExamples of active listeningHere are some examples of statements and questions used with active listening:
Barriers to effective listeningEveryone has difficulty staying completely focused during a lengthy presentation or conversation, or even relatively brief messages. Some of the factors that interfere with good listening might exist beyond our control, but others are manageable. It’s helpful to be aware of these factors so that they interfere as little as possible with understanding the message. Here are some key barriers: 1. NoiseNoise is one of the biggest factors to interfere with listening; it can be defined as anything that interferes with your ability to attend to and understand a message. There are many kinds of noise, the four you are most likely to encounter in public speaking situations are: physical noise, psychological noise, physiological noise, and semantic noise. 2. Attention SpanA person can only maintain focused attention for a finite length of time. Many people argued that modern audiences have lost the ability to sustain attention to a message. Whether or not these concerns are well founded, you have probably noticed that even when your attention is glued to something in which you are deeply interested, every now and then you pause to do something else, such as getting a drink. 3. Receiver BiasesGood listening involves keeping an open mind and withholding judgment until the speaker has completed the message. Conversely, biased listening is characterized by jumping to conclusions; the biased listener believes, "I don’t need to listen because I already know this." Receiver biases can refer to two things: biases with reference to the speaker and preconceived ideas and opinions about the topic or message. Everyone has biases but good listeners hold them in check while listening. 4. Listening ApprehensionThis is the fear that you might be unable to understand the message or process the information correctly or be able to adapt your thinking to include the new information coherently. In some situations, you might worry that the information presented will be too complex for you to understand fully. Tips to become an effective listener and improve active listening skillsTips to help you develop effective listening skills. Face the speaker and maintain eye contactTalking to someone while they scan the room, study a computer screen, or gaze out the window is like trying to hit a moving target. How much of the person's divided attention you are actually getting? Fifty percent? Five percent? In most Western cultures, eye contact is considered a basic ingredient of effective communication. When we talk, we look each other in the eye. Do your conversational partners the courtesy of turning to face them. Put aside papers, books, the phone and other distractions. Look at them, even if they don't look at you. Shyness, uncertainty or other emotions, along with cultural taboos, can inhibit eye contact in some people under some circumstances. Be attentive and relaxedGive the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognise that non-verbal communication is very powerful. In order to be attentive, you'll:
Mentally screen out distractions, like background activity and noise. In addition, try not to focus on the speaker's accent or speech mannerisms to the point where they become distractions. Finally, don't be distracted by your own thoughts, feelings, or biases. Keep an open mindListen without judging the other person or mentally criticizing the things she tells you. If what she says alarms you, go ahead and feel alarmed, but don't say to yourself, "Well, that was a stupid move." As soon as you indulge in judgmental bemusements, you've compromised your effectiveness as a listener. Listen without jumping to conclusions and don’t interrupt to finish their sentences. Remember that the speaker is using language to represent the thoughts and feelings inside her brain. You don't know what those thoughts and feelings are and the only way you'll find out is by listening. Don't interrupt or cut them offChildren used to be taught that it's rude to interrupt. I'm not sure that message is getting across anymore. Certainly the opposite is being modelled on the majority of talk shows and reality programs, where loud, aggressive, in-your-face behaviour is condoned, if not encouraged. Interrupting sends a variety of messages:
We all think and speak at different rates. If you are a quick thinker and an agile talker, the burden is on you to relax your pace for the slower, more thoughtful communicator—or for the guy who has trouble expressing himself. Ask questions to clarify what they are sayingWhen you don't understand something, of course you should ask the speaker to explain it to you. But rather than interrupt, wait until the speaker pauses. Then say something like, "Back up a second. I didn't understand what you just said about…" Ask questions and summarise to ensure understandingWhen the person speaking has finished talking, ask questions relevant to what they are saying – try not to lead people in directions that have nothing to do with where they thought they were going. Sometimes we work our way back to the original topic, but very often we don't. You can also summarise the conversation to make sure you understand all the person is trying to say – this works well at networking events at the end of conversations, it also gives you an excuse to move onto another conversation. Try to feel what the speaker is feelingEmpathy is the heart and soul of good listening. To experience empathy, you have to put yourself in the other person's place and allow yourself to feel what it is like to be her at that moment. This is not an easy thing to do. It takes energy and concentration. But it is a generous and helpful thing to do, and it facilitates communication like nothing else does. Give the speaker regular feedbackShow that you understand where the speaker is coming from by reflecting the speaker's feelings. If the speaker's feelings are hidden or unclear, then occasionally paraphrase the content of the message. Or just nod and show your understanding through appropriate facial expressions and an occasional well-timed "uh huh." Pay attention to non-verbal cuesThe majority of face-to-face communication is non-verbal. We get a great deal of information about each other without saying a word. When face to face with a person, you can detect enthusiasm, boredom, or irritation very quickly in the expression around the eyes, the set of the mouth, the slope of the shoulders. These are clues you can't ignore. When listening, remember that words convey only a fraction of the message. To read these listening tips in more detail, visit 10 Steps To Effective Listening Listening skills exercisesOnline simulation exercisesPractice your listening skills in realistic online simulations.
Summarise the conversation exerciseFor a week, try concluding every conversation in which information is exchanged with a summary. In conversations that result in agreements about future activities, summarising will ensure accurate follow-through. |