Active Listening

Knowledge Center

• About
• Home
• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
• Question?
• Views

• Register
• Log in
• Help

• Change & Organization
• Communication & Skills
• Decision-making & Valuation
• Ethics & Responsibility
• Finance & Investing
• HRM
• Knowledge & Intangibles
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Program & Project
• Strategy
• Supply Chain & Quality

Description of Active Listening. Explanation.

Definition Active Listening. Description.

When people talk to each other, they do not necessarily listen. The purpose of active listening is to improve mutual understanding through carefully absorbing what the other has said.

Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others, focusing attention on the speaker. Suspending one's own frame of reference, suspending judgment and avoiding other internal mental activities are important to fully attend to the speaker.

Active listening requires 3 things:

• Comprehending (a shared meaning between the parties in the communication)
• Retaining (remembering what was communicated)
• Responding (verbal or nonverbal responses from the listener to show the message is being listened to)

Effective Communication

Besides poor listening, 4 more factors are known to prevent good communication and understanding what the other person means:

1. Subject Complexity

   • Is the subject matter new or does the listener has experience with it?

   • Is the subject matter difficult to understand, or simple?

   • Is the subject matter interesting and important to the listener?

2. The Speaker

   • Is the speaker experienced?

   • What are the non-verbal cues of the speaker?

   • What frame of mind is he or she?

   • How personable, threatening, intelligent, etc.?

3. The Presentation

   • Is the information illustrated with visuals?

   • Is technology used effectively?

   • Is the information introduced logically?

   • Are concepts introduced incrementally, with examples?

4. The Environment

   • Is the environment conducive to listening?

   • Can the listener interact and exchange information with the speaker?

   • Are there distractions that can be avoided?

Active Listening Special Interest Group Special Interest Group (752 members)

Active Listening Forum   Recent topics   Nonviolent Communication Somewhat in the same 'league' as Active Listening is the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) method by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg. His approach is also ...           Tips to Improve Assertiveness Do you recognize the feeling: "When I say NO, I feel guilty..."? According to Revelle College, UC San Diego, “One of the most common problems in ...           Is Active Listening the Opposite of Selective Listening? I think we can understand the phrase 'Active Listening' better if we know what Selective Listening means. In selective listening, someone hears o...

Best Practices - Active Listening   Listening Brings Success in People Management Managing anything requires effective communication. Listening is an integral part of communication. Speaking and writing we learn from childhood...           Listening Skills for Managers Good listening makes for good management. Studies have shown that regarding communication activities, humans use listening skills (45%) more than talk...           8 Types of Poor Listeners Following are the 8 categories of poor listeners: 1. Mind readers - they always try to read the mind of opponent while listening to them. ...           Demonstrating How Difficult Good Listening Is | Distortion Exercise I have run a development program on communications many times. Often I include a simple fun listening game. - The game starts with one att...           Beware of the Power of the Influence of Speakers Friends, romans, countrymen, lend me your ears, I have come to bury Caesar not to praise him" - Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. All those who listen...         All you need to know about management   Listening Includes Non-Verbal Communication As Well ! Listening goes beyond words and should be extended to non-verbal communication. In some cases, the truth of what is being said lies in what is NOT sai...           4 Levels of Listening In our work as consultants we have identified 4 levels of listening: 1. Downloading (I might say yes at the right time, but don’t really pay atte...           Good Listening is Welcoming the Richness of the Sharing Listening is about being able to put our ego at distance from the objective of the exchange, not reacting to what the other brings into the exchange, ...           Listening Does not Equal Hearing! During a workshop on leading, we were able to distinguish the difference between listening and hearing. - Hearing is complete as something...           WHEN To Be a Good Listener? Should one ALWAYS be a good, active listener? I believe it depends on the quality of the dialogue and the extent of its importance to you ...           What Politics can Teach us About Listening Politicians are incredible! They say and repeat that they are the best listeners while they never really take into account what people say. But p...           Be Careful With Interpreting What is Said Although we refer to listening as the most effective way of communication, it is very important to note that we as human beings stereotype and are ver...           Obstacles to Active Listening The main obstacle to active listening, in my view, is often the lack of willingness to listen. It is not a simple issue of skills. From t...           Often the one who listens looses... Effective communication is key to success. The first principle is normally to listen to the other(s). However, in my view the competitive ...           Tips on the HOW of Active Listening 1. The listener should repeat via rephrasing what the speaker said, e.g. ... I hear what you said: you feel that there is not enough management...           Dialogue Communication Network There is a communication dilemma that says "I know you think you understood what you thought I said, (or wrote), but I am not so sure that what you th...           Active Listening is 2-way Active listening, as I understanding it, means to give back information what I understood. This is valid for both sides of a discussion, the sender...           Good Listening Allows for a Good Response Only a good listener can become a good speaker. Because an accurate period of listening gives him/her ample time to analyze and come to a prope...           Real Life Example of Active Listening Have you ever reflected on a person who is awaiting the final judgment in court - guilty or not guilty – on the fall of the hammer? Even if a m...           Active Listening is a Key International Competence A key tactic to effective active listening is to check and clarify, rather than assume the understanding of others. This can be done by paraphr...           What is Active Listening? Active listening is the courage and patience one should have to allow others to change themselves....           Can Active Listening Make you Lonely? Listening is of vital importance in every tenet of human interactions, from ages to now, be it business or personal life. But, surprisingly, I h...           Comprehend, Retain and Respond I teach adults and this is so relevant to the class room atmosphere both for me and the student. Those three items active listeners must practice are ...

Expert Tips - Active Listening   LEADER: Best Practices for Effective Leadership Behavior     Advance yourself in business administration and management

Resources - Active Listening Hearing versus Listening   Nonverbal Persuasion and Communication: Effects and Types   Communication Essentials: Non-verbal, Verbal and Listening Skills   The Role of Supervisor | Skills of Supervisors   Practical Communication Tips for Managers   How to Manage Challenging Situations and Challenging People?   7 Differences between Good and Great Speakers     News about Active Listening         Videos about Active Listening         Presentations about Active Listening         Books about Active Listening         More about Active Listening       Accelerate your management career

Compare also: Johari Window  |  Hawthorne Effect  |  Action Learning  |  Covert Leadership  |  Abilene Paradox  |  Myers-Briggs Type Indicator  |  Storytelling  |  Employee Attitude Survey  |  Coaching  |  Mentoring

Return to Management Hub: Communication & Skills  |  Human Resources

More on Management  |  Return to Management Dictionary  | 

This ends our Active Listening summary and forum.