Definition Active Listening? Meaning.
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:
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Subject Complexity
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Is the subject matter new or does the listener has experience
with it?
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Is the subject matter difficult to understand, or simple?
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Is the subject matter interesting and important to the
listener?
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The Speaker
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Is the speaker experienced?
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What are the non-verbal cues of the speaker?
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What frame of mind is he or she?
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How personable, threatening, intelligent, etc.?
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The Presentation
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Is the information illustrated with visuals?
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Is technology used effectively?
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Is the information introduced logically?
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Are concepts introduced incrementally, with examples?
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The Environment
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Is the environment conducive to listening?
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Can the listener interact and exchange information with
the speaker?
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Are there distractions that can be avoided?
Using Active Listening
According to Zenger and Folkman (2016), "People perceive the best listeners to be those who periodically ask questions that promote discovery and insight".
Active Listening is obviously a particularly important skill for coaches, mentors and leaders and managers. Van Quaquebeke and Felps (2016) draw on Theory of Human Needs (McClelland) and Self-Determination Theory of Human Motivation (Deci and Ryan) and argue that when leaders are asking open questions combined with attentive listening, a practice they call "respectful inquiry", such practice principally satisfies followers' basic psychological needs for competence (feeling challenged and experiencing mastery), relatedness (feeling of belonging), and autonomy (feeling in control and having options)."
Sources:
Carl R. Rogers and Richard Evans Farson, "Active Listening", Chicago 1957
Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman: "What Great Listeners Actually Do", HBR Jul. 2016
Niels Van Quaquebeke and Will Felps, "Respectful Inquiry: A Motivational Account of Leading Through Asking Questions and Listening", Academy of Management Review Vol. 43, no. 1, Jul. 2016, pp. 5-27
Forum about Active Listening. Below you can ask a question about this topic, share your experiences, report a new development, or explain something.
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Nonviolent Communication
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I HEAR You
Both Active Listening and Nonviolent Communication focus on LISTENING to the other person. But actually SPEAKING is also a key element of both approaches. Why? In any helping relationship you need to ...
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8 Types of Poor Listeners
Following are the 8 categories of poor listeners:
Mind Readers - They always try to read the mind of their opponent while listening to them. They therefore will not concentrate on what is being to...
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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 attention)
2. Objective (I hear what you say, but I alway...
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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 listened to Anthony were convinced.
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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 people are even more incredible! They want to be listen...
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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 and points for discussion and what its importance to you both...
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Often the one who listens looses...
Effective communication is key to success. The first principle is normally to listen to the other(s).
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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 very infatuated by the impression we have, of the per...
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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 thought I said (or wrote) was what I really meant".
...
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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 and the receiver of a message.
Why?
As a sender, ...
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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 mother-of-all bomb was to fall next to him, he would have ...
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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 paraphrasing and exploring words that others use as well as the ...
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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 have observed that, the more a person is willing to lis...
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The best, top-rated topics about Active Listening. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions.
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Listening Skills for Managers
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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 support on skill training...
Note that in the repeating...
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Listening Does not Equal Hearing!
During a workshop on leading, we were able to distinguish the difference between listening and hearing.
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- Listening covers hearing, processing, convertin...
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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 time to time, we jump to conclusions before listening to what ...
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Advanced insights about Active Listening. Here you will find professional advices by experts.
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Compare also: Johari Window |
Hawthorne Effect |
Action Learning |
Covert Leadership |
Abilene Paradox |
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
| Storytelling |
Employee Attitude Survey
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