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If you are want to improve your listening skills, practice active listening. Active listening requires the listener to hear, evaluate and interpret the content of speech. The four types of active listening are paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, reflecting meaning and summative reflection. Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing occurs when the listener repeats the essence of the message spoken by the communicator but in different words. As an active listening strategy, paraphrasing is important because it demonstrates that the listener is concentrating upon the message offered by the speaker. Paraphrasing can be the most challenging active listening type to perfect. Dr. Paul J. Donohue and Dr. Mary Siege explain in their book "Are You Really Listening" that "Paraphrasing requires skill as well as discipline." Reflecting Feelings
Active listeners reflect the feelings of the communicator in their consideration of the message and their response to the speaker. The communicator will feel validated by the emotional response of the listener and the listener will feel that the message is personal and relevant. At times, reflecting feelings can obfuscate the communication process by interjecting emotion into a rational discussion. However, this active listening type establishes an emotional rapport between the communicator and the listener. Reflecting Meaning
Like the reflection of emotions, reflecting meaning establishes a rapport between the speaker and the listener. However, reflecting meaning is distinguished from reflecting emotions through its concentration upon the factual message of the speaker. Reflecting meaning allows the listener to confirm understanding with the speaker. You can practice reflecting meaning by using the general phrase "When this occurs, you feel this way and want to do this" and applying this sentence to the specifics defining the communication. Summative Reflection
Summative reflection involves the confirmation of the message content. It combines the elements of paraphrasing, reflecting meaning and reflecting emotion to illustrate the speaker's considered evaluation of the speaker's message. Unlike paraphrasing, summative reflection requires the listener to incorporate personal views in the description of the speaker's message. Summative reflection can be the most difficult type of active learning to exercise, but accurate summative reflection can promote efficiency in the communication process and strengthen interpersonal ties.
Hone your active listening skills to become a better leader. Here are the 6 skills that you should be practicing.What Is Active Listening?Active listening requires you to listen attentively to a speaker, understand what they’re saying, respond and reflect on what’s being said, and retain the information for later. This keeps both listener and speaker actively engaged in the conversation. Tips for managers: Use active listening techniques like paying close attention to the speaker’s behavior and body language in order to gain a better understanding of their message. Signal that you’re following along with visual cues such as nodding and eye contact. Avoid potential interruptions, like fidgeting and pacing. Active listening and reflecting, responding, and giving feedback aren’t always easy. Daily pressures and demands often overtake our work, leaving limited time and energy to focus on slowing down to really listen to, and coach, direct reports. Yet while time for formal coaching sessions may be limited, you can fit in coaching moments and coaching conversations. The trick is to be an attentive listener and have your toolkit of active listening techniques at the ready for whenever such moments occur. Unlike critical listening, an active listener is not trying to evaluate the message and offer their own opinion, but rather, to simply make the speaker feel heard and validated. At CCL, we help leaders go beyond basic active listening skills so that they’re better equipped to truly listen to understand others — including the facts, feelings, and values that may be hidden behind the words actually being shared. At the organizational level, this is how to build a workplace culture of truth and courage. If you want to try growing your active listening skillset and you’re ready to take the active listening challenge, read on! The Benefits of Active ListeningBefore we dive into specific active listening techniques and how to improve your active listening skills, it’s important to take a step back and understand why they matter.
Once you begin to put the active listening skillset into practice, you’ll notice the positive impact it has in a number of areas, including in personal and professional relationships, at work, and in various social situations. 6 Steps for More Effective Active ListeningThe Active Listening SkillsetEnhancing your active listening skill set involves more than just hearing someone speak. When you’re putting active listening skills to practice, you should be using these 6 techniques:
1. Pay attention.One goal of active listening and being an effective listener is to set a comfortable tone that gives your coachee an opportunity to think and speak. Allow “wait time” before responding. Don’t cut coachees off, finish their sentences, or start formulating your answer before they’ve finished. Pay attention to your body language as well as your frame of mind when engaging in active listening. Be focused on the moment, make eye contact, and operate from a place of respect as the listener. 2. Withhold judgment.Active listening requires an open mind. As a listener and a leader, be open to new ideas, new perspectives, and new possibilities when practicing active listening. Even when good listeners have strong views, they suspend judgment, hold any criticisms, and avoid interruptions like arguing or selling their point right away. 3. Reflect.When you’re the listener, don’t assume that you understand your coachee correctly — or that they know you’ve heard them. Mirror your coachee’s information and emotions by periodically paraphrasing key points. Reflecting is an active listening technique that indicates that you and your counterpart are on the same page. For example, your coachee might tell you, “Emma is so loyal and supportive of her people — they’d walk through fire for her. But no matter how much I push, her team keeps missing deadlines.” To paraphrase, you could say, “So Emma’s people skills are great, but accountability is a problem.” If you hear, “I don’t know what else to do!” or “I’m tired of bailing the team out at the last minute,” try helping your coachee label their feelings: “Sounds like you’re feeling pretty frustrated and stuck.” 4. Clarify.Don’t be shy to ask questions about any issue that’s ambiguous or unclear when engaging in active listening. As the listener, if you have doubt or confusion about what your coachee has said, say something like, “Let me see if I’m clear. Are you talking about …?” or “Wait a minute. I didn’t follow you.” Open-ended, clarifying, and probing questions are important active listening tools that encourage the coachee to do the work of self-reflection and problem solving, rather than justifying or defending a position, or trying to guess the “right answer.” Examples include: “What do you think about …?” or “Tell me about …?” and “Will you further explain/describe …?” When engaging in active listening, the emphasis is on asking, rather than telling. It invites a thoughtful response and maintains a spirit of collaboration. You might say: “What are some of the specific things you’ve tried?” or “Have you asked the team what their main concerns are?” or “Does Emma agree that there are performance problems?” and “How certain are you that you have the full picture of what’s going on?” 5. Summarize.Restating key themes as the conversation proceeds confirms and solidifies your grasp of the other person’s point of view. It also helps both parties to be clear on mutual responsibilities and follow-up. Briefly summarize what you’ve understood while practicing active listening, and ask the other person to do the same. Giving a brief restatement of core themes raised by the coachee might sound like: “Let me summarize to check my understanding. Emma was promoted to manager, and her team loves her. But you don’t believe she holds them accountable, so mistakes are accepted and keep happening. You’ve tried everything you can think of, and there’s no apparent impact. Did I get that right?” Restating key themes helps increase accountability. 6. Share.Active listening is first about understanding the other person, then about being understood as the listener. As you gain a clearer understanding of the other person’s perspective, you can begin to introduce your own ideas, feelings, and suggestions. You might talk about a similar experience you had, or share an idea that was triggered by a comment made previously in the conversation. Once the situation has been talked through in this way, both you and your coachee have a good picture of where things stand. From this point, the conversation can shift into problem-solving: What hasn’t been tried? What don’t we know? What new approaches could be taken? As the coach, continue to query, guide, and offer, but don’t dictate a solution. Your coachee will feel more confident and eager if they think through the options and own the solution. Used in combination, these 6 active listening techniques are the keys in holding a coaching conversation. Strengthen Conversations Across Your Organization: Develop Active Listening Techniques & Conversation Skills
Build new capabilities and fortify your culture by strengthening the fabric of conversations. Our research-based program can help you build and scale active listening skills and a coaching culture. Partner with us to ensure that everyone at your organization is able to hold better conversations every day. Now that you understand what the 6 active listening techniques are, seriously consider whether you are a truly active listener. You may want to try growing your active listening skillset by taking our 7-day active listening challenge. Assess Your Active Listening EffectivenessMany people take their listening skills for granted. We often assume it’s obvious that we’re practicing active listening and that others know they’re being heard. But the reality is, we as leaders often struggle with tasks and roles that directly relate to active listening. Accepting criticism well, dealing with people’s feelings, and trying to understand what others think all require strong active listening skills. Even with the best of intentions, you may actually be unconsciously sending signals that you aren’t listening at all. You may need to brush up on your active listening techniques if any of the following questions describe you. Do you sometimes:
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone. Access Our Webinar!Watch our webinar, How to Practice Authentic Communication in a Virtual Space, and learn how actively listening for facts, feelings, and values will improve your connections with team members and build relationships that result in more efficient and effective collaboration. How to Improve Your Active Listening SkillsTo boost your active listening skills, try putting these techniques into practice:
If you work to develop better active listening techniques, you’ll not only become known as a good listener, you’ll become a better leader as well. Ready to Take the Next Step?Become a better listener and communicator, both at work and at home, by practicing your active listening skills. Take our Active Listening Challenge to discover 7 specific active listening techniques to try in your conversations next week. Download the Active Listening Skills Challenge NowImprove your active listening techniques today with our week-long challenge. At CCL, we care about your privacy. The information you share with us will only be used to better service you and in accordance with your consent. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. | What to Explore Next| Related SolutionsSUBSCRIBESubscribe to our eNewsletters to get the latest on cutting-edge, leadership insights & research. Leading Effectively Staff About the Author(s)Leading Effectively Staff This article was written by our Leading Effectively staff, who analyze our decades of pioneering, expert research and experiences in the field to share content that will help leaders at every level. Subscribe to our emails to get the latest research-based leadership articles and insights sent straight to your inbox. Related ContentWhat's an example of active listening?Examples of active listening
Brief verbal affirmation - "I appreciate the time you've taken to speak to me" Asking open-ended questions - "I understand you aren't happy with your new car. What changes can we make to it?"
What are the 4 active listening barriers?These are:. External Distractions. Physical distractions or things in your work environment that divert your attention away from the person with whom you're communicating.. Speaker Distractions. ... . Message Intent/Semantics. ... . Emotional Language. ... . Personal Perspective.. |