What is attentive listening and example?

What Is Active Listening?

Likecritical thinkingandproblem-solving, active listening is asoft skillthat’s held in high regard by employers. When interviewing for jobs, using active listening techniques can help show the interviewer how your interpersonal skills can draw people out.

Active listening redirects your focus from what is going on inside of your head to the needs of your prospective employer or interviewer. This technique can help reduce your nervousness during an interview.

By placing your focus, through active listening, squarely upon the interviewer, you prove that you:

• Are interested in the organization’s challenges and successes
• Are ready to help them problem-solve work issues
• Are a team player as opposed to being nothing more than a self-absorbed job candidate.

It’s important to not interrupt, or worse, try to answer the question before you know what the interviewer is asking.

Listen carefully to the interviewer’s questions, ask for clarification if necessary, and wait until the interviewer has finished talking to respond.

What is active listening?

We know the common meaning of active listening is fully concentrating on what the speaker says rather than just passively ‘hearing’ them.

But there’s more. Listening actively is also about patience and not interrupting a speaker.

You will notice manyexamples of active listeningaround you. Students listen actively to their teachers. Employees listen to their leaders. And leaders listen to their employees.

Importance of active listening

Did you know that about 70-80% of our working hours are spent in communication of some form? The average person spends only 30% of their time talking and 45% listening.

This underscores the importance of developing active listening skills. Here are some tips for effective listening to make your communication more effective.

Tips for effective listening

Harappa’s Listening Actively course delves into the importance of active listening to improve one’s communication. The HARP Equation in the course focuses on developing the process through Hearing, Attention, Response, and Perception.

However, while you are exploring or have just joined the course, here are some tips for effective listening to get you started:

‘The first step to listening actively is paying attention to the speaker. And as management guru Peter Drucker said, “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”

Here are some ways in which you can give your undivided attention to the speaker:

• Look at the speaker directly
• Stop other activities while you are listening
• Don’t prepare a response or a rebuttal in your mind as you listen
• Avoid being distracted by external factors such as noise or side conversations
• Pay attention to the speaker’s body language

1. Show that you are listening:

Sometimes even though you give your undivided attention to the person speaking, they look doubtful or ask if you’ve understood what they said. This is because they don’t see any sign of attentive listening.

Your active listening skills must be visible to the speaker. How do you convey your interest? It’s simple. You can use nonverbal signs such as nodding your head or smiling whenever appropriate. Even your posture says a lot about your interest and attentiveness.

So next time you are all ears to someone, try to let them know through your gestures and body language:

• Maintain eye contact with the speaker
• Use body language to show interest–sit straight or lean in, and stop fidgeting
• Nod, smile, and use appropriate facial expressions
• Encourage the speaker to continue with comments such as ‘yes’ or ‘hmm’

1. Ask questions and give feedback:

People sometimes listen without understanding what the speaker is saying. Always engage with the speaker by sharing your feedback or asking questions for effective communication.

• Ask thoughtful questions to clarify your doubts
• Try to summarize the speaker’s points to confirm if you understood them clearly
• Reflect on what the speaker has said by paraphrasing

The soul ofactive listeninglies in respecting the speaker and understanding what is being said. Those who listen with genuine interest don’t have reactions. They formulate appropriate responses that enrich the conversation. A well-thought-out and respectful response shows that you have listened closely to the speaker. It encourages them to share more information.

So, how can you ensure that you respond and not react? Here are a few tips:

• Reflect on what you have heard instead of reacting immediately
• Be open, honest, and candid when you respond
• Do not attack the speaker or challenge them rudely
• Be respectful yet assertive with your opinions

How to Practice Active Listening

Active 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 Hear

Paraphrase 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 Judgment

Remain 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 Questions

Avoid "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 Patient

Don'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.

Active Listening Skills: Definition and Examples

By Indeed Editorial Team

11 February 2021

TwitterLinkedInFacebookEmailCopy to Clipboard

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.

Signs of Active Listening

Non-Verbal Signs of Attentive or Active Listening

This 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.

Smile

Small 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 Contact

It 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.

Posture

Posture 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.

Mirroring

Automatic 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.

Distraction

The 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.

Communication

If you enjoyed this page, please consider bookmarking Simplicable.

A list of communication techniques.

A few common types of analogy.

Understatement as a storytelling and communication technique.

The common types of tagline.

The basic elements of constructive criticism.

A definition of communication objectives with examples.

A definition of public relations with examples.

The two ways that people accept ideas.

A definition of cultural capital with examples.

A definition of touch base with examples.

A definition of positive criticism with examples.

The common types of business story.

The definition of consensus building with examples.

The definition of credibility with examples.

The most popular articles on Simplicable in the past day.

Recent posts or updates on Simplicable.

Check our sitemap for a complete list.