Which of the following are reasons active listening is a must have skills

Active Listening Skills for Successful Communication

By Indeed Editorial Team

December 8, 2021

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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.

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What is Active Listening?

Active listening is when you are fully aware and concentrate on what is being said rather than passively hearing what the speaker is trying to convey.

The goal of active listening is to acquire information, listen to understand people and situations before responding to it. It is the conscious decision to listen carefully and understand what people are trying to convey without being judgmental.

The listening ability can vary from person to person. But the good part is that it is a communication skill and can be acquired with time and patience. It is about focus and understanding and looking at things from different perspectives for the greater good.

Trivia!

Did you know, people spend between 70%-80% of their day engaged in some form of communication, and about 55% of their time is devoted to listening? But the question is, do they actively listen?

‘Active listening’ is the term first coined by psychologists, Carl Rogers and Richard Farson in 1957 in a paper of the same title.

They write;

‘Active listening is an important way to bring about changes in people. They indicate how clinical and research evidence clearly shows it as one of the most effective agents for individual personality change and group development. And also how active listening brings changes in peoples’ attitudes toward themselves and others; shaping their basic values and personal philosophy’.

What Is Active Listening? How Can I Do It Better?

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.

The listener may 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 — and may signal that they’re following along with visual cues such as nodding, eye contact, or avoiding potential interruptions, like fidgeting and pacing.

If you want to try growing your active listening skillset and you’re ready totake the active listening challenge,read on!

Using Active Listening to Coach Others Takes Intentional Effort

While important, 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.

The Purpose & Benefits of Active Listening

Before 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.

First, when a leader engages in active listening, it helps establish trust between both parties, shows empathy for others, and fosters psychological safety. Being a thoughtful listener, asking questions, seeking clarification, and encouraging others to share their perspective and will reinforce your role as a spouse, friend, colleague, coach, and mentor.

Being a strong, attentive listener who can provide effective feedback will also enable you to coach your people more effectively. Your co-workers and direct reports will respect you more, and you’ll likely see improvements in your relationships with them as a result.

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.

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.