The skill for active listening today is: Summarize. Summarizing refers to the listener giving a brief restatement of the core ideas that he or she has picked… Read more “Active Listening Skill #6”
Category: marriage
Active Listening Skill #5
The active listening skill for today is: Reflect feelings. As you attentively listen to the speaker be aware, or tune into the feeling message that is attached… Read more “Active Listening Skill #5”
Active Listening Skill #4
The active listening skill for today is: Paraphrase. It is wise to never assume full comprehension of what a speaker is telling you. Everything shared goes through… Read more “Active Listening Skill #4”
Active Listening Skill #3
The third skill for active listening is: Request Clarification When another is speaking, perhaps responding to a question you asked, it is quite easy to misunderstand their point. Active… Read more “Active Listening Skill #3”
Active Listening Skill #2
The next skill in active listening is: Ask Open-ended Questions.
Paying attention is the critical first skill to be used in active listening. As I listen attentively, repeating back what I’m hearing the speaker say, I can take the conversation deeper by asking questions. Open ended questions are best in active listening, since the goal is a more complete understanding the speaker’s meaning.
“Could you say more about…?” “Would you be willing to explain this further?” “Could you help me to understand this better?” are all example of questions that extract more information.
These questions should be asked in the cooperative spirit that was begun by using attentiveness.
To sum up, at this stage of listening the goal is understanding the other, not problem-solving. Attempt to keep defensiveness down by using active listening skills.
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Active Listening Skill #1–Be Attentive
I promised to write a short series on active listening this week so here goes. The first skill is Be Attentive: Start out with positive thoughts about… Read more “Active Listening Skill #1–Be Attentive”
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