Listening Skills & Understanding

Active Listening Skills

One of the biggest complaints between people is not being listened to, not heard and being interrupted

How can you demonstrate you are listening, and understanding?

  • Be quiet.
  • Ask one question (not multiple) and then maintain eye contact and do not talk
  • Take notes (ask permission - is it OK if I take notes please?)
  • Mirror their style and posture
  • Think about your body language (never fold your arms)
  • Nod in agreement
  • Touching / supporting your chin with the fingers of one hand demonstrates thinking about a big point
  • Make affirmative noises
  • Concentrate on the person and ignore potential distractions
  • Ask a probing question about the last answer
  • Be empathetic, be patient, show compassion, repeat what you heard in paraphrase, summarise and recap

See handout 2 for tips on do's and don'ts

Complete and Continue