Types of Listening

There are 3 main types of listening.

1-Active Listening
The listener gives verbal or non-verbal feedback by asking
questions and/or by paraphrasing what the speaker said. In this
situation, the listener uses his other senses to go beyond the
words spoken. Hearing alone does not provide enough
information. It is about understanding the speaker’s point of
view without necessarily agreeing with it. Active listening is the
most civil type of listening because you must acknowledge
emotions and feelings.
Active listening is used to ensure a mutual understanding. In
fact, in a conversation, the interlocutor is rarely fully committed.
It is very common for the listener to be distracted by
preoccupations, noise and other distractions. Overall, the
interlocutor is only providing his full attention 50% of the time.
This type of listening is the most valuable during a conflict.
When a conflict occurs, we concentrate on our arguments and
how we will respond instead of listening to the speaker. This
means that we are unable to effectively comprehend the
speaker’s message. Active listening doesn’t mean we have to
agree with the speaker, simply understand what they are trying
to convey.
A good way to see if you have understood the speaker’s words is
to paraphrase. This way, misunderstandings can be detected and
solved quickly.
For more tips on effective listening please visit techniques to
increase listening skills.
2-Critical Listening
The critical listening is also known: as evaluative, judgmental or
interpretive listening.
The main goal of this type of listening is to evaluate the message
with logic while analyzing the different arguments provided by
the speaker. It requires some analysis, judgment and critical
thinking. It is necessary in order to be able to criticize the
strength of the evidence and to determine the motive of the
speaker. However, critical listening is not an easy task to
accomplish because it is needed to absorb and evaluate the
information together.
When applying critical listening, the main key point is to first of
all understand the speaker before evaluating. Questioning
oneself about the credibility, the validity and the strength of the
evidence is vital. Some other questions such as: Is this speaker
bias? Is he a trusted expert in his domain of expertise? These
types of questions can help separate the facts from the personal
opinions from the speaker.
In this situation, it is important to be open-minded because it is
important to stay objective.
For more tips on effective listening please visit techniques to
increase listening skills.
3-Content listening
This type of listening involves understanding and retaining the
information provided by the speaker. It also requires to identify
the main key points of the message and to find cues by doing a
summary of it. Moreover, it is important to understand different
sounds and tones provide by the speaker. However, some other
factors need to be taken under consideration such as phonology,
vocabulary, grammar, general discourse, and informational
discourse.
To effectively apply content listening, it is needed once again
identify the main idea or the key points of the message. Then,
the next thing to do is to ask questions for clarifications if the
message was misunderstood. This will increase the level of
understanding of the message transmitted.
For more tips on effective listening please visit techniques to
increase listening skills.

Techniques to Increase Listening Skills

There are different ways to listen depending on the environment

the listener is located, whether it is at work, at school or even
just listening in general. The listener needs to adapt to that
environment to be able to listen actively and effectively. In other
words, listening seems like an easy action and most people tend
to believe that it doesn’t need any effort or skill to be better at it.
As a matter of fact, some people may think that listening is an
action that comes naturally but it is not the case. Furthermore, it
is known that most people are able to speak at the rate of 175 to
200 words per minute but are capable of listening and
processing over 600 to 1000 words per minute. Listening is can
be difficult because the human brain does not use its full
capacity to accomplish such a simple task. In addition, people
are more worried about what they want to say and think their
message is more important. Given the fact that listening is a
difficult skill to master, there are a few tips and techniques in
order to be better at it. We will concentrate on listening in
general, how to listen in the workplace, and how to listen in a
classroom.

Techniques to improve listening skills in

general
Listening in general is related to listening to your friends and
family or simply when engaging a conversation. This type of
listening is hard because most of the time people tend to get lost
on their own thoughts or do not take the speaker seriously.
However, there are ways to improve your listening skills in
general. After reviewing different articles from different authors
on how to improve our listening skills in general, we came to the
conclusion that there at least eight to ten important techniques.
In order to give an idea of all the tips for better listening, we
only posted the most significant article. Listed below, you will
find the main key points in order to listen effectively.

Face the speaker: adopt a position that will allow you to show
the attentiveness through your body language. Also, transmitting
non verbal communication, such as nodding your head, will
make the speaker feel that you are listening.

Maintain eye contact: Again, to show that you are listening and
to show your level of comfort.
Avoid external distraction: Make sure to avoid distractions
such as any noise or activities that could prevent you from fully
listening to your speaker.

Avoid internal distraction: Avoid getting lost in your thoughts

and if it does happen, try to focus again on what the speaker is
saying.

Provide feedback: When listening, it is very important to

respond from time to time.

Try to maintain your attention on what the speaker is

saying: Listen carefully and avoid thinking about what you are
going to say. Only focus on the message the speaker is trying to
transmit.

Be open-minded: Do not be judgmental while the message is

being transmitted, wait until the speaker has finished.

Rephrase the message: After the message is transmitted you

can rephrase in your own words what the speaker just said in
order to make sure that you grasp the message.

Engage yourself: If you did not understand the essence of the

message, do not hesitate to ask questions for some clarification.
However, wait until the speaker is finished to avoid interrupting.
Importance and Benefits of Effective Listening
To better understand the importance of having great listening
skills, it is necessary to take into consideration the multiple
advantages that can derive from it, in the workplace and by
extension in the classroom.
1-In the workplace
a) Employee’s perspective
For the employee, listening:
-Expands capacity and knowledge
Great listening skills make an employee more competent and
capable, regardless of his position. The more an individual can
get information out of the meetings, the instructions, and reports
provided to him, the more efficient and successful he will at
completing his tasks. By listening effectively, he s able to grasp
the t exact information he needs in order to execute his work
without committing regrettable mistakes. Also as a result,
listening enriches know-how and knowledge and helps fulfilling
job requirements through progressive learning.
-Intensifies successful conversation
Another advantage of effective listening for an employee is that
he becomes a better team player. If employees take the time to
listen to each other, to their suggestions, warnings, advice and
informational inputs, it allows them and the departments they
work in to coordinate better, to avoid misunderstandings, and
build profitable relationships among workers. Furthermore,
effective listening reduces risks of inter-personal conflicts in a
workplace creates an environment of peace, respect which
facilitates enduring success for the whole enterprise
-Saves time and money
Effective listening not only reduces risks of misunderstanding
and mistakes that could be very damaging to the business, it
saves time and money for all departments forming a
collaborative workforce. How? … by avoiding the trouble and
inconvenience of starting a task or a project over again, just
because the directives given were misunderstood. Employees do
not waste precious time and a specific budget allocated to a
specific project, given that time and money are the two most
important resources in business.
b) Leader/boss’s perspective
For a manager, listening:
- Helps detects and solve problems quickly
As a leader, an entrepreneur should always be attentive to what
employees have to say, whether it concerns the mechanism, the
processes or the project of a business platform. In the workplace,
they are the first ones to spot flaws and come up with
suggestions for amelioration. It is up the manager to grasp and
distinguish necessary and useful information to take the actions
needed. In the same perspective, with “good ears”, he’s able to
make better decisions and to discover more about all aspects of
the company.
-Confers respect and trust
By listening to staff members, a leader shows great respect and
care to them. As a result, he gains the trust and esteem of
workers and achieve referent power as mentioned by French &
in Raven in the article “the bases of social power”. As an
appreciated leader, he gets people to open up and is able to
collect useful information about them and their capabilities.
- Enhances motivation and encouragement
Listening gives a leader the power and ability to encourage and
motivate employees. Moreover, a boss who listens stimulates his
subordinates in reaching their maximal potential and at the same
time a maximum success. This is way to inspire a level of
commitment in people and the feeling of membership.
Sometimes, it only take for a boss to listen to someone and give
feedback showing understanding , for the same person to feel
he’s part of a group, to find the encourage to overcome some
difficulties he might find at work.
- Allows better negotiations terms and resistance overcoming
A leader also assumes the role of a negotiator and often faces
problematic situations in negotiations: When the parties are
more focusing on imposing their ideas and getting approval for
their suggestions and propositions, they miss important
information such as the underlying demands and offer of each
group. The meeting can continue on for the interlocutors to
realize at the end that they did not manage to come to an
agreement. Knowing how to listen effectively keeps negotiators
from committing these types of errors and capture useful
information that will be able to use against the opponent and
bend his offer at their benefit.
c) Customer’s perspective
For the relations customers have with the company, listening:
-Strengthen customer relationships and facilitates products
and services improvement
By putting in place a system to collect customers’ feedback on
the usage of a product or a service, the company let the
consumers know that their opinion matters and gain their
loyalty. Furthermore, the suggestions, critics and experience are
used to ameliorate the products and services and innovate.
Why people do not listen

Techniques > Listening > Why people do not listen

I'd rather talk | I'm distracted | It's not interesting | I'm busy talking | See also

One of the reasons people are not good at listening is because they do not listen. Listening skills
start with paying attention. If you know why your mind is tending not to listen, then you have
taken the first step in addressing this.

I'd rather talk

Talking can seem far more useful and attractive than listening, and so people will seek to talk
rather than listen.

Needs

Talking seems to better address more needs than listening. When I talk, I am in control, and can
steer the conversation any way that I choose. When I talk I am also the center of attention,
which boosts my sense of identity.

Goals

When I am talking, then I have a better opportunity to achieve my goals, for example by telling
other people to do things that I need them to do. I can keep the conversation on my own agenda
and prevent others from talking about things that are of no interest to me.

I'm distracted

Busy thinking

We talk at 200-250 wpm (words per minute) but can listen at 300-500 wpm. Thus when the
other person is talking, we get side-tracked by our own thoughts (which may well be triggered
by one thing that the speaker says). When we come back into the room, we find that we have
lost track of the conversation. Rather than lose face and become embarrassed by this, we nod,
smile and hope nobody will notice.

Busy waiting
When we have decided that we want to respond to the speaker, we then stop listening for two
reasons. To avoid forgetting what we are going to say, we need to keep rehearsing our thoughts
and words and so get lost inside our own heads. We also stay inside as we think about better
ways to put our case. When we are paying attention to the speaker, we are not listening to what
they say but listening for a space in which we can interject with our reply.

It's not interesting

Speakers are responsible for their listeners every bit as much as the listeners are responsible for
listening. The speaker can thus do their bit to stop other people listening to them, including:

 Using boring and uninteresting language

 Using complex and difficult language
 Using a flat speaking tone
 Not using supporting body language
 Not paying attention to the listeners
 Insulting the listeners (perhaps accidentally)
 Talking about things that are not of interest to the listener
 Talking for too long
 Not giving the listener the opportunity to reply

This does not excuse the listener, although it may make their job harder. If you are a speaker,
one of your first jobs is to try to help the other person keep listening.

I'm busy talking

People who are talking usually have attention on themselves and what they are saying. With this
self-focus, they do not notice that other people are waiting to speak or want to comment about
what the speaker has said. Even if they do notice, many people will continue to talk, either to
retain control or to fulfill their need for completion (even if nobody is listening!).

Bad listening habits

Techniques > Listening > Bad listening habits

Common habits | Key issues | See also

There are many ways to listen badly, sometimes affected by the listener and sometimes by the
environment.

Common habits

Bad listening is common, but is seldom really intended. The way that it effectively works is that
we fall into the thoughtless repeating patterns of habits.

Here are some of the bad habits as suggested by several authors. It is scary how many of these
may be recognized in oneself...

Nichols and Stevens (1957) offer the following list as poor listening habits.

1. Calling the subject uninteresting

2. Criticizing the speaker &/or delivery
3. Getting over-stimulated
4. Listening only for facts (bottom line)
5. Not taking notes or outlining everything
6. Faking attention
7. Tolerating or creating distractions
8. Tuning out difficult material
9. Letting emotional words block the message
10. Wasting the time difference between speed of speech and speed of thought

Robertson (1994) describes the following list as the ten most common bad listening habits.

1. Lack of interest in the subject

2. Focus on the person, not on the content
3. Interrupting
4. Focus on the detail, missing the big picture
5. Force-fitting their ideas into your mental models
6. Body language that signals disinterest
7. Creating or allowing distractions
8. Ignoring what you do not understand
9. Letting emotions block the subject
10. Daydreaming

Barker and Watson (2000) suggest the following as irritating listening habits:

1. Interrupting the speaker.

2. Not looking at the speaker.
3. Rushing the speaker and making him feel that he's wasting the listener's time.
4. Showing interest in something other than the conversation.
5. Getting ahead of the speaker and finishing her thoughts.
6. Not responding to the speaker's requests.
7. Saying, "Yes, but . . .," as if the listener has made up his mind.
8. Topping the speaker's story with "That reminds me. . ." or "That's nothing, let me tell you
 about. . ."
9. Forgetting what was talked about previously.
10. Asking too many questions about details.

Key issues

It is interesting to note the overlaps and differences in the above lists. Key underlying aspects
about these include:

 Lack of respect for the speaker

 Stuck in own head; trapped by own thoughts
 Hearing only what is superficially said; missing the real meaning
 General ignorance about social politeness

Many types of listening

Techniques > Listening > Many types of listening

There are many names for different types of listening. Here is a collection of types and the
different names that get ascribed to them, along with a brief description of each.

Name Description

Listening in a way that demonstrates interest and encourages

Active listening
continued speaking.

Looking for ways to accept and appreciate the other person through
Appreciative what they say. Seeking opportunity to praise.
listening
Alternatively listening to something for pleasure, such as to
music.
Attentive listening Listening obviously and carefully, showing attention.
Biased listening Listening through the filter of personal bias.

Listening without obviously showing attention. Actual attention may

Casual listening
vary a lot.

Comprehension
Listening to understand. Seeking meaning (but little more).
listening

Content listening Listening to understand. Seeking meaning (but little more).

Listening in order to evaluate, criticize or otherwise pass judgment

Critical listening
on what someone else says.

Seeking to understand the person, their personality and their real

Deep listening
and unspoken meanings and motivators.

Finding meaning through conversational exchange, asking for clarity

Dialogic listening
and testing understanding.

Discriminative
Listening for something specific but nothing else (eg. a baby crying).
listening

Seeking to understand what the other person is feeling.

Empathetic listening
Demonstrating this empathy.

Listening in order to evaluate, criticize or otherwise pass judgment

Evaluative listening
on what someone else says.

False listening Pretending to listen but actually spending more time thinking.

Full listening Listening to understand. Seeking meaning.

High-integrity
Listening from a position of integrity and concern.
listening

Inactive listening Pretending to listen but actually spending more time thinking.

Informative listening Listening to understand. Seeking meaning (but little more).

 Listening at first then thinking about response and looking to
Initial listening
interrupt.

Listening in order to evaluate, criticize or otherwise pass judgment

Judgmental listening
on what someone else says.

Listening most of the time but also spending some time day-
Partial listening
dreaming or thinking of a response.

Listening, then reflecting back to the other person what they have
Reflective listening
said.

Relationship Listening in order to support and develop a relationship with the

listening other person.

Sympathetic
Listening with concern for the well-being of the other person.
listening

Therapeutic Seeking to understand what the other person is feeling.

listening Demonstrating this empathy.

Paying very close attention in active listening to what is said and the
Total listening
deeper meaning found through how it is said.

Whole-person Seeking to understand the person, their personality and their real
listening and unspoken meanings and motivators.