

Then the speaker can go beyond confirming that the listener understood what happened, but can indicate that he or she also understood the speaker's psychological response to it. Thus, instead of just repeating what happened, the active listener might add "I gather that you felt angry or frustrated or confused when". Often, the listener is encouraged to interpret the speaker's words in terms of feelings. If the listener did not, the speaker can explain some more. This enables the speaker to find out whether the listener really understood. The listener does not have to agree with the speaker - he or she must simply state what s/he thinks the speaker said.

The listener must take care to attend to the speaker fully, and then repeat, in the listener's own words, what he or she thinks the speaker has said. Often, they assume that they have heard what their opponent is saying many times before, so rather than paying attention, they focus on how they can respond to win the argument.Īctive listening is a structured form of listening and responding that focuses the attention on the speaker.

When people are engaged in a conflict, they are often busy formulating a response to what is being said. They are often distracted, half listening, half thinking about something else. Description:Īctive listening is designed to deal with the problem that people often do not listen attentively to the person they are talking with. Users:Īnyone, but especially useful to people in conflict and intermediaries who are trying to help others deal with conflict. Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding.
