Business, Thought, and Management Articles --- Active Listening Skills --- Definition
Active listening denotes listening method actively, being interested in, and accepting opponents' speech so as to listen until deep contents of speakers mind. Active listening is one of the counseling techniques.
Listening is similar with hearing, but they are different. Hearing is just receiving sounds. Listening is choosing and concentrate to the sounds. We say "listening to the music", "listening to the speech". So, we listen something to learn, to understand, or to enjoy.
When you just listening, maybe you look you are doing nothing. You do not move, sometimes you close your eyes so you may look you are sleeping.
From your appearance, we do not know if you are concentrated on listening.
Listening attitude influences speaker's feeling very much. Speaker sometimes feel unpleasant with listener's attitude.
Just listening silently without action, speakers feel difficulty to continue. If speaker feel like he/she is ignored, he/she may stop speaking.
Active listening is "active". You look straight to the speaker, nod every time speaker say something, pick up keywords of the speech, sometimes repeat what speaker have said so as to express the listener is "interested in" what speaker says.
The listener looks definitely listening, and being very interested in the speech. Listeners expresses that he/she is interested. And he/she positive to the speaker almost entirely.
By doing this action, listeners can go deep inside of speakers mind, to enable to get the bottom of the matters/troubles of the speaker.
* Return to Active Listening Skills
Definition
Active listening denotes listening method actively, being interested in, and accepting opponents' speech so as to listen until deep contents of speakers mind. Active listening is one of the counseling techniques.
Why Active Listening?
Why active listening now? How come does active listening technique spread as effective mental counseling technique, or as means of voluntary activity?
Nature of Human Mind
There is another reason that active listening is being focused at mental counseling. People do not say truth in deep mind easily on conversation, since they guard themselves against others. And, speaker is influenced by what listeners say immediately.
Distance, Posture, and Body Action
Active listening is to listen actively to the story the speaker says. To listen actively, it is important to provide good environment that speaker feels free to speak. Distance between speaker and listener, posture and body action of listener are important to provide good environment.
Observe the Movement of the Opponents Eyes
Active listening will continue to listen and listen to the other party without interrupting the other's story or guiding it with your own opinion. If you continue to listen to the other person's story, occasionally contradictory points or confusions may be found.
Changes due to the Way to Reply
You listen to the story of the other party actively when active listening. Express your interests with your body, encourage the other person to talk with great nodding. As a speaker, ease of talk changes greatly depending on how the listener responds.
Thought Methods
The active listeners will basically listen to the story of the other person without saying opinions, evaluation, advice etc. If you continue to listen to the other party's story, you will not be able to keep silent as a listener. Your opinion wants to go out from your mouth.
Application to Conversation
Active listening is effective not only as a psychological counseling technique but also as an effective communication method in conversation etc. By applying active listening to conversation, it is possible to communicate well.
Stress Divergence Effect
Many people are engaged in social life without having a place to disclose their own troubles over time. They do something else to live while dissipating stress and trying to forget their troubles.
Favorable Effect
When receiving active listening, you can speak with your own thoughts without receiving opinions, evaluation, advice etc. You feel familiar with and have a favorable impression to the people who listened to your stories and accept your own words as they are.
Effects that can Obediently Express Feelings
In society, there is no chance to express emotions easily. Every day, most people live while killing emotions. People are forced to be alienated by society, and we can not go on to express emotions unnecessarily in the organization.
Effect of Finding a Clue for Self-solution
You can speak what you are suffering everyday by receiving active listening. In fact the troubles are often not organized in mind. Since you rather want to forget it, the memories are becoming ambiguous or misunderstanding.
