2.2.2. Active Listening

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05:20

Reminders

• This class ends 10/31. Make sure you are completing your assignments and lessons.
• Use the resources to help you succeed
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Important Dates:

• No School: 10/14
• 2.2.3. Active Listening: 10/15
• Unit 3 Starts: 10/17
• 3.5. Assignment: Create a Career Plan: 10/31
• Last Class: 10/31

• Three models of communication: linear models of communication, interactive models of communication, & transactional models of communication
• Non-verbal and verbal communication
• communication is the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information.

2.2.1.

Recap

2.2.2.

Active Listening

Vocabulary: active listening, interrupting

Learners can:

• differentiate between passive and active listening
• reflect on pausing before responding
• identify common forms of verbal and non-verbal communication
• recognize and describe active listening skills being used

2.2.2.

Lesson Overview

To effectively communicate, you must not only be a good speaker, but you must also be a good listener. Has anyone ever communicated with you and said, "You're not listening," or asked, "Are you even paying attention?" It is possible you might have said that to someone. Listening is paying attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said or expressed. If the receiver is not listening, a miscommunication could occur.

Active Listening

Passive Listening

Listening is the key to communication. It can help you build trust with others and reduce misunderstandings. There are two types of listening:

Recall the linear model of communication. In this model, the sender talks to the receiver without any response. The receiver, in this case, is typically known as a passive listener. Passive listening means that the receiver might understand the sender's message, or they might not because they are distracted somehow. Consider the example on the right. This team is excited to pitch their idea to their boss. They are going through their presentation, but instead of their boss responding, he is yawning and looking in the other direction. He should have something to say as their boss. Instead, his mind wanders, and he thinks about when he can leave work. The boss would be considered a passive listener.

Passive Listening

It is possible that you might be guilty of passive-listening! Passive listening is not always a bad thing. Think about when you watch television or listen to a radio station. Many times, you are distracted and looking at your cell phone, doing homework, or talking to another person. You like hearing the noise, but you are not fully aware of what is happening. A passive listener is someone who does not respond to what another person says. They will not provide feedback and they do not answer questions the sender may have. In some cases, this type of listening is enough, but the majority of the time the sender wants to be heard.

Passive Listening

To communicate effectively, you must be an active listener. Active listening means completely listening to what the other person is saying with your mind and body. It shows the person you are speaking with, whether a friend, classmate, family member or coworker, that you respect them and what they say. It helps you understand people better and learn more about them. You may think you are a good listener because you hear everything someone says, but are you really listening?

Active Listening

Active listening is not just using your ears. Active listening is a physical and mental skill. It requires showing someone, through your actions and words, that you are really listening to what they have to say and considering their words. This man is showing active listening by making eye contact.

Active Listening

A prerequisite is something you officially must have or do before you can have or do something else.

Before you can be a good active listener, you must commit and practice. Two additional strategies you can practice include:

• Avoiding interruption
• Pausing before responding

How to be a good listener

Interruptions can be very frustrating because they can cause you to lose concentration or feel like the other person does not care about what you have to say. In the video, they discussed putting away your distractions and committing to listening to the sender. Furthermore, keep the focus on them and let them express themselves.

Avoid Interrupting

Interrupting is when something or someone causes you to stop what you are doing.

• Have you ever experienced this?
• Maybe you were trying to concentrate on something such as completing your homework, but you kept getting distracted or interrupted by other people or noises.
• Or, think about a time someone might have just started talking over you during a conversation.

This is also a type of interruption.

Avoid Interrupting

There may be times when it is necessary to interrupt a sender—especially if there is an emergency or a pressing situation that requires your immediate attention. However, most interruptions should be avoided altogether. Is this something you might need more help with? Some ways that you can avoid interrupting the sender are:

• recognizing the behavior;
• listening to understand;
• doing one thing at a time;
• focusing on the speaker.

It is always important to show you have actively listened by the response you give. Remember, if you do not respond at all you might be engaging in passive listening. Active listening requires you to give an informed response on what the sender just told you or to follow up with an informed question. Pausing before you respond can be helpful for a couple of reasons. First, pausing gives you time to reflect on the message and think of a response related to that message. The sender can tell you actively listened when you restate or summarize what they said back to them in the form of a statement or question.

Pause before responding

For example, if Ryan shares with you that he is struggling in math class because he missed a few guided instructions and is unsure how to use the formulas in Unit 4, you could reply with, "Yes, it would be tough to catch up after missing what was taught in those lessons." In this example, you show that you heard he missed a few lessons and is behind with the content. Another reason you should pause before responding is to make sure that your response sends the intended feedback or message. If your emotions are heightened, such as when you are so angry that you want to scream, you are much more likely to overreact or respond in a way you will regret. Pausing before you respond will give you time to formulate your response in the best way possible.

Verbal communication is the words or sounds you or someone else speaks out loud to convey a message. In active listening, verbal communication for the receiver includes responding by asking questions, making statements, and making small utterances. According to the video you watched earlier in the lesson, the most common pattern that good listeners demonstrate is asking good questions and letting the speaker fully answer them. Good questions will either restate a point made to have the speaker further elaborate on it, or they can be used to help you clarify what the speaker is saying.

Verbal Communication

Another type of verbal communication includes small utterances, which are short words or sounds that are interjected into the conversation. Common utterances include:

• "Oh."
• "Oh, no!"
• "Wow!"
• "You don’t say!"
• "Mm-hmm."
• "Huh?"

Verbal Communication

Small Utterances

Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is the opposite of verbal communication. It includes communicating signs and messages through the use of:

• body language;
• hand gestures;
• head movement;
• facial expressions.

3. Thinking

2. Not listening

1. Uncertain

Match the example on the with the non-verbal expression.

Non-verbal communication often happens without thinking about it. As a receiver, you can help facilitate communication by being aware of your non-verbal cues and deliberately using their expressions, gestures, and body language to show you are listening.

Non-verbal Communication

In the next lesson, you will complete an assignment on active listening.

the importance of avoiding interrupting and pausing before responding;

how non-verbal and verbal communication can help you be a strong active listener.

In today's lesson, you learned about:

active listening and passive listening;

Summary 2.2.2.

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Listen to UnderstandWhen you enter into a conversation with someone, be sure that you are listening to understand what they are saying. This means waiting for them to deliver their whole message before responding. Some people will listen to respond, which means they are more likely to interrupt and respond to small details in a message rather than the main point.

One Thing at a TimeAvoid multitasking. When someone is speaking, maintain eye contact and focus on the speaker and the message. If you are distracted, you are more likely to interrupt because you do not realize what part of the communication process you are in.

Recognize the Behavior Practice self-awareness when you are listening to someone speak. Think about what you are doing while you are listening to someone speak. If you are unaware that you are interrupting someone, you are more likely to continue interrupting others.

Focus on the SpeakerTry not to make the story about yourself. It is important that when the speaker talks, you listen to them. Sometimes you might need to use an experience that happened to you to help you respond to a story, but keep it brief. The person is talking to you because they want to be heard. Try to be aware of the number of times you say the words, I, Me, or My.