Do you value listening? Do you know that there are different types of listening that you consciously and unconsciously practice?
Many people often take listening for granted, for it is what just happens! However, you can become an active listener only when you realize that listening is an essential skill that must be nurtured and developed.
Effective listening is the foundation of strong relationships and good communication. Understanding the listening style of the person you are communicating with is crucial as you need to change the kind of your listening depending upon the situation you are in!
In this blog, we have explained the significance of listening and the different types of listening that are important in your personal and professional life.
Significance of Listening
Listening is essential for effective communication. There are numerous types of listening that you can practice. However, you must remember that listening is not just a skill; it’s a discipline. Turning into an active listener requires practice and determination.
Active listening is significant in the workplace. So, whether you are looking for a new opportunity, attempting to improve yourself on the present job, or endeavoring to acquire an advancement, developing active listening skills will help you succeed.
Not only this, but listening skills will also enhance your worth in the workplace. Here are some benefits of listening that you just can’t miss!
- Builds trust and strong relationships
- Helps resolve conflict
- Helps inculcate more knowledge
- Makes you innovative and creative
- Prevents you from missing important information
- Enables you to recognize and anticipate issues
- Helps you to understand things better
The capacity to tune in and grasp permits people to build robust relationships with colleagues. Good and active listeners have the record of setting things right, be it their personal life or professional!
Effective Types of Listening Skills
Now that you know the significance and benefits of listening, the next thing to know is the types of listening. All of us use critical, informational, and empathetic styles while communicating with others.
But before moving further, let us have a look at some stats;
- Research shows that an average person hears between 20,000 to 30,000 words in 24 hours.
- Many of us only retain 17% – 25% of the words we listen to in a day.
- We all listen to more than 450 words per minute.
Now, there are numerous other types as well apart from these three mentioned above. So, let us discuss them in detail.
- Empathetic Listening
As the name suggests, empathetic listening is based on understanding the speaker’s condition and providing support to them. This kind of listening builds trust and positive interactions.
It strengthens your relationships and makes way for effective communication. Empathetic listening is one of the most common types of listening, wherein the listener identifies himself with the feelings and experiences of the speaker. Of course, the listener need not experience the same situation as the speaker, but he/ she should try to imagine and understand the other person’s point of view.
For instance, if your coworker is facing pressure due to an increased workload, you will understand his/ her struggle. By understanding and empathizing with the other person’s situation, you will be able to make better decisions.
Always remember – the more you practice, the better you will become at it. So, it’s better to start practicing from today to become a good listener!
- Time-Oriented Listening
Time-Oriented Listening is concerned with timeliness and deadlines. Time-oriented listeners are similar to ‘executive’, i.e., they verbally express time constraints. However, these leaders have short attention spans and prefer hearing the message quickly without hearing any unnecessary details. As a result, time-oriented listeners may be impatient and rude if they don’t get the point readily.
Such kinds of listeners pay immense attention to time. They wish to make the most of their time and are critical of mistakes. Not only that, time-oriented listeners often tell the speakers how long they will be listening to them!
When the information provided is clear and concise, time-oriented listeners tend to become receptive. Otherwise, they may just become impatient if your point isn’t easy/ clear.
- Action-Oriented Listening
Action-Oriented listening includes concise, error-free, and clear messages. They enjoy having conversations with quick pointers and can easily spot inconsistencies.
Action-Oriented Listeners are more likely to ask for clarifications. They also tend to focus on emotional aspects and try to comprehend the message as clearly as possible. Thus, action-oriented listeners believe in having a short and meaningful conversation!
- Critical Listening
As the name implies, critical listening includes scrutinizing and analyzing the ideas suggested and expressed. Here the listener makes mental judgments based on what the other person is saying, thereby evaluating whether the message is trustworthy or not.
This type of listening involves examining the facts, comparing the messages, and then making a decision.
Another essential element of critical listening includes having an open mind without preconceived notions and stereotypes. This will enable you to become a better listener, enhance your interpersonal skills, and broaden your knowledge. In addition, this kind of listening will allow you to conduct brainstorming sessions and develop new & innovative solutions.
- Appreciative Listening
Appreciative listening is when the listeners seek specific information and appreciate it as it helps them achieve their goals and fulfill their needs. For instance, you may listen appreciatively to podcasts, good music, or an inspiring speech of a great leader.
Similarly, if a coworker is giving a presentation, you can use eye contact and nod to show that you are listening attentively. This kind of listening often makes the speaker feel valued and respected – it is one of the best kinds of listening to practice! So, make sure that you make someone feel appreciated once in a while.
Ineffective Types of Listening Skills
Unlike the effective types of listening, there are some ineffective types of listening as well. These kinds can be avoided by understanding what they are. However, these ineffective types tend to hinder communication and give rise to conflicts.
So, here are the ineffective types of listening that you must avoid.
- Selective Listening
In selective listening, you filter the messages and concentrate only on some specific aspects. This may affect your ability to understand what the message intends to convey, leading to miscommunication. Also, filtering out the messages may reinforce bias for future communications, which is not good!
- Biased Listening
Biased listening is a type of listening wherein people only hear what they like to hear and form opinions based on stereotypes they may have against the speaker. They may misinterpret what the speaker says depending on their bias.
- False Listening
Another ineffective type of listening is false listening, wherein one pretends to listen to the other person but doesn’t really listen or even try to comprehend the message. Moreover, such listeners pretend to listen with the help of appropriate gestures like nodding or smiling. Thus, false listening will definitely impact your ability to be effective in your job. So make sure you don’t practice it!
Speak a little less & Listen a little more!
One kind of listening isn’t better than the other. Instead, the types of listening mentioned above will help you better understand what style you must practice and what not. Also, you will be able to comprehend the message better, resulting in effective communication in every area of life.
You can become a better communicator, avoid misunderstanding, and gain people’s trust easily by being a good communicator.
So, tell us what types of listening you would like to practice at the workplace as well as in your personal life? After all, you learn a lot by listening!
