Strategies to Promote Effective Listening

• Arrange the environment to assist with effective communication
• Face the person to whom you will be talking
• Make eye contact to show attention and to help receive information
• Lean slightly toward the person to indicate interest and receptivity
• Show genuineness through facial expressions and other nonverbal behaviours

THREE TECHNIQUES FOR ACTIVE LISTENING

Reflecting

Reflecting is repeating or mirroring the words of the other person to ensure that you heard correctly. You must ensure that you hear the words and not make assumptions about what the person said. Reflecting forces the speaker to really think about what he or she is saying. They will often solve their own problem through discussion.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is condensing the other person’s statements into your own words to ensure understanding and to try to get the main point or the “meat” of the message. Repeat the statement in your own words so that the other person can let you know whether or not you have grasped the meaning. Paraphrasing is used when the message from the other person is not very clear or when you are more personally involved in the issue and may not hear the other person very clearly.

Probing

Probing is used when either you aren’t understanding the other person or you want to help them come to a better understanding for themselves. It can involve closed-ended questions, open-ended questions, or both.

Closed-ended questions:

• Have only one answer or one direction in which to answer
• Tend to shut down or limit discussion
• Force people to make decisions
• An example of a close-ended question is “Was John’s objective clear?”

Open-ended questions allows for clarification and more than one answer, such as“ What do you think was John’s major point?”