People-oriented listeners listen to a speaker’s feelings and ideas. Potential
downsides of this style are being nonjudgmental about what is being said or getting too
involved in other’s emotions. Being supportive and understanding would be a good
when talking with co-workers about personal life events. This type of listening might not
be appropriate when serving on a hiring committee. Listening to a speaker’s feelings
and ideas could be helpful, but problems could arise if the committee member is not
judging the candidate’s responses.
Action-orientated listeners focus on facts and ideas related to the task at hand.
Potential downsides of this style are appearing to minimize the personal side of
business and co-workers not liking this approach. This listening style might be good for
a meeting about what tasks need to be completed before a critical software upgrade.
Action-oriented listening could be problematic in meetings about worker dissatisfaction
and other people-orientated matters.
Content-oriented listeners hear details and evaluate the quality of ideas. Potential
downsides of this style are that being thorough might take longer than some people
would like and that the listener might appear too critical or hostile. Evaluating ideas
could be good for meetings where numerous ideas are being presented as possible
solutions to a problem. When a problem needs to be solved quickly, this approach might
take too long.
Time-orientated listeners value time and efficiency. Potential downsides of this
style are impatience with others putting strain on relationships and valuing time over
thinking things out. Time-oriented listening could help keep a time-crucial project on
track, but might not be a good fit for a project that requires carefully thinking things out.