Active Listening
Begin your Self-Inventory while you are waiting; it is located in
your student handbook under this titled section.
Understanding Listening
 Self inventory
Barriers to Listening
 Topic uninteresting
 Criticizing speaker( appearance, communication style)
 Fake attention
 Getting over-stimulated by what the speaker says
 Distractions
 Personal prejudice
How to improve Listening Skills
 Develop a desire (motivation)
to listen, regardless of your
interest level.
 Become aware of your own
biases and attitudes.
 What are “shock” words or
situations
 Be open minded
 Don’t listen only for facts
 Delay judgment
Listening Styles
Passive Listening
 Passive listening is showing a
person that you are interested
without really speaking.
Active Listening
 Active listening is using verbal
responses to show acceptance,
understanding respect,
sympathy, and
encouragement.
Passive Listening
Passive Listening Techniques:
 Make eye contact
 Reflect your feelings with
facial expressions
 Nod your head
 Use short encouraging verbal
responses (‘ uh-huh”)
 Lean forward
Active Listening Techniques:
 Use verbal responses (
Active Listening
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“Really?”, “I see”, “What
happened next?”).
Comment directly on what is
being said.
Restate the speaker’s ideas in
your own words (“Do you
mean…..?”).
Encourage the person to
express feelings (“I guess you
must have felt….”)
Encourage more information
(Tell me about…”)
Don’t pass judgment.
Volunteer??
Attending
 Attending: Giving all of your physical attention to another
person.
 Huge impact on the quality of communication between two
people.
 Let’s them know you are interested in what they have to say.
 LACK of good attending communicates that you really don’t
care about what you have to say.
How to Attend
 The body should be relaxed; alert posturing
 Leaning slightly toward the speaker
 Communicates energy and attentiveness
 Face the other squarely, position yourself so you are at eye level
with the speaker
 Communicates that your involved; places you out of authority
figure, and helps with feelings of threat or fear.
 Maintain open posture (fosters interpersonal relatedness)
 Closed posture (crossed arms or legs)- coldness, defensiveness
 Awareness of proximity to the speaker
 Personal space; boundaries-crossing can be defensive/ too much is a
disconnect.
TOO MUCH TO
REMEMBER?
Just SOLAR
S
O
- face the mentee(s)
squarely
– have an open posture
L
– lean into the
conversation
E
– eye contact
R
– be relaxed
QUESTIONS???