Critical listening is a much more active behaviour than informational listening and usually involves some sort of problem solving or decision making.
Deep Listening
It involves paying attention to both verbal and nonverbal cues, such as the words being used, the speaker's body language, and their tone. This type of listening helps build trust and rapport, and it helps others feel comfortable in expressing their thoughts and opinions.
Empathetic Listening
Empathic listening is the highest level of listening and the one that requires that greatest amount of mental and emotional energy.
Rationale: Effective communication consists of both speaking and listening. Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. It is an important first step to defuse the situation and seek solutions to problems.
The four types of listening are appreciative, empathic, comprehensive, and critical. Familiarize yourself with these different types of listening so you can strengthen and improve your ability to critically think and evaluate what you have heard.
Pay attention.
Put aside distracting thoughts. Don't mentally prepare a rebuttal! Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. "Listen" to the speaker's body language.
The American Psychological Association (n.d.) describes active listening as a “psychotherapeutic technique in which the therapist listens to a client closely, asking questions as needed, in order to fully understand the content of the message and the depth of the client's emotion.”
There are five levels of listening: feed- back, paraphrasing, clarification, empathy, and active listening. Most of us are adept only at the first level.
Attentive Listening
At all four of these levels it should be evident that we are listening to our own perspective, and in most cases with the intent to respond from our experience. The fifth level of listening is Empathic Listening Empathic listening, also known as empathetic listening is the top level of listening.
Active listeners use verbal and non-verbal techniques to show and keep their attention on the speaker. This not only supports your ability to focus but also helps ensure the speaker can see that you are focused, engaged, and care.
Active Listening is Difficult
But the biggest difficulty in listening is NOISE. Let's explore the topic of noise as it relates to effective communication.
Level 1 listening is an interaction where the primary focus of the listener is on their own thoughts, opinions, judgments and feelings. People relate the words they hear to their experiences or needs. This type of listening is entirely appropriate when we are facing a decision or when we must collect information.
Examples of active listening
Paraphrasing - "So, you want us to build the new school in the style of the old one?" Brief verbal affirmation - "I appreciate the time you've taken to speak to me" Asking open-ended questions - "I understand you aren't happy with your new car.
Also called active listening or reflective listening, empathic listening requires you to be considerate of the other party's input. One main quality of empathic listening is giving support and encouragement rather than advice or criticism. Read More: Active Listening Skills: Definition and Examples.
Active listening helps in recognizing other's perspectives and feelings and helps us appreciate them. This not only helps in resolving conflicts but also helps foster a culture of respect. Try to understand others' perspectives before responding.
Through critical listening, we analyze and evaluate messages at various levels. We use empathetic listening to try to understand or experience what a speaker is feeling. Appreciative listening is the easiest type of listening as we use it to experience pleasure.
Making eye contact and responding to the speaker doesn't necessarily mean you're listening to what they have to say. Blinking excessively, making too much eye contact, and interrupting people are all signs you're not a great listener.
Not talking when others are speaking. Letting others know you're listening through facial expressions and verbal sounds (“Mmm-hmm”) Being able to repeat what others have said, practically word-for-word.