Retaining information from messages being received is increased with the amount of attentiveness the receiver gives to what is being communicated. Poor memory retaining techniques like cramming may cause information to be forgotten as our brains have a limited capacity to process more than one thing at a time. Because everyone has different memories, the speaker and the listener may attach different meanings to the same statement. Memory is essential to the active listening process because the information retained when a person is involved in the listening process is how meaning is extracted from words.

Retaining is the second step in the process. In order to listen for comprehension, it will be important for a receiver to be aware and understand these cultural norms. In many of today's cultures, comprehension may include a knowledge of people using neutral pronouns or preferred pronouns. For example, if you are listening to someone communicate through a disability such as severe lower-functioning autism, you will need to pay close attention and forego common methods of organizing information as it is received. Attentiveness can be emphasized not just in one's ability to listen, but to listen and respond with sensitivity to particular needs or cultural norms.

In addition, careful attention should be paid to repeated parts of the message being communicated. Bottom-up listening for comprehension will involve an attentiveness to emphasized words such as longer or louder words. Top-down listening for comprehension will involve preparing for what message is likely going to be given, attempting to organize what is being communicated, and listening for summarizations or shifts in topic. This can be done through top-down or bottom-up listening strategies. Comprehension is a shared meaning between parties in communication. The first step in the active listening process is that of comprehension. Non-verbal cues such as tone, inflection, gestures, and facial expression provide the listener further insight into what the speaker is trying to convey. According to a study conducted by Albert Mehrabian, 55% of communication is non-verbal. Having the ability to interpret a person's body language lets the listener develop a more accurate understanding of the speaker's message as body language conveys more meaning than the words that are spoken. The listener can observe non-verbal behaviors through kinesics, the study of body motion and posture, paralinguistics, the study of the tone of words, and proxemics, the study of physical distance and posture between speakers. People who have been listened to in this new and special way become more emotionally mature, more open to their experiences, less defensive, more democratic, and less authoritarian.' Technique Īctive listening comprises several components by the listener, who must pay attention to what the speaker is attempting to communicate and elicit clarification where necessary for comprehension.Īctive listening involves the listener observing the speaker's non-verbal behavior and body language.

Listening brings about changes in peoples' attitudes toward themselves and others it also brings about changes in their basic values and personal philosophy. Despite the popular notion that listening is a passive approach, clinical and research evidence clearly shows that sensitive listening is a most effective agent for individual personality change and group development. Rogers and Farson write: 'Active listening is an important way to bring about changes in people. Practicing active listening also emphasized Rogers' (1980) concept of three facilitative conditions for effective counseling empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard.

Carl Rogers and Richard Farson coined the term 'active listening' in 1957 in a paper of the same title (reprinted in 1987 in the volume Communicating in Business Today).

Active listening definition