Episode 145 - 4 Listening Styles | Smarter By The Minute

Episode 145 - 4 Listening Styles

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Just as you can set the air conditioner in your car to blow at low, medium, high, and super blast, you can set your levels of listening. There are 4 types of listening: inactive, selective, active and reflective.

Inactive listening is when your ears are present but your brain is not. You’re not paying any more attention than listening to background music in the grocery.

Selective listening is the one most of us use most of the time. Unconsciously, we filter and only hear pieces, such as when a co-worker tells you what he had for lunch Monday.

Active listening is when you are consciously aware of listening, like when a new customer is placing a new order – you want to be doubly sure to hear correctly. Active listening is highly effective because you receive both words and message.

Reflective listening is used with deep content. You ask questions for clarification and ponder because the emotional message can be as significant as the words, such as when your son tells you he wants to enlist in the Army.

Is it smart to always be in an active listening or reflective listening mode? No. Use active listening and reflective listening when you especially want to understand and remember what you are hearing. Use active listening often but not all the time. In different situations, it’s smart to choose a listening style that will work for you.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Episode 145 - 4 Listening Styles

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