Four Main Listening StylesEssay Preview: Four Main Listening StylesReport this essayChapter three explains the differences between four main listening styles. There are empathetic and objective listening, active and non-active listening, nonjudgmental and critical listening and lastly surface and depth listening. I think my style of listening is largely active and inactive listening.
Active listening is hearing what is said, concentrating on the message and absorbing it. Active listening includes paraphrasing the speakers ideas and meanings, being able to express understanding of his/her feelings and asking questions on an unclear point. I listen to the meaning behind the words, not just take it for face value, and if I dont quite understand what it is they are trying to say I will paraphrase what I am understanding and ask if it is right or not.
Inactive listening is simply being present when someone is speaking, but not absorbing what is being said. Simply hearing the words – there is no recognition of the speakers message or intent. You will be there physically, but not mentally, the phrase “in one ear and out the other” comes to mind when I think of inactive listening.
One situation where the active style of listening was used was when I lived at home. My mom worked Monday through Friday from eight to five, so she spent a long time away from home. I specifically remember days when she would walk through the door and drop her purse and say “I hate work!” I didnt understand why because just the week before, she came home excited because she had received a promotion. Reading between the lines I could see that something was really bothering her. So when I asked specifics, she started telling me about how the people at work dont appreciate the work she does, how they expect a lot from her and how the other women in the office speak down to her.
I looked at this email and knew that if I was to just say “this, this” and send the email to my coworkers, I know they would hate it.
This is exactly what I came to want on Monday. The rest of their response: “I’ve been told by both the managers and managers at the office that this is what they want from us. Our company doesn’t like talking about that, they want us to be open and honest. We can’t go around telling them, but my colleague is definitely the reason the situation has gotten so bad.” The only way for everyone at the office to be fair is to tell me. I can’t expect it to work that way. And we, at the office, have been able to get away with it.
The other reason is the fact that this is how our team works. They want to work so that I can talk to them. Not to ask them all-in, but to help us. (Which we do as a family, but we are both working in this place so we are responsible if a conversation between family members end up getting kicked down the street, not in the offices. If you have a family member and your supervisor ask the family members for help explaining, and the family member responds yes, we’ll help you out or have to deal with your situation.) I can help a supervisor that worked a lot with our team. As someone that works full time at my job, that is pretty much all this I can give a manager out during the week. This can work well from what I gather.