Active listening is a skill that can be acquired and developed with practice. However, active listening can be difficult to master and will, therefore, take time and patience to develop.
'Active listening' means, as its name suggests, actively listening. That is fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively ‘hearing’ the message of the speaker.
Active listening involves listening with all senses. Also it means giving full attention to the speaker, it is important that the ‘active listener’ is also ‘seen’ to be listening - otherwise the speaker may end that what they are talking about is uninteresting to the listener.
Listeners should remain neutral and non-judgmental, this means trying not to take sides or form opinions, especially early in the conversation.Listeners should not be tempted to jump in with questions or comments every time there are a few seconds of silence. Active listening is also about patience - pauses and short periods of silence should be accepted.
