Listening is not the same as hearing a sound. Interpersonal communication is a far more complex issue than the process when one person says something and another person hears it. We often say something else than we actually think and therefore it is very important to be able to listen in various ways. According to the PR Daily website, the following four listening styles play the most important role in communicating.
1. "Appreciative listening"
The goal of this listening style is to enjoy listening to a story, information or music. To meet its purpose, you need to pay full attention to what you are listening. So when someone is talking to you, do not play with your phone or engage in any other activities.
2. "Critical listening"
In this case, you are listening to a message, identifying its key points and arguments for your feedback. The aim is to analyze what you hear and try to understand others' ideas.
3. "Relationship listening"
Also referred to as therapeutic or empathic listening. We use this style when we want to help a friend solve a problem, to resolve a conflict between employees or to show support to somebody.
4. "Discriminatory listening"
This style is focused on uncovering messages hidden behind words. Ii includes monitoring a speaker's body language and the tone or volume of voice in order to determine what he really thinks. With the increasing use of online communication, the style also includes uncovering what people think when they write post on Facebook or sending tweets.
Let's try an exercise: Which of the listening styles do you use most often and in what situations? What do you think you have the biggest gaps in?
-kk-