Active listening in counselingĪctive listening has been shown to be a vital skill in counseling. Whether at work or in casual conversation, active listening can provide a safe and empathetic space for a speaker, fostering feelings of trust. It is also a skill that will benefit the listener in their life outside of work. Is It Important in Communication? 4 BenefitsĪctive listening is often referred to as a “soft skill,” meaning that it is useful in many contexts and beneficial in most professions. This illustrates the principle of unconditional positive regard. The listener accepts and supports the speaker regardless of the content of their words. Active listening can’t be faked.Īctive listening requires true feelings of respect toward the individual speaking. This reflects the principle of genuineness. Rogers stresses that in order to be successful in active listening, the listener must be authentic in their care. These thoughts and feelings are believed, supported, and respected. Active listening is a tool that fosters and supports these principles.Įmpathy is demonstrated in active listening by the listener reflecting the thoughts and feelings of the speaker. Rogers described three important principles in effective counseling: empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard. This change can occur in the context of a client/helper relationship or in the context of a group. For Rogers, the ultimate goal of active listening was to foster positive change (Rogers & Farson, 1987). They describe the skill as vitally important for effective communication. Psychologists Carl Rogers and Richard Farson (1987) are responsible for defining the concept of active listening. All of these taken together can convey a much deeper meaning than merely the content of what was said. Nonverbal cues include tone of voice, facial or body expressions, and speed of speech. In this way, the speaker feels understood and empathy is established. An active listener is not only tuned in to the information conveyed, but also how it is conveyed and any nonverbal cues present.Īfter listening, when a response is appropriate, the listener should respond to the feeling of what was said. When someone is conveying a message, there are two meanings to gather: the content and the feeling or attitude underlying the message. There are three main components of successful active listening (Rogers & Farson, 1987):
Active listening has even been referred to as the “measurable dimension of empathy” (Olson & Iwasiw, 1987, p. They will need to have an excellent attention span and honed empathic abilities. In order to achieve this, the listener must be willing to devote energy to the task. The listener is encouraged to interpret not only the content of what is being said, but also the emotions present and the body language.
We may not be paying much attention to the nonverbal communication cues of the speaker.Īctive listening requires the listener to pay close attention to what is being communicated verbally and nonverbally. We might get distracted and miss some of what was said. Often, while we are listening, we are thinking of how we will respond.
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