This is a complete guide to active listening in your training sessions.
Chapter 1: Listening Skills Needed For Training Settings<
Chapter 2: Examples Of Non-Verbal Listening Skills
Chapter 3: How To Develop Active Listening Skills
Chapter 4: The Pitfalls Of Active Listening Within A Training Session
Chapter 5: How You Can Improve Your Listening Skills
Chapter 6: How To Build On Your Listening Skills
Chapter 7: Monitoring Your Listening Skills
Let’s dive right in.
Chapter 1: Listening Skills Needed For Training Settings
In this section, we’ll answer the question, ” How do I support different individuals within training sessions?”
While conducting a training session, the trainer needs to be able to support various individuals and situations while still achieving the objectives of the training program.
Listening Skills For Training Settings
When we think of training, we often associate it with delivery or the transfer of something from the trainer to the participants.
However, you need to develop a two-way stream between you and the participants to be an effective trainer. Mastering active listening will help you make this connection and maximize all aspects of your training.
You will need to understand two main types of active listening skills – verbal and non-verbal.
Verbal Listening Skills
- Paraphrasing involves repeating back to the participant what was said in his/her own words or similar words. For example, ‘Do you find that time management skills assist …’ This encourages the participant to engage in further conversation.
- Clarifying – A form of checking what was said is understood. For example, ‘You are saying that you don’t like time management training and don’t want to attend the course’.
- Reflecting – Here, the trainer captures feelings that they believe the participant is displaying. For example, ‘It looks like you don’t like training.’
- Explaining – Offering an interpretation of information or even events. For example, ‘It may be that …’.
- Open-ended questioning—Asking these questions encourages further communication, such as ‘What happened next?’ It is important that the questions require more than yes or no answers. Only use these closed questions when looking for specifics.
- Linking—The trainer can link sentences to demonstrate his/her interest in what is being said while encouraging the participant to talk further. For example, ‘and, then?’
- Summarizing – This is simply capturing what is said into one statement. For example, ‘In all, there seem to be three points, one … two …?’. Encouraging – As with all the examples above, active listening skills are all about encouraging your participants to contribute and share with the group. Another way to directly encourage is to thank or recognize a contribution. For example, ‘Great comments on this topic, thank you.’ It is also possible to employ what is known as sub-speech, e.g., ‘uh-huh’ and ‘man’.
- Active Silence—It might seem like an exciting way to link words. Still, strategic silences or pauses can indicate to participants that you are actively listening and taking their information in. It is a great way of encouraging further comments and details.
Chapter 2: Examples Of Non-Verbal Listening Skills
Below are some examples of non-verbal listening skills you can explore in your training sessions.
- Facial Expression—Listening to our faces is an interesting concept in itself. Our faces express how we feel and our intentions. As a trainer, this can be another way to communicate that you are listening to participants and encouraging their participation.
- Body Language – As a trainer, how you stand, sit, and
position your body will communicate your interest levels and how well you are listening. To illustrate, if someone is answering a question, leaning slightly towards them will show that you are attentive, whereas moving away will communicate a restrictive position. - Eye contact—Quite simply, making eye contact communicates that you are open and interested in what is being communicated and encourages them to continue.
- Personal Space – Ensure a comfortable distance between you and the speaker. If you get too close, the person may not only physically
withdraw but may also withdraw within the conversation. - Timing—Ensure that you don’t interrupt the speaker at inappropriate times. Doing so will only indicate that you are not listening and cause the speaker to withdraw.
Chapter 3: How To Develop Active Listening Skills
Having discussed various verbal and non-verbal listening skills and introduced the pitfalls of active listening skills, this guide will outline essential attributes of successful active listening skills that you should adopt in all your training events.
- Concentration—Ensure that you are focusing on the words, concepts, themes, and feelings associated with what the participants are saying. This is not always easy, but as you practice this skill, you will find that it becomes much easier.
- Eye Contact – Ensure you always make good eye contact with whoever delivers the message.
- Attention & Receptive Body Language—Clearly demonstrate through both verbal and nonverbal actions that you are paying attention. Accomplishing attention also requires practice. This may at first mean that your actions are very conscious or deliberate and even strained, but in time, it will be very natural for you. Everything that you do must demonstrate how receptive you are to your participants.
- Restating The Message & Questioning/Clarifying – Always ensure the message is understood.
- Empathy – Always try to understand where someone else is coming from and his/her message.
- Objectivity – Just be open, and you’ll do fine.
- Strategic Pauses – They say that silence is golden. Always introduce short silent pauses that show you are contemplating what is being said. It also allows you to construct your responses or feedback.
- Not Interrupting—Let the participants have their say, and don’t interrupt. Interruptions only stop the flow of communication and can lead the participants to retreat.
- Listening, Not Talking—It sounds obvious, but remember that you are listening and not talking. If you do talk, there needs to be a good reason for it!
Chapter 4: The Pitfalls Of Active Listening Within A Training Session
Although active listening has many clear benefits, considerable care must also be taken to avoid some challenging pitfalls.
- Repetition Only—Repeating what the speaker has said can lead to frustration and cause the participants to withdraw.
- Analyzing can overcomplicate what is said and make the trainer seem like a ‘know-all’.
- Over Expansion – The trainer expanding too much on what was said can make the speaker feel that they were not heard or misheard.
- Omission—Omitting facts can make the speaker feel that they were not heard or that they were misheard.
- Exaggerating – Here, the trainer may intensify a feeling too much on what was said. It can make the speaker feel that they were not heard or misheard.
- Rushing—Jumping in or filling the pauses between words can make the speaker feel that they were not heard, that they were misheard, or even manipulated.
- Lagging – Not actively supporting or directing the conversation can make participants feel that the trainer is disinterested.
Chapter 5: How You Can Improve Your Listening Skills
Use the following questions to identify areas for improvement.
Verbal Listening
Do you use the full range of verbal listening skills?
(e.g., summarising, clarifying, reflecting, paraphrasing, interrupting/explaining, open-ended questions, encouraging, following, silence, linking)
Do your interactions improve or distract from the flow of discussions?
Count how many times you interrupt a speaker. Is each interruption necessary?
Do you finish people’s sentences for them? Why do you do this?
Are you making any of the pitfalls of active listening? Which ones in particular and why?
Non-Verbal Listening
Observe yourself or ask someone to give you feedback on your non-verbal skills.
Are your gestures appropriate?
Do they match your verbal responses?
Are any of your verbal expressions or gestures giving the message ‘stop’ to a speaker?
Is your eye contact appropriate?
List Your Areas For Improvement:
Chapter 6: How To Build On Your Listening Skills
There are three stages to support the development of your active listening skills.
- First, you must have a solid awareness/analysis of your current competence.
- Second, it is important to recognize the areas that may require work.
- Third, a realistic skills development program must be developed and implemented.
The following should always be considered when providing or asking for feedback:
- be specific
- use examples of techniques
- always ensure that it is the behavior and not the person that is being assessed
- Suggest areas and ways of getting improvement
- Focus on the positive
Chapter 7: Exercises For Developing Active Listening Skills
Ask a friend or colleague to work with you in a group setting.
Focus on the active listening skills listed in this handout. Ask for honest feedback on the quality of your interactions.
Record a discussion program on the radio or television. Note the appropriate interactions. Compare them with your style and identify areas for improvement.
Practice asking the following open-ended questions:
- “What happened when …?”
- “Where are you …?”
- “How did that work out to be?”
- “Why was that the decision?”
- “When did you find out that …?”
- Practice the following clarification process:
- “Does this mean…?”
- “Will this help the other situation …?”
- “Is this what you would recommend?”
- “Are you suggesting that we do …?”
- Reflect on the non-verbal messages that you give in your sessions. What should you do differently?
Practice communicating the following using non-verbal gestures:
- “I am interested in what you are saying.”
- “I am bored with what you are saying now, but I still want you to tell me something else.”
- “You surprise me with what you’re saying.”
- “I am glad that you are getting involved.”
- “Tell me more.”
- “I am not sure what you are saying to me.”
Chapter 8: Monitoring Your Listening Skills
Regularly review your current active listening skills using the scoring criteria provided.
- List the skills that you need to develop further.
- List things that you are going to do to develop these skills further.
- Suggest who and what will help you achieve these skills.
- List the things that might hinder this development.
- Apply a realistic timeframe for these skills to be achieved.
- Set a date when you will evaluate your progress.
- We have provided an action plan on the next pages that will help shape the ongoing development of your skills.
Chapter 9: Active Listening Skills – Action Plan
I need to improve my knowledge, skills, and abilities in the following areas:
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Note: These improvements will represent your goals after you complete the course.
These improvements will be measurable in the following ways:
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To attain these improvements, I will need to:
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This is how I plan to attain these improvements (e.g, Goal, Action Step, Target Date, Evidence)
The following people and resources will assist me in accomplishing my goals:
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The following are constraints that may impact the achievement of my goals:
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Here is a list of other factors that I need to consider in achieving my goals:
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To achieve my goals will involve:
Signed:
Conclusion
That’s it for our guide to active listening skills within your training sessions.
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With 30+ years of training experience, Catherine Fitzgerald, B.A., M.A., PGDip, founded Oak Innovation (oakinnovation.com) in 1995. Catherine received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from University College Cork. She holds qualifications in Professional Development And Training from University College Galway. Since 1995, clients include Apple, Time Warner, and Harvard University.
