Listening Styles

Listening Styles

We talk about different styles of listening for two important reasons. The first reason is that recognizing the different styles that exist allows us to hone our skills in different directions, to practice adaptability. The second reason is that understanding the different styles of listening will help us recognize when these styles are required. Therefore, we are able to recognize what style of listening is demanded and which skills to use in a particular situation. We are working on becoming more effective listeners

Listening

Over many years of scholarship, many listening scholars have contributed to our understanding of various “styles” or “types” and, while the exact names change, we have been pretty consistent in determining a set of skills that make us better listeners.

Beyond the mindful nature of listening, and the awareness that listening is an active process, we can examine the styles currently used in the LSP-R to see that certain skills are necessary. One is focus, that we can collect and remember information. Another is observation, noticing inconsistencies and errors. We also need to have patience, to hear all that the speaker has to say and give it due consideration before forming judgments. Finally, and some would say most importantly in interpersonal communication, we need to have compassion and a deep understanding of the other.

Those skills show up as four styles, Task-Oriented listening, Critical listening, Analytical listening, and Relational listening. All of these skills are critical if we want to be better listeners. The LSP-R is not about determining what style is best, it is about critically assessing which skills you already have, and which ones you are developing.

Task Oriented Listening

The skills you use here are all about getting something done, which means you are working on the process of listening with a focus on remembering what you heard. See the textbook and LSP-R activity to learn more about this style.

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Critical Listening

The goal of critical listening is to evaluate what the speaker is saying. Critical listening is more active since it involves some sort of problem-solving or decision-making. A large part of task-oriented listening deals with getting information – critical listening is about attending to that information and making a judgment. When the word ‘critical’ is used to describe listening, it does not necessarily mean that you believe that the information you are listening to is somehow incorrect or flawed. Critical listening means you are listening and asking yourself questions such as, ‘What is the speaker trying to say?’ or ‘What is the main argument being presented?’ See the textbook and LSP-R activity to learn more about this style.

Analytical Listening

Easily one of the more difficult styles, analytical listening focuses on gathering all of what the speaker has to say, considering it from multiple perspectives, and considering the entire message. Here, we are focused on withholding judgment. For most people, this is the skill that is most difficult to achieve. We have been trained to make quick decisions, and this style demands that we do not decide anything, just that we listen to all of the facts and gather the entire meaning of the message. See the textbook and LSP-R activity to learn more about this style.

Relational Listening

The primary skill in Relational listening is empathy. Empathic listening involves attempting to understand the feelings and emotions of the speaker – to put yourself into the speaker’s shoes and share their thoughts. Empathy is a way of deeply connecting with another person. Empathy is not the same as sympathy, empathy requires that a listener understand another person’s point of view. We will learn more about empathy as a skill in the third module of the course. To learn more about relational listening, see the textbook and LSP-R activity.

In this short video, Simon Sinek helps us understand how listening interpersonally works from a relational perspective. [5:12]

Sinek, S. [Simon Sinek]. (2021, Oct 27). 
The Art of Listening 
[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/qpnNsSyDw-g?si=IIW-pvfTstcuEcYb