Traits of a Good Listener

TRAITS OF A GOOD LISTENER

What are the characteristics / qualities / traits of a good listener ?

1. Being Non-evaluative2. Paraphrasing3. Reflecting Implication4. Reflecting Hidden Feelings5. Inviting Further Contribution6. Responding Non Verbally

Being Non-evaluative

• If you are an active listener your verbal and non-verbal actions will suggest your understanding.• It will show that speaker is properly heard.

• You (listener) should overlook (avoid) the qualities

of the speaker. For example – Ideas , attitudes ,

knowledge ,information, values whether is right or

wrong.

• You should not judge the qualities of the speaker.

• Your behaviour should show that you accept

the speaker without making any judgement.

Paraphrasing

• Paraphrase means if you wish to clarify a point ,

you have to paraphrase the topic of the speaker.

• To check whether you

understood the speaker

properly , you can

inquire from the speaker.

• To paraphrase the point of the speaker

correctly you can use following phrases,

• 1. “So you mean to say that……”

• 2. “Do you mean that….”

Reflecting Implication

• A good listener always encourages the speaker

by using reflecting implications.

• To reflect your feelings, you can appreciate the

speaker for his ideas, views and his

knowledge.

• It will encourage the speaker to expand his

ideas.

• The listener can motivate the speaker by

nodding his head or verbal methods or giving

positive feedback.

• For example ;

• 1 “ So you mean to say that…”

• 2. “ I am sure if you did that, you…”

Reflecting Hidden Feelings

• As a listener sometimes you have to be positive.

• You as a listener express your

underlying feelings , intentions

,values ,which can influence

the speaker by following

sentences :

• 1. “If I were in your place…”

• 2. “If I were in such a situation…”

• 3. “If that had happened to me…”

Inviting Further Contribution

• If you have not heard or understood the

message clearly, but still if you want to

respond, you can ask the speaker to give more

information about the topic.

• For that we can use following phrases;

• 1. “Can you throw more light on it ?”

• 2. “After that what happened ?”

• 3. “How did you react ?”

“Will you explainIt in detail?”

“Yes, of course”

• While it is useful to ask questions, be alert

about asking too many, If you ask too many

questions, it will create negative environment

in communication.

Responding Non-verbally

• A listener can show the speaker that he is an

active listener by showing positive gestures

and postures.

• Your non-verbal signals express your interests

and positive attitude.

• These include: body language, eye contact,

postures, gestures, facial expression, etc.

• These types of signals reflect trust, interest

and understanding.