Listening skills

Listening is an essential part of communication skills, both in in studies, work tasks and in private life. Unfortunately, listening is often overshadowed by speaking or producing messages, even though it is essential for interaction: there is no communication without listening.

Toinen opiskelijaa keskittyy kuulokkeilla kuuntelemiseen kun toinen esittää valkotaululle

Listening is a skill worth developing

Intentional listening,for example, helps in making lecture notes, in interpreting and understanding the communication of others, and in creating a sense of partnership and trust, for example, in negotiation and teamwork.

The relevance of listening skills in working life is demonstrated by the fact that being heard, understood and appreciated are key criteria when assessing the quality of work and the productiveness of work in many expert positions.

Listening is a multilateral process

Listen to what listening includes and, for example, what is the difference between hearing and listening:

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Listening is a multilateral process

Listening involves perceiving, receiving, understanding, analysing, evaluating, and responding to both verbal and non-verbal messages.

We often distinguish listening (kuunteleminen) and hearing (kuuleminen). The difference is that hearing refers to perceiving sound, whereas listening refers to directing your attention to understand what sounds mean, as in shared communication.
Listening includes an affective dimension, such as understanding others' emotions, showing appreciation and acceptance, as well as providing support. By listening, we demonstrate our interest not only in the topic, but also in the other person and in collaborating with them.

How we listen affects, for example,

what we learn and how we learn,
how we are understood and how we understand others,
how we engage with others and how our expertise is valued.

By listening poorly and misunderstanding, for example, work instructions, one can cause both mental and material damage.

Tuula-Riitta Välikoski

What kind of listening is needed?

Do you

like to focus on listening critically, even when it might be more important in the communicative relationship to show presence and acceptance?
tend to focus on shortcomings in pronunciation or grammatical conjugations in the other person's speech, rather than striving to understand the message?
prefer to resolve the conflict quickly by presenting your own solutions?

The appropriate and effective way of listening depends on the communication task, goals, situation, and the parties involved.

Examples of listening orientations

analytical/categorical listening: This involves categorising the content of the message (e.g, to opinions, facts, reasons, and consequences). When giving feedback on learning tasks, analytical and categorical listening helps to pay attention to what is essential.
critical listening: This emphasises evaluating messages from perspectives such as reliability and consequences. In the case of a scientific presentation, in addition to analytical and categorical listening, critical listening that assesses reliability is necessary.
supportive listening: This places emphasis on demonstrating presence and creating a welcoming and encouraging atmosphere. In situations where encouragement and support are needed, or when dealing with challenging issues, it is important to express supportive listening.
dialogical listening: This orientation is aimed at encouraging parties to present their viewpoints and consider each other's perspectives. In situations where it is important to present viewpoints from all parties, a dialogical listening orientation serves best in achieving the goal.

Can you think of a situation where you have used various listening orientations?

You can improve your listening by considering the following questions

What is the purpose of your listening? Are you listening in order to learn and better understand the topic or the other party? Is it to categorise and evaluate the reliability or value of something? Or is it to win, to be right, or to have the last word?
What kind of listening approach does the (work) task or situation require?
What kind of assumptions and feelings do you have towards the topic, situation, or other parties? How do they affect your attitude?
What factors help or hinder your listening?
How do you focus on listening to the message in its entirety before making an interpretive or evaluative conclusion?
If you notice your attention wandering or the situation evokes strong emotions, what helps you return to intentional listening?
How do you show that you are actively listening, e.g., verbally and nonverbally?
How do you show consideration and appreciation for others and their participation?
What indicates to you that you are properly listening?
What kind of feedback have you received about your listening skills?

Speak in a way that makes people want to listen to you. Listen in a way that makes people want to speak to you.

Further reading on the Academic study skills website

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