FOUR TYPES OF LISTENING

We listen for so many different reasons, however many take listening for granted as they thought that it is something that is so innate that does not have to be given that much emphasis on. It has to be considered that listening is a very important skill that needs to be developed and improved to meet our goals as listeners. Most importantly, effective listening is a foundation of strong and well-founded relationships.

Appreciative listening is all about you as a listener - how you feel and what you think. This type of listening is not about academic or workplace related. This is something you do for yourself. Doing appreciative listening can actually increase your self-esteem. Therefore, this is something that should not be overlooked. A man who gives time for himself is a happy and fulfilled man. 

This type of listening requires the listener to concentrate to get the ideas right. Most importantly, it requires the listener to participate. This type of listening also requires non-verbal signals; thus, you don't merely listen, you actually observe how the message is delivered. This is the reason why it is very important to make clarifications.

When you listen critically, you evaluate; thus you need to analyze information to form a thorough evaluation. When you listen, you actually make mental judgments based on what you know, what you see and hear before you can validate the information. In other words, you are engaging in problem solving. Therefore, scrutiny is essential in this type of listening. 

Showing mutual concern is key to empathic listening. This is when the listener is focused on the speaker to understand what he is going through like what counselors and therapists do.  This type of listening establishes human connections. 

It is important that we make use of listening to understand people and everything around us. Let us always remember that not all that we've heard, we've actually listened. True listening only happens when you do something about what you listened to.

References:

Fundamentals of Public Speaking. Lumen. Retrieved from

 https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-fscj-publicspeaking/chapter/types-of-listening/

Types of Listening. (2020). Skillsyouneed. Retrieved from 

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-types.html

Appreciative Listening: How it Can Increase Your Sense of Self. (February 2020). Udemy. 

Retrieved from https://blog.udemy.com/appreciative-listening/