What is active listening? (it’s not just nodding)
Most people know the phrase ‘active listening’, but if you ask them to define it, we get a range of vague descriptions, often involving adopting a concerned expression and nodding occasionally. What is the ‘active’ element that makes us a participant rather than a passive recipient?
What is Active Listening?
It means listening for total meaning, providing unwavering attention and being a positive participant in the interaction.
“Active listening is more than ‘hearing’ someone’s words. It means fully attuning to the feelings and views of the speaker.”
(Nelson-Jones, 2014)
“Active listening is a technique that aids effective communication and is a skill that business analysts need to possess.”
(Paul and Lovelock, 2019)
Active Listening Behaviours
OK – so there might be some nodding, but that is not the extent of genuine active listening behaviours! We need to be conscious of our facial expressions. For example, do we need to be encouraging and get people to provide more details? Do we need to be appreciative that they have made time to speak with us? Think about the emotional response the speaker needs or expects from you, and it will be much easier to find the matching facial expression. Note this may change during the conversation, so it is important to stay attuned to the speakers’ changes in tone and expression as well as the words they use. Slanting our heads is often interpreted as a sign of empathy and willingness to learn more. Online engagement means we have more opportunities to notice and learn from our own facial expressions and the impact they have on the speaker.
The difference between speaking to someone you feel is genuinely listening to you and someone who is multi-tasking is immense. The absolutely critical element of active listening is to give the other person your full attention. There is sometimes a decision to make about note-taking and active listening. Some people feel that if they are giving their time and knowledge, the other person should be making notes. This is particularly relevant for stakeholder interviews, for example. There may be other ways to take notes without splitting your attention from the speaker, such as having someone else take notes, using transcription, noting down keywords only or making notes after the session. Multi-tasking while listening can prevent us from making the appropriate level of eye contact. Continuous eye contact can be difficult to maintain and disconcerting, but a complete lack of eye contact can leave the speaker feeling unheard.
The role of the active listener is not to be silent, and we have a number of ways we can contribute to a better interaction through the use of these active listening behaviours:
- Question – ask thoughtful, open questions
- Probe – ask follow-up questions designed to elicit more detail
- Clarify – check your understanding, clarify particular aspects
- Paraphrase – play the information back using your own words
- Summarise – relate the highlights of what you have heard, and ask if you have missed anything key.
Listening Modes
There are multiple listening modes that we can adopt, and many of us have a default mode.
- Task-orientated listener – key focus on getting to actions and focusing on the most ‘important’ information.
- Analytical listener – trying to understand and simultaneously analyse the content of the conversation.
- Relational listener – focused on building connection and understanding emotions.
- Critical listener – focused on making judgments about the content of the conversation and the speaker.
Being aware of our natural style or mode can help us be more aware of our behaviours and the impact on others.
Remember – those who are curious and analytical can often spot many ways something can be improved. If we voice all of these, it can come across as overly negative!
Avoiding Judgment
If we are busy with our own thought processes trying to evaluate what the other person is saying, we are not giving our full attention to listening and understanding. Judgment can take up a great deal of brain space and mental energy. In many conversations, it is better to suspend or defer judgment to keep us in the moment so we can reflect and evaluate what the person has said later.
Avoid Deflection Back to Self
To really understand and listen to the other person, we want to keep the focus on them and what they are saying. This means avoiding bringing the focus of the interaction back to our own experiences and knowledge. It is very tempting to tell a ‘related story’ or share a ‘similar experience’ when what the other person has said brings it to mind. We have to be restrained and decide if it is in the best interest of the interaction to switch the focus to ourselves or keep the focus on them and draw out more details of their experiences.
Benefits of Active Listening
Giving someone the time and space to really listen to them in our busy world is a rarity. Investing this time and effort can help to build trust and rapport, increase our depth of understanding, and increase the amount of information we will actually retain from the interaction. This can help to save time, as it avoids assumptions being made and revisiting the same areas.
Conclusion
Active listening can be extremely valuable for business analysts in a variety of situations. Consciously deciding to keep the focus on the other person helps to build a sense of connection and deepens our understanding of the information given to us. Active listening is a key skill for high-performing teams and individuals and is an area we can all improve by investing a little more effort.
Further reading
The Myth of Multi-Tasking, C Lovelock, (BA Times, 2024)
Delivering Business Analysis: The BA Service Handbook, Paul and Lovelock (BCS, 2019)
What is Active Listening A Gallo (HBR, 2024)