Active Listening

One of the easiest ways to help someone reduce their aggression and relieve their anxiety is listening to their problem. There are two ways of doing so, passive listening and active listening (Stein, 2002). Passive listener assumes that they understand what the speaker means, and they respond immediately without making sure of what the speaker is trying to say. In contrast, active listening is when the listener “reflects back” what they have heard before they give a response. When a listener reflects back they should use their own words to restate or summarize what they have heard. Not only does this clarify or make sure what they heard is correct, it allows the speaker to hear the message they were trying to convey.
When a speaker is reflecting back they should point out key ideas, or underlying emotions. Many common reflecting back statements include, “I get the sense that…”, “You’re concerned that…”, or “If I hear your right, you’re saying...”. Whe...