Listen Up or Lose Out

13

Reflective Listening: Antidote to Miscommunication

Letting people know that I understand what they are saying to me is a kind of oil that lubricates the entire communication process.

—GERARD EGAN

WHAT MOST DISTINGUISHES effective listening from average listening is a cluster of skills known as reflective listening. This family of skills is sometimes termed active listening because, unlike the passivity of typical listening, these skills provide a proactive way of grasping the speaker’s message and demonstrating to him that he has been understood. ...