Title: Active Listening Skills - Reflective Technique
Headings: Active Listening Skills - Reflective Technique
Active Listening Skills - Reflective Technique
Content: From your perspective, the end result of clarification is a fuller and more accurate understanding of the overall situation and a detailed understanding of specific issues. From the speaker's perspective, the end result should be a feeling that their circumstances and point of view have been understood. Central to this process is the fact that you need to overcome any natural tendency that you may have to rush in with suggestions or solutions. If you do not, you will be unable to avoid acknowledging your own emotions during the communication. You need to allow the speaker to present the whole picture so that they expose the level of their knowledge and the extent of their ideas on how to address the issue in hand. Some simple techniques you can use to ensure that you ask for clarification rather than offer your own opinion are as follows: • State what you think the speaker has said, as you understand it
• Check whether this is what they really meant
• Use open, non-directive questions - if appropriate
• Ask if you have got it right and be prepared to be corrected
• Admit if you are unsure about what the speaker means
• Ask for specific examples where necessary or if helpful for understanding. By allowing several seconds of silence before you ask a question or give feedback you will ensure that the speaker has said all they want to. You can also indicate your attentiveness by accurately paraphrasing the speaker's words into a statement that communicates your impartiality and comprehension. It also allows you to clarify that you have understood their explanation of the issue.