What are the levels of listening?
Hearing
When you’re registering sound, but not really listening.
Passive listening
Slightly more active than Hearing, but not much. You’re not part of the conversation and most of what’s being said will be forgotten in less than a few hours, some even after a few seconds. A typical example of this is listening on a meeting you don’t want to be in, you listen to the person speaking, but your mind is somewhere else.
Attentive listening
This can also be called “Listening with the intent to understand”. You are engaged in the conversation and try to understand, but you’re not fully committed. You’re not assigning meaning to the words, at least not all.
Active listening
This is the most effective listening. You’re focused on the speaker, you concentrate on the words and have the intention to fully understand the whole message, both verbal and non-verbal. They have your full attention.
Part I and II can be found here and here.
[Image from CGPGrey]
