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principle 2

Listen and respond with understanding.

Good listening has important value and can be learned and improved upon, yielding enormous benefits.
This process is called “active listening.” It takes effort, but everyone can, and should, learn how to become
an active listener.

Active listening consists of four actions
1. Encouraging
2. Restating
3. Reflecting
4. Summarizing
And never forget that active listening also means watching body language—it could be more telling than
words alone.

➊ Encourage the speaker to talk by using speech or body language to show you are listening. Use
encouraging language to convey interest and keep the customer talking.

Which of the examples below are good examples of Encouraging? (Circle all that apply.)
A. Nodding your head
B. Multi-tasking
C. Making eye contact
D. “Yes.”

Did you circle A, C, and D? Great! All of those are great ways to encourage the speaker to talk.

➋ Restating what the speaker said shows that you are paying attention and that you understand. Use
restating language to show that you are listening, you understand and that you’re grasping the facts.

Which of the examples below are good examples of Restating? (Circle all that apply.)
A. “If I understand your idea...”
B. “In other words, this is your decision...”
C. “Ok. I get it.”
D. “Sounds good.”
Did you circle A and B? Excellent! Those are both great examples of listening by restating.

➌ Reflecting on what the speaker said and using statements of reflection shows understanding of
emotion and feeling. Use reflecting language to show that you’re listening and understanding. It also
lets others know that you understand their feelings.

Which of the examples below are good examples of Reflecting? (Circle all that apply.)
A. “You feel that Steven’s treatment of his coworker was disrespectful.”
B. “If you say so.”
C. “You were pretty disturbed when Olivia asked you to work off the clock.”
D. “You are being too defensive.”
Did you circle A and C? Excellent! Those are good examples of reflective listening.

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