8 Active Listening Techniques for the Workplace

Active listening is the practice of not only hearing a speaker’s words but also absorbing their message and communicating this understanding back to them. An active listener is fully present in a conversation and demonstrates it by asking follow-up questions, conveying positive body language and making time for reflection. Another way to think of active listening is as “intentional” listening.

Active listening requires practice and commitment from all levels of an organization. Below we cover the benefits of active listening and provide eight tips on active listening techniques.

8 Active Listening Techniques

By following the techniques below, you can improve your active listening skills and achieve more success in the workplace as a result.

1. Eliminate Distractions

Removing any environmental or psychological factors that may hinder focus helps to ensure that full attention is given to the speaker and what they have to say.

“We’ve taught our managers that it is extra critical to proactively remove distractions so online video meetings, especially one-on-one meetings with their direct reports, can be focused,” said Matt Mead, chief technology officer at SPR. 

2. Ask Questions

Asking questions encourages a speaker to elaborate on their thoughts and demonstrates a listener is making an intentional effort to understand where a speaker is coming from. For instance, open-ended questions like, ‘How do you see this situation unfolding?’ or, ‘What is your view of the problem?’ allow the speaker to expand on the topic and help the listener learn more about that person’s perspective.

“You want to get the person talking as much as you possibly can to uncover either the root of what’s being asked of you or that person’s perspective,” said Rob Henrikson, head of operations at MediaCrossing. 

3. Pay Attention to Nonverbal Cues

About 55 percent of communication is nonverbal, so observing body language and nonverbal cues is key to navigating an in-person conversation. Active listeners take into account a speaker’s hand gestures, movements, facial expressions and other physical signs that convey their emotions at different points in a discussion.

It’s also important to make sure you’re displaying the appropriate nonverbal cues. Be sure to avoid crossing your arms and keep your body open to the speaker, nod to show understanding and offer a smile when suitable.

4. Resist the Urge to Immediately Offer Solutions

Devin Johnson, CEO of marketing automation firm Kennected (now part of SalesAi), suggests taking time to reflect before offering a solution. “It shows emotional maturity and care for the problem at hand,” he said.

5. Summarize the Speaker’s Thoughts

Summarizing a speaker’s thoughts and repeating them in a paraphrased format back to the speaker shows you’re trying to truly comprehend the meaning behind their words. This also enables the listener to clear up any points they were confused about and gives the speaker an opportunity to go more in-depth into what they mean. This way, the speaker feels heard and the listener can process and internalize what the speaker is saying. 

6. Keep Your Stress in Check

Stress can compel employees to speak first before listening and hamper active listening for even highly functional teams, said Caitlin Collins, an organizational psychologist and talent development consultant at Betterworks. When this happens, Collins finds a moment to acknowledge pressure or stressors and ask how everyone is feeling. 

“Once everyone has shared, the team starts to come back together, everyone is able to take a deep breath, and we’re able to listen more attentively.”

7. Remain Non-Judgmental

Approaching a conversation with judgment or assumptions can make it nearly impossible to understand a different perspective or engage with new ideas. This prevents one from being an active listener and coming to a mutual understanding with the speaker. And if the speaker senses judgment during the conversation, they may become combative and unwilling to open up to the listener. This can worsen a conflict and undermine both parties’ ability to view their situation through an objective and fair lens.

8. Stay Patient and Focused 

Active listening doesn’t come naturally and must be developed with care and attention. Staying focused long-term on honing this skill means continuing to practice it, even when struggling to break bad habits.

“It’s a muscle that has to be exercised,” Collins said, adding that, like any skill, active listening is tougher for some people. She offers a few hints for practicing: Ask for feedback to make sure the other person felt heard; apologize when you’ve talked over someone, then allow them to continue; write down your thoughts so you can keep them organized; and ask follow-up questions and paraphrase what was said so the other parties know they’ve been understood.

“Be patient with yourself and genuine with others,” Collins said. “Being great at this takes time.”

Benefits of Active Listening 

Active listening can have lasting ripple effects, enhancing both individual interactions and a company’s overall workplace culture. 

Improved Problem-Solving

Active listeners are able to process what someone is saying and comprehend the information being shared. They can then more quickly diagnose any issues someone is bringing up and even anticipate future problems based on the information presented by the speaker. This reduces the chance of miscommunication and confusion, leading to more efficient communication and making it easier to problem-solve while keeping everyone on the same page.      

Faster Conflict Resolution

Workplace conflicts can quickly escalate if the parties involved aren’t listening to one another. Active listening can build bridges between conflicting feelings or opinions and enable employees to find common ground. Even in a difficult situation, practicing active listening can make employees at least feel like the other party understands where they’re coming from and is willing to work with them.  

Higher-Quality Relationships

Employees who know how to actively listen can build trust with coworkers by showing they’ve processed what someone’s said and can respond objectively. By regulating one’s emotions and energy through active listening, employees can then earn the respect of their coworkers and avoid conflicts that result from misunderstandings. 

Stronger Leadership

Managers who practice active listening can cultivate an empathetic leadership style that makes employees feel comfortable when bringing up any questions or complaints. Feeling heard and respected can encourage employees to open up more, and managers in turn can keep a constant pulse on employee sentiments and respond more proactively to potential conflicts.     

Increased Collaboration

If active listening is employed by teams across an organization, it can become baked into the company culture and contribute to a more transparent atmosphere. “Active listening allows us to be better coworkers, employees and leaders within our own organization,” said Alexis Sheehy, director of growth marketing at MediaCrossing. “Often, active listening promotes greater collaboration and new ideas emerge from this increased connectivity.”

Examples of Active Listening

While a number of situations can arise in the workplace, active listening techniques can be adapted to fit different circumstances. Below are several scenarios that demonstrate what active listening looks like in action.  

Defusing a Disagreement With a Coworker  

Employee 1: “I noticed you shaking your head when I suggested moving our weekly team meeting to Mondays. Can you say more?” (Reading nonverbal cues and asking an open-ended question.)  

Employee 2: “Yes, I disagree with moving our meeting to Mondays because Mondays are typically my busiest day of the week. I like to dedicate half the day to focus time, and I already have two other project meetings in the afternoons.” 

Employee 1: “If I’m understanding correctly, what you’re saying is you want to have time to get more tedious tasks done on Mondays and keep meetings to a minimum. Is that correct?” (Summarizing the speaker’s answer back to them.) 

Employee 2: “Yes, that’s correct. I could do Fridays though, if that works.” 

Employee 1: “I actually try to keep my Fridays free of meetings since I like to wind down my workload before the weekend. While the middle of the week is busy for me too, I can make time if that works best for everyone. Maybe we could reach a compromise and find a time on Tuesdays or Wednesdays?” (Remaining patient while working toward a solution.) 

Listening to a Friend Share Workplace Frustrations 

Friend: “I’ve been struggling with meeting expectations at my company recently. I just found out that a deadline for a major project I’m helping with was moved up by a week.”  

Listener: “Wow, that sounds like a really difficult situation to be in. How are you feeling about it?” (Asking an open-ended question.) 

Friend: “I’ve just been really frustrated. This decision was communicated to me only yesterday when everyone else on the team knew, so I don’t feel like I’m being kept in the loop. It’s hard for me to feel like part of the team.” 

Listener: “Yeah, it sounds like your project manager hasn’t done a great job communicating updates with you and is giving you less time to pivot. It must be hard making those adjustments on the fly.” (Summarizing the speaker’s answer back to them.)  

Friend: “I’m honestly thinking about leaving my company. This has been a long-term issue and I haven’t seen much change in how we do things on my team.”

Listener: “That must be really hard trying to navigate the workplace when you’re not receiving timely updates and constantly being caught off guard. Whatever you decide to do, I’m here if you need someone to keep processing things with.” (Refraining from offering a solution or judgment while providing continued support.)  

Processing Stressors With an Employee 

Manager: “In our last meeting, you mentioned feeling overwhelmed trying to juggle three different projects. Can you say more?  (Asking an open-ended question.)

Employee: “Yes, thank you for revising this. I just feel like it’s been difficult for me to decide how much time to dedicate to each project, and what should take priority. This has made it hard for me to manage my time and stay on track to meet deadlines.”

Manager: “So, if I’m hearing correctly, you’re saying you’re unsure of which projects to prioritize and this is affecting your workflow?” (Summarizing the speaker’s answer back to them.)

Employee: “Yes, that’s correct.” 

Manager: “Okay, got it. That does sound like a stressful situation, especially when there’s no clear direction on what tasks to focus on and when. What kind of support can I give you to help determine which projects to prioritize and better structure your workflow?” (Acknowledging the situation, refraining from offering judgment, and asking another open-ended question.)

Frequently Asked Questions