Active Listening

Active listening describes a set of techniques designed to focus the attention of the interviewer or observer on the speaker. The goal of active listening is to attend entirely to the speaker, not to oneself or one's own inner dialogue, with the goal of accurately hearing and interpreting the speaker's verbal and nonverbal communication. Active listening skills are useful not only in research but also in any area where accurate communication and mutual understanding are useful. In addition, active listening skills are often included in curricula for health care providers as a means to facilitate therapeutic interactions. Examples of strategies often recommended in qualitative research, as opposed to therapeutic communication or conflict resolution, are described in this entry.

Active listening strategies use both verbal and non-verbal communication channels. Nonverbal active listening strategies establish and maintain rapport and also serve to focus the attention of the interviewer or observer. Nonverbal strategies that foster rapport include focusing the face and orienting the body toward the speaker, maintaining an attentive demeanor with an open posture, and staying relaxed. Strategies that focus the listener take place within the mind of the researcher. Active listening requires that the researcher attend purposefully to the speaker with attention focused on the communication being sent, not on the researcher's responses to that communication. Active listening demands a neutral open attitude toward the speaker so that even remarks that are shocking or distressing are understood—not judged—by the listener. The goal of the active listener is to receive information—not to give it—and to be a witness—not a critic.

Verbal active listening strategies familiar to qualitative researchers include paraphrasing, reflecting, interpreting, summarizing, and checking perceptions. In paraphrasing, the interviewer restates the content of the communication in slightly different words, for example, “So you are saying that you are not as satisfied with your son's teacher this year as you were last year.” Reflecting, in contrast, identifies content perceived through nonverbal channels, for example, “It sounds like you are pretty angry with that teacher.” Summarizing provides an opportunity for transitions in interviews between one topic and the next and is a useful way to check perceptions. Both interpreting and checking perceptions can be used to test developing analytic insights. For example, the researcher might ask, “Would you say that you think a good teacher should be able to manage disagreement without confrontation?” All of these strategies demonstrate that the interviewer not only has paid close attention to the speaker but also has been actively processing the speaker's remarks, and these two characteristics are the hallmark of active listening. In addition, neutral probes, such as, “And then what happened?” and “Can you tell me more about that?” and [Page 8]even neutral encouraging noises, such as “Mmhmm,” all serve to enhance communication.

A final active listening strategy is the use of silence. Although silence is by definition a nonverbal strategy, it is used as a part of the interview. When used carefully, silence can communicate respect, empathy, and interest to the speaker while at the same time demonstrating the interviewer's own calm and patience.

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