Unlike the active listener, the passive listener is not paying attention. You’re aware that there are sounds in the background, but you’re not focusing on them. The active listener interacts with the interviewer by commenting and asking questions and reacting appropriately to what he says. Try repeating what the other person says mentally to reinforce her message and maintain focus. Passive listening is pretty instinctual for us to implement, but active listening takes a couple of skills. To improve your listening skills, you must pay attention to the other person. This is called passive listening. In fact, even though there is not another person physically present, listening to radio music, television shows, podcasts, etc. Naturally, the above body language applies to active listening as well. Passive listening involves quietly taking in information with little to no outward reaction. Active listening builds rapport, understanding and trust by actually hearing the message behind what the other person is saying, not just what you think they are saying or what you want to hear. The difference between passive and active listening is that a passive listener is only hearing what the person is saying but is not trying to understand their message or find the lesson. Most of the time your ears do this automatically, even if you don’t realize it. In active listening, the listener pays full attention to the speaker and his words and makes an effort to understand the message. Hearing is passive — you can’t close your ears, so sounds will enter and be heard. Whenever you listen to music while you are doing something else, such as studying or doing chores, you are passive listening. Thus, listening is an active process. Active listening you are listening to understand. She avoids getting into debates and giving opinions and is unreceptive to new ideas. Non-committal words are sometimes used such as “Hmm,” “I see,” “Interesting,” “Oh yeah,” and so on. Much distress comes from unclear or partial communication. An example of active listening is the working through process in therapy. This is because active listening is two-way communication between parties. When you’ve got music on in the background you’re listening to it passively. This is called passive listening. Active listener engages in psychological change whereas passive listener hides or denies any sort of thoughts avoiding debates or giving selections. Whether you are an active listener or a passive listener can affect your relationships and job prospects and may also be indicative of certain personality traits. Often we hear what someone is saying to us, but we fail to process it into a conceptual idea of understanding. The difference between passive and active listening is that an active listener engages with the speaker while a passive listener simply receives the message without giving any external indications. Listening requires attention, meaning it’s active. You may have heard the terms passive and active listening before. You can hear what the person is saying but are not thinking about it. Passive Listening Vs. Typically, an active listener is strong willed, self-motivated and open to new ideas. Passive listening is one-way communication where the receiver doesn’t provide feedback or ask questions and may or may not understand the sender’s message. Active listening is best for two-way communication, whereas passive listening is best for one-way communication. Empathy is an important component of active listening because having empathy for the other person validates his words and recognizes his feelings. Passive listening is when the receiver does not provide feedback or a response to questions and concerns of the individual. This means that when you talk to your boss, coworkers, clients, or spouse for 10 minutes, they are paying less than half of the conversation. These two processes take awareness, intention, and consistent practice. You state the information the speaker has given you, your interpretation, and then ask for confirmation or clarification. Most of the time your ears do this automatically, even if you don’t realize it. You may have heard the terms passive and active listening before. As a passive listener, you are still paying attention and you communicate this engagement through your facial expressions and body language. It is worth it though because they will improve the quality of your communication and connection in your interpersonal relationships. Passive listening is simply hearing what the speaker is saying without really trying to understand it. They are often pitted against one another as though passive listening is bad and active listening is superior. Passive listening mainly involves taking in information without giving much thought to what’s being said. Active Listening. We hear it everywhere, in the car, at the grocery store, on TV, on the ads we see on our phone. are all also examples of when we use passive listening. Active listening is when you focus your attention to fully understand and comprehend what someone is saying. If your paraphrase doesn’t sound quite right to the speaker, they then have the opportunity to clarify. This SocialMettle article tries to explain the difference between active and passive listening, and how to develop skills for active listening. Passive, attentive listening: In this type of listening, we are genuinely interested in what the person is saying. T he use of silence, what I call the pause is a powerful tool at the negotiation table when used correctly. Passive vs. Facing the speaker, making eye contact, leaning in, and so on communicate that you are paying attention and engaged in the conversation. info@heartfulhabits.com Heartfulhabits Nederland. With active listening, we use our full effort and attention, whereas with passive listening our attention is focused elsewhere. Being a passive listener is not necessarily a bad thing. Active Listening and Active Communication: Builds Trust. This makes active listening an important skill to master to make a good impression at college or job interviews. Now one-on-one conversations is where active listening really shines. Common words used during passive listening include “hmm,” “I see,” “interesting,” “Oh yeah,” etc. If you're talking on the phone, turn away from your computer and other distractions. It is the “conscious processing of the auditory stimuli that have been perceived through hearing” (West & Turner, 2010). It would be disruptive for you to paraphrase back what a conference speaker is saying throughout their public presentation. Claire Gillespie has been writing and editing for 18 years. Perception checking involves figuring out how the speaker is feeling based off of what they have told you and what you have seen. Key Differences between Active Listening and Passive Listening In active listening, the listener shows interest through tone, eye contact and body language. Even when you’re not paying attention to the sounds you’re hearing, your ears are constantly sending sound signals to your brain. While passive listening is associated with mere hearing, active listening refers to listening in order to understand. The active listener interacts with the interviewer by commenting and asking questions and reacting appropriately to what he says. I’ve created a cheat sheet to help you remember the basics of passive vs active listening. Listening to a speaker during a presentation or meeting involves passive listening. What is the difference between Active and Passive Listening? When students passively listen, they don’t retain information because they are easily distracted.