There is a difference between hearing and listening. What most people really want to know is whether someone is listening. Hearing is basically just an awareness of or response to a stimulus. Unlike listening, hearing does not necessarily involve conscious thought or effort.

For training and development to be effective, listening needs to go both ways. Trainees need to fully understand what is being taught. Trainers need to successfully adapt their instruction to what participants need. It is useful to think of listening as a continuum of behaviors, referred to as passive, attentive, and active listening.

At the lowest level, people are simply sensing, but as they become more effective listeners, they also engage in processing and responding. When people listen passively, they may hear what the other person is saying, but they are unlikely to fully comprehend what is being said. The passive listener may not be looking for key words that provide context and/or structure. When people listen passively, they may hear what the other person is saying, but they are unlikely to fully comprehend what is being said. The passive listener may not be looking for key words that provide context and/or structure.

It is also possible to start at a higher level of listening, but then descend into passivity. This frequently occurs when people really want to say or ask something so strongly that they cease to follow the conversation or lecture. Attentive listening is an improvement over passive listening. Here listeners understand more of what is being said, but are still not fully engaged. The highest level of listening is active listening. Individuals who listen actively are fully engaged in a discussion or training.

One of the first things that active listeners do is to make efforts to hear what a speaker is saying. While hearing may not be sufficient for understanding, it is a necessary condition. Active listeners also remove distractions. Active listeners also consider the whole message. They keep in mind the context of the conversation and speaker and watch for nonverbal communication.

Active listeners don’t assume that they got the message correct the first time. Asking clarifying questions confirms the message, improves understanding and validates the importance of the message and messenger. When the listener asks questions or summarizes what was said, this allows the original speaker to correct any misunderstandings.