Week 7: Listening & Questioning Skills
Week 7 Summary
Week Summary
This week, we explored the often-overlooked skill of listening. We identified four listening styles and recognized that each has strengths and limitations. We examined the many barriers that can interfere with listening and practiced active listening techniques including attending, paraphrasing, and reflecting feelings.
Key Takeaways
- 1Listening styles (people, action, content, time-oriented) reflect different priorities - adapt to the situation
- 2Internal barriers like rehearsing and filtering are often bigger obstacles than external noise
- 3Active listening requires deliberate attention, not just passive hearing
- 4Paraphrasing shows you understood the content; reflecting shows you understood the feelings
- 5Different question types (closed, open, probing) serve different purposes in conversation
Coming Up Next Week
Next week, we'll explore how relationships develop and are maintained over time. We'll examine Knapp's model of relationship stages, the role of self-disclosure, and how to manage the inevitable tensions in close relationships.