What are the skills and strategies for effective listening and questioning?

1 Active listening

Active listening is a technique that involves paying attention, showing interest, and giving feedback to the speaker. It requires you to focus on the content, tone, and body language of the message, and avoid interrupting, judging, or jumping to conclusions. Active listening helps you to empathize, validate, and summarize what the speaker is saying, and to ask relevant and open-ended questions to clarify or explore the topic further.

2 Critical listening

Critical listening is a skill that involves analyzing, evaluating, and questioning the message and the source of the message. It requires you to use logic, evidence, and criteria to assess the validity, reliability, and relevance of the information, and to identify any biases, errors, or gaps in the argument. Critical listening helps you to challenge, critique, and verify what the speaker is saying, and to form your own opinions and judgments based on facts and reason.

3 Reflective listening

Reflective listening is a strategy that involves paraphrasing, mirroring, and repeating what the speaker has said, using your own words and expressions. It helps you to check your understanding, confirm your interpretation, and acknowledge the feelings and emotions of the speaker. Reflective listening also shows that you are listening attentively, respectfully, and sincerely, and that you value the speaker's perspective and experience.

4 Probing questions

Probing questions are questions that aim to elicit more information, details, or explanations from the speaker. They help you to dig deeper into the issue, uncover the underlying causes or motives, and discover new insights or perspectives. Probing questions can be used to clarify, expand, explore, or challenge what the speaker has said, and to encourage them to think critically or creatively about the topic.

5 Open-ended questions

Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, but require the speaker to provide more elaborate or descriptive responses. They help you to initiate, maintain, or extend the conversation, and to invite the speaker to share their thoughts, feelings, or opinions. Open-ended questions can be used to start, follow up, or summarize a discussion, and to stimulate interest, curiosity, or reflection.

6 Closed-ended questions

Closed-ended questions are questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no, or with a specific or limited choice of options. They help you to confirm, verify, or test the information, facts, or assumptions that you have received or made. Closed-ended questions can be used to end, narrow down, or focus a conversation, and to check understanding, agreement, or compliance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?