Expert interviews 4 Active listening

Active listening is key to guiding interviews

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This lesson will look at active listening—this can help you show understanding or show interest. It can also shift the focus of the interview back to you, so you can ask a question.

Introduction

Responding quickly and sincerely is important in conversation. We'll practice how to do it smoothly and naturally using a style that you are comfortable with.

Responding can also help to take control of a conversation. We'll practice responding smoothly, which can also mean politely interrupting. After we respond to what was said, we can ask a question to steer the conversation where we want to go.

Warm Up

What words or phrases do you like to use to respond to information? What are some phrases to show that:

you understand;
you are surprised; or
you are concerned.

This is to find your student's natural responding style. It may be completely fine, or it may be lacking.

Examples of responding:

understanding: I see / I understand / OK / Sure / Interesting / Oh, really?
surprise: Oh really? / Wow / That's amazing / Are you serious?
concern: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that / Oh, that's too bad / Oh, that's terrible / Oh well, that's no good.

Everyone has a different style of responding. It's ok to use a limited number of phrases as long as you don't repeat yourself too often, and your responses are suitable for the situation (not too informal, not too direct)

If you'd like to give your student some practice: (this is not always necessary, and feel free to change the phrases)

understanding: "My grandmother lives in England"
surprise: "Actually, she lives in a huge castle"
concern: "But she is getting sick, so she has to move to a hospital"

Language

Here are some examples of phrases used in active listening:

I see.
Hmm, I see what you mean.
OK, I understand what you’re saying.
Ah, that makes sense.

You can also respond to what is being said by sympathizing or offering your viewpoint:

That sounds [adjective] (good/ bad/ interesting/ troubling/ problematic…)
That seems like [noun or full sentence] (a good opportunity / your company has a big chance to move forward.)

Practice this a little. Say what you did recently. Here's an example:

I had a meeting with the CEO yesterday.
It wasn't too stressful, since he's really understanding. If I have a problem, he's always happy to help.
I had to discuss a big problem with him.
He had some great advice, and he also told us that we are expanding our business into a new market!

Responding should be quick and natural. We can do this to take control of a conversation and interrupt naturally, so if you want to guide the conversation back to something that the interviewee mentioned previously, or move on to a new topic, this is a natural way to do it.

Practice

In an interview, after responding to what the person has said, you can move on to a new question. We will try using active listening to introduce a question.

Respond to what is said, and then ask the next question.

First, we will try this in simple communication. As quickly as possible, try to ask your instructor:

Where they are from.
About the weather in their hometown.
Where they are living now.
Which place they prefer.

Now, let's try using this language to guide an interview and ask questions. Try to respond to the information, and then ask the next question. Be firm, but polite. Look at the situations below:

1. The client is having trouble with sales. You need to know: