Listening in interpersonal interactions

Interpersonal interactions involve exchange of turns when people alternate roles speaking and listening to each other. In these situations, to perform successfully as a listener you need to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. You need to:

pay attention to the speaker and the message that is being expressed
process the content to understand what it means
decide what would be the most appropriate verbal or nonverbal response.

Implementing the following strategies can help you to manage interpersonal interactions successfully:

Cooperate with the speaker and other listeners (e.g. in group conversations) and use possible sources of information (e.g. your prior knowledge on the topic, nonverbal cues) to improve your comprehension and accurate interpretation of the message.
Ask for repetition, explanations, rephrasings or elaborations about the content, if required to help you comprehend the message (e.g. Could you please explain what you mean when you say ….?, Could you please give examples of ….? I don’t understand X. Would you mind explaining it again?)
Ask questions to verify that what you’ve understood matches what the speaker intended to say (e.g. Am I right in understanding that X means Y?, Does this mean ….?)
Show the speaker that you are engaged, following their message and are ready to continue listening (e.g. by keeping eye contact with the speaker, using interjections such as ‘yeah’, ‘uh-huh’, ‘hmm’, ‘right’).
Consider the purpose of your listening (e.g. are you listening for details such as instructions, or would you like to grasp an overview of what is being said) and adjust your listening focus accordingly.

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Listening in interpersonal interactions