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Active Listening
2015 Reprint of 1957 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "Active Listening," first developed by Rogers and Farson, is a therapeutic technique designed to promote positive change in the client. Active listening is a communication technique used in counselling, training and conflict resolution, which requires the listener to feed back what they hear to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what they have heard in their own words, to confirm what they have heard and moreover, to confirm the understanding of both parties. It continues to have a lasting influence to this day.
34 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2015
About the author
Carl R. Rogers
115 books1,107 followers"Experience is, for me, the highest authority. The touchstone of validity is my own experience. No other person's ideas, and none of my own ideas, are as authoritative as my experience. It is to experience that I must return again and again, to discover a closer approximation to truth as it is in the process of becoming in me." -Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person
DEVELOPED THEORIES - THERAPIES
Person-Centered; Humanistic; Client-Centered; Student-Centered
TIMELINE
1902 - Carl Rogers was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
1919 - Enrolled at University of Wisconsin.
1924 - Graduated from University of Wisconsin and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary.
1926 - Transferred to Columbia.
1931- Earned Ph.D. from Columbia.
1940 - Began teaching at University of Ohio.
1946 - Elected president of American Psychological Association (APA).
1951 - Published Client-centered Therapy.
1961 - Published On Becoming A Person.
DEVELOPED THEORIES - THERAPIES
Person-Centered; Humanistic; Client-Centered; Student-Centered
TIMELINE
1902 - Carl Rogers was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
1919 - Enrolled at University of Wisconsin.
1924 - Graduated from University of Wisconsin and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary.
1926 - Transferred to Columbia.
1931- Earned Ph.D. from Columbia.
1940 - Began teaching at University of Ohio.
1946 - Elected president of American Psychological Association (APA).
1951 - Published Client-centered Therapy.
1961 - Published On Becoming A Person.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 25, 2019
A very short book, 20 pages. Extremely practical. Teaches you how to become a better listener.
July 29, 2020
Great for it’s time. Nice overview to from where all the hype regarding Active Listening started from and how shallow it is interpreted nowadays.
May 27, 2020
Very interesting but short
May 29, 2022
Exceptionally helpful. Rogers was a trailblazer in human feeling — in developing the person-centered approach to life. A profound listener. And a methodical scientist in the research behind humanistic psychology.
March 31, 2016
An excellent handbook for applying Rogerian psychology techniques for active listening in the workplace for building team cohesion and morale.
February 23, 2023
3.5 rounded up.
Weird that this seemed to be Roger's dabble in industrial psychology (quite literally an employee-centered approach, pg. 23). Although that concept, perhaps myopically, makes me want to vom, it's an interesting summary of patterns of behavior that appear in Rogers interviews and session transcripts. Because it's so short, and I give all my real Rogerian goss in my On Becoming a Person review, I've just collected some thoughts and quotes here:
Rogers invites a paradox into the room. That judgement, positive or negative, is not a worthwhile part of the therapeutic relationship, that positive advice which is given, or compliments that are given may be just as limiting as negative advice. Reminds me of the Buddhist sentiment of, "who knows what is good and what is bad".
Pg. 9, a person's language: "Any message a person tries to get across usually has two components: the content of the message and the feeling or attitude underlying this content. Both are important, both give the message meaning." For me this brings in the idea that communication is ultimately functional. It serves a purpose. A question that could be asked "what does this person want?" or "what are they trying to say?". Rogers states that the feeling beneath the content is usually more important than the content itself.
Pg. 11, attitude of active listening: "By consistently listening to a speaker you are conveying the idea that: "I'm interested in you as a person, and I think that what you feel is important. I respect your thoughts, and even if I don't agree with them, I know that they are valid for you. I feel sure that you have a contribution to make. I'm not trying to change you or evaluate you. I just want to understand you. I think you' re worth listening to, and I want you to know that I'm the kind of a person you can talk to.""
- Instead of dismissing another person out of hand, sit with the feeling for a moment, what is it like to be the low-in-openness, gruff, traditionally minded businessman who really is curious in "how can listening improve production?" (a question which Rogers immediately validates as 'so honest, and so legitimate', leaving my cynical, liberal inclinations agog). Sounds unsettling! But also interesting.
Pg. 12, conveying understanding: "A good rule of thumb is to assume that one never really understands until he
can communicate this understanding to the other's satisfaction." (Exercise: next time you are in a lively debate, rephrase your counterparts argument in your own words, you cannot move on until you've rephrased their argument to their satisfaction).
Active listening is not an easy skill, it takes practice, and perhaps challenging your basic attitudes towards interactions.
Pg. 15, personal risk : "Active listening carries a strong element of personal risk. If we manage to accomplish what we are describing here--to sense deeply the feelings of another person, to understand the meaning his experiences have for him, to see the world as he sees it--we risk being changed ourselves."
Pg. 18, emotions of the listener: "That is, the more we find it necessary to respond to our own needs, the less we are able to respond to the needs of another."
The idea of being honest about our emotions as a listener. That it is better to be resentful or full of admiration than put up a false front. Scary!
Pg. 19, listening to ourselves: "To listen to oneself is a prerequisite to listening to others...When we are most aroused, excited, and demanding, we are least able to understand our own feelings and attitudes. Yet, in dealing with the problems of others, it becomes most important to be sure of one's own position, values, and needs... A person's listening ability is limited by his ability to listen to himself."
Honorable mentions:
Listening is important even in front of a group of people, focusing on one in the group as an individual, shows the individuals in the group that they may be shown sensitivity, too.
"Treating others as personalities." (As opposed to cogs in a machine).
"Listening is a beginning toward making the individual feel himself worthy of making contributions" (Give esteem)
Weird that this seemed to be Roger's dabble in industrial psychology (quite literally an employee-centered approach, pg. 23). Although that concept, perhaps myopically, makes me want to vom, it's an interesting summary of patterns of behavior that appear in Rogers interviews and session transcripts. Because it's so short, and I give all my real Rogerian goss in my On Becoming a Person review, I've just collected some thoughts and quotes here:
Rogers invites a paradox into the room. That judgement, positive or negative, is not a worthwhile part of the therapeutic relationship, that positive advice which is given, or compliments that are given may be just as limiting as negative advice. Reminds me of the Buddhist sentiment of, "who knows what is good and what is bad".
Pg. 9, a person's language: "Any message a person tries to get across usually has two components: the content of the message and the feeling or attitude underlying this content. Both are important, both give the message meaning." For me this brings in the idea that communication is ultimately functional. It serves a purpose. A question that could be asked "what does this person want?" or "what are they trying to say?". Rogers states that the feeling beneath the content is usually more important than the content itself.
Pg. 11, attitude of active listening: "By consistently listening to a speaker you are conveying the idea that: "I'm interested in you as a person, and I think that what you feel is important. I respect your thoughts, and even if I don't agree with them, I know that they are valid for you. I feel sure that you have a contribution to make. I'm not trying to change you or evaluate you. I just want to understand you. I think you' re worth listening to, and I want you to know that I'm the kind of a person you can talk to.""
- Instead of dismissing another person out of hand, sit with the feeling for a moment, what is it like to be the low-in-openness, gruff, traditionally minded businessman who really is curious in "how can listening improve production?" (a question which Rogers immediately validates as 'so honest, and so legitimate', leaving my cynical, liberal inclinations agog). Sounds unsettling! But also interesting.
Pg. 12, conveying understanding: "A good rule of thumb is to assume that one never really understands until he
can communicate this understanding to the other's satisfaction." (Exercise: next time you are in a lively debate, rephrase your counterparts argument in your own words, you cannot move on until you've rephrased their argument to their satisfaction).
Active listening is not an easy skill, it takes practice, and perhaps challenging your basic attitudes towards interactions.
Pg. 15, personal risk : "Active listening carries a strong element of personal risk. If we manage to accomplish what we are describing here--to sense deeply the feelings of another person, to understand the meaning his experiences have for him, to see the world as he sees it--we risk being changed ourselves."
Pg. 18, emotions of the listener: "That is, the more we find it necessary to respond to our own needs, the less we are able to respond to the needs of another."
The idea of being honest about our emotions as a listener. That it is better to be resentful or full of admiration than put up a false front. Scary!
Pg. 19, listening to ourselves: "To listen to oneself is a prerequisite to listening to others...When we are most aroused, excited, and demanding, we are least able to understand our own feelings and attitudes. Yet, in dealing with the problems of others, it becomes most important to be sure of one's own position, values, and needs... A person's listening ability is limited by his ability to listen to himself."
Honorable mentions:
Listening is important even in front of a group of people, focusing on one in the group as an individual, shows the individuals in the group that they may be shown sensitivity, too.
"Treating others as personalities." (As opposed to cogs in a machine).
"Listening is a beginning toward making the individual feel himself worthy of making contributions" (Give esteem)
October 14, 2023
Active listening is listening on purpose.
To be effective at all in active listening, one must have a sincere interest in the speaker
- Listen for total meaning
- Respond to feelings.
- Note all cues.
Active listening carries a strong element of personal risk.
If we manage to accomplish what we are describing here—to sense deeply the feeling of another person, to understand the meaning his experiences have for him, to see the world as he sees it—we risk being changed ourselves…
It is threatening to give up, even momentarily, what we believe and start thinking in someone else’s terms. It takes a great deal of inner security and courage to be able to risk one’s self in understanding another.
*deep-listening affirmation handout*
“I’m interested in you as a person, and I think that what you feel is important.
I respect your thoughts, and even if I don’t agree with them, I know that they are valid for you.
I feel sure that you have a contribution to make. I’m not trying to change you or evaluate you.
I just want to understand you. I think you’re worth listening to, and I want you to know that I’m the kind of a person you can talk to.”
To be effective at all in active listening, one must have a sincere interest in the speaker
- Listen for total meaning
- Respond to feelings.
- Note all cues.
Active listening carries a strong element of personal risk.
If we manage to accomplish what we are describing here—to sense deeply the feeling of another person, to understand the meaning his experiences have for him, to see the world as he sees it—we risk being changed ourselves…
It is threatening to give up, even momentarily, what we believe and start thinking in someone else’s terms. It takes a great deal of inner security and courage to be able to risk one’s self in understanding another.
*deep-listening affirmation handout*
“I’m interested in you as a person, and I think that what you feel is important.
I respect your thoughts, and even if I don’t agree with them, I know that they are valid for you.
I feel sure that you have a contribution to make. I’m not trying to change you or evaluate you.
I just want to understand you. I think you’re worth listening to, and I want you to know that I’m the kind of a person you can talk to.”
June 19, 2022
This is a really short book—a booklet. I’ve listened to it twice. I’m probably going to blog about it cause it’s really fascinating to consider this 1950s perspective. There’s an interesting claim somewhere abt attending to individuals for the collaboration of the group. Sounds like a hypothesis to test
Read
January 6, 2023Short read but packed with good information. I appreciated how the book definitively breaks down what active listening is, how to be better at it, and lists insightful benefits you'd realistically achieve by employing the methodologies described.
Though the examples they give are a bit dated, the core message feels timeless.
Though the examples they give are a bit dated, the core message feels timeless.
May 30, 2023
Short, to the point, potentially groundbreaking in a 'if only everyone would practice this' type of way.
Personally I think really listening to someone is a lot harder than people make it out to be, so this book was quite useful.
Personally I think really listening to someone is a lot harder than people make it out to be, so this book was quite useful.
January 11, 2024
It was a good book overall, unfortunately it was very short and more focused on business rather than in general psichology, but it gave a good glimpse of how active listening works and the do and don'ts.
April 1, 2023
A Quick Read, Good Reminder
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to improve their listening skills. Is a quick read and a good reminder on therapeutic communication.
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to improve their listening skills. Is a quick read and a good reminder on therapeutic communication.
August 15, 2023
25 paginaatjes over actief luisteren, luek voor bedrijfsleven met hiërarchische bedrijfsstructuren.
November 30, 2023
Very short book. It was about active listening for business. It was interesting but could have been more detailed. I will be researching this topic.
Want to read
February 25, 2024As seen in the Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2024/03/negotiate-lik....
February 27, 2024
A brief, clear book with information and examples of the power of active listening.
March 30, 2024
The seeds of non-violent communication.
August 9, 2023
Good book, and not too repetitive. Quick read
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews