The Active Listener

Active Listening is a short 1957 work by Drs. Carl R. Rogers and Richard E. Farson, two influential American psychologists. The work brings the counselling technique of active listening to the layperson, demonstrating how it can be applied to interactions between an employee and employer. Carl R. Rogers (1902-1987) was one of the pioneers of the "client-centered" approach to psychotherapy. He is considered one of the founding fathers of modern psychotherapy research and is widely regarded among others in the field as the most influential psychotherapist of all time - viewed even more highly than Sigmund Freud. Dr. Rogers served as a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, where he set up the university's counselling and research clinic, the Industrial Relations Center. He wrote many books on psychotherapy, and in later years, travelled the world to bring his theories to areas of great political and social strife like Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Brazil. Richard E. Farson (1926-2017) had already completed his bachelor's and master's degrees when he met Dr. Rogers in 1949. Dr. Rogers invited Farson to continue his studies with him at the University of Chicago. Farson became Dr. Rogers' research assistant while he completed his Ph.D. in psychology and began counselling at the Industrial Relations Center. Dr. Farson held leadership positions in a number of research institutions. He co-founded the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, where he served as president and CEO. He was later appointed as the founding dean of the California Institute of the Arts School of Design and served as president of the Esalen Institute. Drs. Rogers and Farson collaborated on many projects, including 1957's Active Listening. They also led a 16-hour group therapy session that was recorded and released as a film called Journey Into Self. The film won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Active Listening describes a method of communication used in counselling and conflict resolution. Rather than serving as a passive participant in a conversation, active listeners take a functional role in helping the speaker to work out their issues. As the speaker shares, the listener repeats back what they've heard in their own words. This both confirms that they've heard the speaker and verifies that they understand. Unlike the way many of us instinctively communicate - trying to get another to see things from our own perspective - active listening requires that we see things from the speaker's perspective. The listener must address not only the meaning of the words, but also the feeling behind them, in order to make the speaker truly feel heard. These feelings can be conveyed through words, tone, volume, body language, and even breathing. This method is not without risks. It can be tempting to lose your sense of self in the practice of sensing the feelings of another person. As Drs. Rogers and Farson put it, "It takes a great deal of inner security and courage to be able to risk one's self in understanding another." In contrast to many psychological texts, Active Listening is written for the non-clinician or psychologist. In plain, everyday language, the book explains both the concepts of active listening and how they can be applied to the workplace. Employers who engage in active listening, the book argues, can help employees to become more cooperative, less argumentative, and clearer in their own communication. While the book is written in the context of the employee/employer relationship, the technique can be applied to all relationships in our lives. The concept is still highly influential, and Drs. Rogers and Farson's ideas about client-centered psychology are used in clinical practice today.

This is the First Edition of this title. A Second Edition of this title has been released with ISBN 9781604919363 in Sept 2019. Listening well is an essential component of good leadership. You can become a more effective listener and leader by learning the skills of active listening. Working relationships become more solid, based on trust, respect, and honesty. Active listening is a critical component of the tasks facing today's leaders.

Success depends on effective communication. A good communicator dominates public speaking skills and active listening skills. Listening is the key ingredient of effective communication. Listening enables us to improve communication, increase our efficiency at work, develop leadership skills and strengthen relationships with family, partners and friends. Discover the active listening skills to reach success thanks to this book -The Active Listener-.

Listening well is an essential component of good leadership. You can become a more effective listener and leader by learning the skills of active listening. Working relationships become more solid, based on trust, respect, and honesty. Active listening is not an optional component of leadership; it is not a nicety to be used to make others feel good. It is, in fact, a critical component of the tasks facing today’s leaders. In this new edition, we’ve added tips and advice dealing with virtual active listening, and incorporated up-to-date research from both inside and outside CCL to make sure you can best meet the leadership challenges you face in today’s world.

Over 55% of your day is spent listening; yet only 2% of us have been trained in how to listen. What is poor listening costing you? Do you rush from meeting to meeting, your head buried in the last conversation you had, without time to think of the next? Or feel frustrated with unproductive discussions where the loudest in the room adds limited insight and drowns out everyone else? We usually think of these situations as communication problems; that we have not spoken our needs correctly or clearly. Yet, conflict, chaos and confusion are the costs of not listening. Many communication and listening books say the most important person in a conversation is the speaker - not true! This pocket-sized guide will help you to reconnect with your innate gift of deep listening, to create the right space to listen to yourself before you listen to others. You'll learn to listen beyond the words that are spoken, to add context and meaning and listen in to what's not being said. Deep Listening will help you move from confusion and conflict to thoughtful, insightful and powerful discussions that will transform not just your work, but your whole life.

Everyone can be a better listener. Using the concepts of what we think, feel, and do about listening, Dr. Kline promotes the need for honing this often neglected communication skill. He presents logical, practical methods that will help you to become a better listener in your personal and professional life in everyday and critical situations.Listening is the neglected communication skill. While all of us have had instruction in reading, writing, and speaking, few have had any formal instruction in listening. This void in our education is especially interesting in light of research showing that most of us spend seven of every 10 minutes we are awake in some form of communication activity. Of these seven minutes (or 70 percent of the time we are awake), 10 percent is spent writing, 15 percent reading, 30 percent talking, and 45 percent listening.

Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, bestselling author of Peace is Every Step and one of the most respected and celebrated religious leaders in the world, delivers a powerful path to happiness through mastering life's most important skill. How do we say what we mean in a way that the other person can really hear? How can we listen with compassion and understanding? Communication fuels the ties that bind, whether in relationships, business, or everyday interactions. Most of us, however, have never been taught the fundamental skills of communication—or how to best represent our true selves. Effective communication is as important to our well-being and happiness as the food we put into our bodies. It can be either healthy (and nourishing) or toxic (and destructive). In this precise and practical guide, Zen master and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh reveals how to listen mindfully and express your fullest and most authentic self. With examples from his work with couples, families, and international conflicts, The Art of Communicating helps us move beyond the perils and frustrations of misrepresentation and misunderstanding to learn the listening and speaking skills that will forever change how we experience and impact the world.

Why are some products a hit while others never see the light of day? While there's no foolproof way to tell what will succeed and what won't, every product has a chance as long as it's supported by research, careful planning, and hard work. -Written by successful product manager Marc Abraham, My Product Management Toolkit is a comprehensive guide to developing a physical or digital product that consumers love. Here's a sample of what you'll find within these pages: Strategies for determining what customers want-even when they don't know themselves Clear suggestions for developing both physical and digital products Effective methods to constantly iterate a product or feature Containing wisdom from Abraham's popular blog, this book explores product management from every angle, including consumer analysis, personnel management, and product evolution. Whether you're developing a product for a small start-up or a multinational corporation, this book will prove invaluable.