In active listening, the listener carefully pays attention to the words of the speaker and responds accordingly. On the other hand, in the case of passive listening, the listener only hears the speaker’s statement but does not respond to it. Show An active listener is one that pays complete attention to the physical details of the speaker, for example, appearance, body language, expressions, etc. which play a crucial role in translating the meaning of the spoken matter. Oppositely, a passive listener neglects the physical aspects of the speaker, as he/she is not really interested in what is being said. What is Listening?Do you guys know that on an average 45-75% waking hours of an individual are spent in listening and not in talking? Listening is an activity which involves receiving, interpreting and responding to the message spoken by the speaker. Effective listening is an important part of effective communication, which determines the person’s ability to understand the message. It can be active listening or passive listening, This writeup will help you understand the difference between active listening and passive listening. Content: Active Listening Vs Passive ListeningComparison Chart
Definition of Active ListeningActive listening as the name suggests is the process wherein the listener, carefully hears what the speaker says, processes the message and then responds to the message so as to lead the conversation further. Active Listening involves paying full attention to the speaker, showing interest in what he/she is saying through expressions, body language and asking questions at timely intervals, to make a good conversation. He/she consciously makes effort to:
Both verbal and non-verbal clues play an important role in active listening, wherein verbal clues involve repeating the lines or summarizing the matter spoken, providing suggestions or disagreeing with the thoughts and asking suitable questions, whereas non-verbal clues include nodding, eye contact, etc. For Example: Active listening can be found in a press conference, debate, etc Who are Active Listeners?Active Listeners are those individuals who are actively involved in the process of communication, not just by attentively listening to the message but also by carefully noticing the manner in which the message is delivered. In other words, active listeners pay attention to the content and manner, i.e. the tone, pitch, body language, facial expressions, etc. of the speaker, when the message was delivered. Active Listeners often seek clarifications, nod their head at timely intervals, ask leading questions and also summarize the content to exhibit that they followed the speaker. Also Read: Difference Between Hearing and Listening Definition of Passive ListeningPassive Listening means listening to the speaker during the communication but in an unconscious manner. He/She sits quietly without responding to the speaker. It is silent and patient listening, wherein the listener neither interrupts nor participates in the conversation. This means that the listener is present physically, but may not be paying attention to the speaker’s speech due to which the message is not absorbed by the listeners as well as he/she may not be able to recall it in future. The causes of passive listening are:
Simply put, in passive listening, the listener is just listening to the words but not the message. This often leads to a misunderstanding between the speaker and listener, as the speaker would think that the listener has got the message accurately. For example: Passive listening is seen during Seminar attended by the students Who are Passive Listeners?Passive Listeners are the ones who listen to the message partially. Moreover, there is also the absence of sensitivity to nuances, hidden meanings, nonverbal clues which are involved in the communication. Basically, what a passive listener do is they let the other person speak without any interruption or clarification. Hence, communication with a passive listener is ineffective and incomplete.
The points stated below discuss the difference between active listening and passive listening:
Barriers to Active ListeningThe barriers to active listening are represented below: Now, let us discuss them one by one:
ExamplesGiven below are some common examples of active listening and passive listening:
ConclusionIn a nutshell, listening is an attentive process, which requires a person to consciously think to listen properly. The degree of attentiveness has a crucial role to play in the process of listening. The difference between active and passive listening lies in the listener’s attention and involvement in the conversation. |