
- Interpersonal skills Tutorial
- Interpersonal skills Home
- Introduction to Interpersonal Skills
- Verbal Communication
- Active Listening
- Art of Asking
- Body Language
- Small Talk and Its Benefits
- Proceeding With a Conversation
- Tips While Talking
- Using Names In Conversation
- Making Up For Forgetting Names
- Influencing People's Thoughts
- Nurturing Common Grounds
- Maintaining Reliability and Trust
- The You Win I Technique
- Emotional Handling
- Pitfalls of Emotions
- Interpersonal Skills Worksheet-I
- Interpersonal Skills Worksheet-II
- Putting Your Opinion Forward
- How to Negotiate
- Making an Impact
- Getting Result the right Way
- Conclusion
- Interpersonal skills Resources
- Interpersonal skills - Quick Guide
- Interpersonal skills - Resources
- Interpersonal skills - Discussion
- Selected Reading
- UPSC IAS Exams Notes
- Developer's Best Practices
- Questions and Answers
- Effective Resume Writing
- HR Interview Questions
- Computer Glossary
- Who is Who
Active Listening
Communication is a two-way process where active listening plays as major a role as speaking fluently. Speaking fluently without listening will make any conversation a very short-lived one.
Hearing is simply picking up sound waves in our surrounding and realizing that there has been a source of sound, whether you have seen it or not. Listening, on the other hand, is not only picking up sound waves but also understanding the meaning of the words spoken, analyze them, interpret them, and act accordingly.

In short, hearing involves only the brain, but listening involves the mind too. Active listening helps in getting a deeper understanding of what the person is saying, which in return, will help you arrive at the most appropriate conclusion.
In addition to that, it also helps you to communicate more successfully and build a receptive, cooperative image in the mind of the speaker. The person will perceive you as a caring, attentive, and engaged listener with minute attention to details. Insurance Advisors and Investment Bankers all over the world have mastered this art as they understand that their customers are talking about the future of their earnings, which is a sensitive topic to most of them.