Communication - Reflective Listening 2

In the last byte, we looked at reflective listening and attempted to understand the 3 components of reflective listening. In today's byte, we look at each of these 3 components in detail.

Personal aspect: Reflective listening emphasizes the personal element of communication - not he impersonal or abstract elements of the message. There is empathy, concern etc for the communicator as a person. The communicator is not treated as an inanimate object!

Feeling orientation:  Reflective listening also emphasizes on the feels communicated in the message. In addition to the thoughts and ideas that catch the general attention in normal communication, reflective listening also keeps an ear on the feels. The receiver pays special attention to the feel component of the message.

Responsiveness:  Reflective listening requires the listener to resound to the communicator instead of leading the communicator in the discussion. The receiver would need to realize the distinction between his/her individual feelings and thoughts and that of the speaker. The focus has to be on the speaker's feelings and thoughts so as to be able respond to them. A good reflective listener doesn't lead the speaker according to the listeners' own thought and feelings….