11.2: Informative, Critical, and Empathic Listening

There are different situations where listening is important and different reasons to listen. It’s important to acknowledge and identify these differences because appropriate listening behaviors in one situation might be inappropriate in another situation. Part of the challenge of listening is sorting out what situation you’re in and what response is appropriate. One way to approach this sorting process is to look at three major reasons why we listen in the workplace. We’ll talk more about each of these three categories in later sections, but here’s a summary:

Informative Listening: We listen to collect information from others.

• Receiving radio instructions in an aircraft cockpit.
• Listening to an instructor lecture on good writing technique.
• Receiving a briefing on a change to the assignment process.
• Obtaining medical instructions from a doctor.
• Learning your boss’s expectations during an initial feedback session.

Critical Listening: We listen to judge-to evaluate a situation and make decisions.

• Investigating causes of a fatal mishap.
• Determining which Airman to nominate for a quarterly award.
• Helping the user formally specify requirements for a new weapon system.
• Deciding which disciplinary action to administer.

Empathic Listening: We listen to understand and help others in situations where emotions are involved and the speaker, not just the message, is important.

• A subordinate is seeking advice on whether to reenlist.
• Your spouse is worried about your next deployment.
• A coworker is unsure how to deal with subtle discrimination.
• Your teenager doesn’t want to move during senior year; you’ve got orders.
• You’re trying to mend fences with a coworker after a major conflict.

Informative, Critical and Empathic listening categories can be used in two different ways. First, they can be used to characterize listening situations-that is, why we should be listening in this situation. Second, they can be used to describe listening approaches-the behaviors we use in a given situation and how we are listening.

Using an incorrect listening category for a certain listening situation may be problematic. For example, using an informative listening approach (taking notes, asking focused questions) in an empathic listening situation (an angry spouse who feels you’re neglecting the family) could cause the communicative act to fail. Keep reading to uncover how to match listening categories to particular acts of communication.

Informative Listening

In informative listening, the listener’s primary concern is to understand information exactly as transmitted. A successful listening outcome occurs when the listener understands the message exactly as the sender intended. Informative listening is important when receiving information from an established authority or receiving information that is not open for debate.

For example, if you’re receiving a briefing on changes to the assignment system, your goal should be to understand exactly what the rules are, not to sort out the reasons why you think the rules are off track. If you’re receiving formal training that will be followed by a test, your primary goal should be to understand the material, not to evaluate whether the material should be taught at this level.

Improving informative listening: There are several steps you can take to improve your informative listening skills.

1. Keep an open mind.
   If your primary goal is to understand the message, set aside your preconceptions about the topic and just listen.
2. Listen as if you had to teach it.
   Many education and training specialists suggest this technique. Typically we expend more effort to understand a subject when we know that we have to teach it to someone else. By taking this approach, we have the mental fortitude to focus longer, ask questions when we don’t understand and think more deeply on a topic.
3. Take notes.
   Focus on main points and don’t attempt to capture everything. This classic technique is used in situations where you are trying to capture objective information, such as in classes, staff meetings, etc. Note that if the listener and speaker are in a less formal, emotionally-charged situation, note taking might be misconstrued as hostile behavior (i.e., being put "on the record," or being documented for future adverse action) so use your judgment on whether it is appropriate to the situation.
4. Exploit time gap between thinking and speaking speeds.
   The average speaking rate is 180 words per minute while most listeners can process 500 words per minute. Use this extra time to mentally repeat, forecast, summarize and paraphrase the speaker’s remarks.
5. Respond and ask appropriate questions.
   Good informative questions help you clarify and confirm you understand the message. Remember that you are trying to absorb as much information as possible and you are less focused on making value judgments on the material. Here are some examples of appropriate questions or responses:
   1. Repeat exact content back to the speaker:
      "You said we need toner, copy paper and a three-hole punch. I’ll go get them now."
   2. Paraphrase the speaker in your own words:
      "So if I understand you, then...."
   3. Ask for more specifics or details:
      "When you say a draft is due on 15 April, is that before or after the internal coordination process?" or "How does the situation change if you’re married to another military member?"
   4. Request an example for clarity:
      "If asking good questions can help listening performance, can you provide some examples?”

Critical Listening

Critical listening can be thought of as the sum of informative listening and critical thinking. In this case, the listener actively analyzes and evaluates the message and listening success requires understanding the message and assessing its merit. The listener is evaluating the support offered by the speaker-as well as the speaker’s credentials and logic-and may either agree or disagree with the message. Critical listening may be appropriate when seeking input to a decision, evaluating the quality of staff work or a subordinate’s capabilities, or conducting research. Also, critical listening is related to critical thinking-they should occur simultaneously for the best critical thinkers.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the act of exercising careful judgment in forming opinions or conclusions. In chapter 4, we described how intellectual standards like accuracy, precision, relevance and clarity can be used to evaluate the quality of information sources. Critical thinking attempts to improve the quality of thought by using these same standards. It is self-directed, self-disciplined and self-corrective thinking applied to an important problem.

Improving critical listening: Several of the suggestions made for improving informative listening are equally important for critical listening: after all, you need to understand the message before you can critically analyze it.

1. Take notes.
   See "Improving Informational Listening" on the previous page.
2. Listen as if you had to grade it.
   Teaching a topic is tough, but grading another’s presentation of a topic is even tougher. Is the message clear and precise? Is the supporting material relevant and convincing? Does this make sense? Your attempt to mentally answer questions like these may help you stay focused on the speaker.
3. Exploit time gap between thinking and speaking speeds.
   Use the time gap described on the message. Remember to try to understand first and then evaluate second. Even when you are listening critically, don’t mentally argue with the speaker until the message is finished.
4. Ask appropriate questions.
   Good critical listening questions will be probing in nature so you can better evaluate the intellectual content of the speaker’s message. Some examples of good critical listening questions can be found in The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking by Richard Paul and Linda Elder.
   1. Accuracy: How could we verify or test that? Are others reporting the same results?
   2. Relevance: How does that fact relate to the problem?
   3. Breadth: Do we need to consider another point of view?
   4. Logic: Do our conclusions flow from our evidence?
   5. Significance: Is this the central idea? The most important problem?
   6. Fairness: Do we have any vested interests? How would opponents view this issue?

Empathic Listening

In empathic listening, we listen with the primary intent to understand the speaker and his or her frame of reference. Empathic listening is often useful when communication is emotional, or when the relationship between speaker and listener is just as important as the message. It is often used as a first step in the listening process, a prerequisite to informational or critical listening. Empathic listening is often appropriate during mentoring and non-punitive counseling sessions and can be very helpful when communicating with family members. Depending on the situation, it may also be useful in negotiation and teambuilding activities.

Empathic Listening: Not just emotional

Though most people quickly see that empathic listening skills are useful in dealing with a spouse or a child, some might think this listening approach is too "sensitive" for the military environment.

Realize that the same reasons these skills are relevant within a family make them relevant within the workplace. Empathic listening builds trust and encourages cooperation and may help small group cohesion-a critical factor in team performance in combat and crisis situations. Though you may not see many empathic listening behaviors when the bullets are flying, it lays the groundwork for success in that environment.

In the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey suggests that listening be used to "diagnose before you prescribe" when dealing with others, a concept captured by the phrase: "Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood." Empathic listening is described as a powerful tool to understand others and to build relationships. If you allow yourself to fully listen for both content and feeling and then reflect that back, there are several productive outcomes:

1. The listener truly understands how the speaker feels;
2. The speaker feels understood;
3. The listener can give better advice; and
4. The speaker will be more open to it.

Improving empathic listening: For empathic listening to be successful, the listener must understand the content of the message and the speaker must feel understood. It’s this second half-making the speaker feel understood-which requires some specialized skills.

Don’t you hate it when others want to "one-up" your story or when they jump in and give advice before they understand? If you’d like to improve your emphatic listening skills, try to avoid the following invasive responses that may prevent you from seeking to understand.

• AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STORIES: "Your situation is just like something that happened to me..." "When I was your age..."
• ADVISING: Immediately providing counsel based on our own experience-whether or not it was requested.
• PROBING: Asking questions solely from our own frame of reference.
• EVALUATING: Immediately agreeing or disagreeing.

These types of responses are discouraged because they distract the speaker from the critical part of the message, and they allow the listener to derail the conversation. Extroverts have more difficulty avoiding autobiographical responses than introverts do. Parents often use these responses with their children-the trick is to decide how much is too much. These responses are appropriate after the speaker feels understood and is looking for advice or help; it’s just important to wait until that point. The listener should return to empathic listening if emotions rise again.

The skills involved in empathic listening are easy to describe, but difficult to practice. To help you remember them, think about the acronym "HEAR."

\(\mathbf{H}=\mathbf{H E A R T}\): Commit to listening sincerely, avoid manipulation; remember the importance of the person, as well as the issue.

\(\mathbf{E}=\mathbf{E M O T I O N S}\): Look and listen for speaker’s emotions as much as their words.

\(\mathbf{A} = \mathbf{A V O I D}\): Avoid advice, autobiographies, evaluation; don’t interrupt or change the subject.

\(\mathbf{R}=\mathbf{R E F L E C T}\): Reflect back meaning and feeling until the speaker feels understood.