The Relative Effectiveness of Active Listening in Initial Interactions

Active listening is an important communication skill, which has implications in the quality of interactions among individuals. The study examined how different types of responses (e.g., active listening, simple acknowledgement, and giving advice) can affect individual perception of listeners' attentiveness, comprehension, and sociability. Results indicated that active listening was associated with high conversational satisfaction, perceived understanding, and perception of social attractiveness of the listener.