{"id":178,"date":"2025-12-31T19:43:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T19:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/?post_type=back-matter&p=178"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:35:29","slug":"active-listening-techniques","status":"publish","type":"back-matter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/back-matter\/active-listening-techniques\/","title":{"raw":"Active Listening Techniques\u00a0","rendered":"Active Listening Techniques\u00a0"},"content":{"raw":"

Active Listening Techniques<\/h2>\r\nActive listening is a foundational skill in empathetic communication and effective guidance. It involves giving full attention to the speaker, demonstrating understanding, and responding in ways that communicate respect and care. Rather than focusing on correcting behavior or offering immediate solutions, active listening prioritizes understanding the child\u2019s thoughts, feelings, and needs. When educators use active listening techniques, they help children feel heard and valued, which strengthens trust and supports emotional regulation. This section introduces key active listening strategies that promote connection, reduce conflict, and create the conditions for meaningful problem-solving.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. \r\n

    Reflecting back the information<\/h3>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
    \r\n

    Examples<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

    \r\n\r\n\"So you would like her to stop giving you dirty looks.\"\r\n\r\n\"You're saying that you don't know when you first noticed it happening.\"\r\n\r\n\"So you feel like he owes you $9.00.\"\r\n\r\n\"So you would still like to be her friend if she wants to be yours.\"\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. \r\n

      Reflecting back the feelings<\/h3>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
      \r\n

      Examples<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

      \r\n\r\n\"You seem angry about all of this.\"\r\n\r\n\"I get the feeling that you are sad about what has taken place.\"\r\n\r\n\"You seem frightened about what is going to happen.\"\r\n\r\n\"You seem mad about the situation.\"\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

      3. Encourage the party to speak<\/h3>\r\n
      \r\n

      Examples<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

      \r\n\r\n\"Please go on.\"\r\n\r\n\"Thanks for taking the time to explain this to us. We appreciate your patience.\"\r\n\r\n\"Tell me more; I really want to make sure that I understand what you want.\"\r\n\r\n\"You are really working hard to resolve this. Thanks.\"\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
        \r\n \t
      1. \r\n

        Finding out more information<\/h3>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
        \r\n

        Examples<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

        \r\n\r\n\"What are you concerned about?\"\r\n\r\n\"When did this begin?\"\r\n\r\n\"How long have you known each other?\"\r\n\r\n\"Where did you last see your books?\"\r\n\r\n\"How much money do you think it was worth?\"\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
          \r\n \t
        1. \r\n

          Summarizing what the party says<\/h3>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
          \r\n

          Examples<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

          \r\n\r\n\"So you are saying that you are concerned about these three things: the money, your friendship, and getting your books back.\"\r\n\r\n\"So overall you seem to be saying that you like her, but you don't really want to be friends anymore.\"\r\n\r\n\"The things that you want from him are...\"\r\n\r\n\"You're saying that the problems you want to talk about here today are...\"\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

          Active Listening Techniques<\/h2>\n

          Active listening is a foundational skill in empathetic communication and effective guidance. It involves giving full attention to the speaker, demonstrating understanding, and responding in ways that communicate respect and care. Rather than focusing on correcting behavior or offering immediate solutions, active listening prioritizes understanding the child\u2019s thoughts, feelings, and needs. When educators use active listening techniques, they help children feel heard and valued, which strengthens trust and supports emotional regulation. This section introduces key active listening strategies that promote connection, reduce conflict, and create the conditions for meaningful problem-solving.<\/p>\n

          \n
            \n
          1. \n

            Reflecting back the information<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
            \n

            Examples<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

            \n

            “So you would like her to stop giving you dirty looks.”<\/p>\n

            “You’re saying that you don’t know when you first noticed it happening.”<\/p>\n

            “So you feel like he owes you $9.00.”<\/p>\n

            “So you would still like to be her friend if she wants to be yours.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

              \n
            1. \n

              Reflecting back the feelings<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
              \n
              \n

              Examples<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

              \n

              “You seem angry about all of this.”<\/p>\n

              “I get the feeling that you are sad about what has taken place.”<\/p>\n

              “You seem frightened about what is going to happen.”<\/p>\n

              “You seem mad about the situation.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

              3. Encourage the party to speak<\/h3>\n
              \n
              \n

              Examples<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

              \n

              “Please go on.”<\/p>\n

              “Thanks for taking the time to explain this to us. We appreciate your patience.”<\/p>\n

              “Tell me more; I really want to make sure that I understand what you want.”<\/p>\n

              “You are really working hard to resolve this. Thanks.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

                \n
              1. \n

                Finding out more information<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                \n
                \n

                Examples<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

                \n

                “What are you concerned about?”<\/p>\n

                “When did this begin?”<\/p>\n

                “How long have you known each other?”<\/p>\n

                “Where did you last see your books?”<\/p>\n

                “How much money do you think it was worth?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

                  \n
                1. \n

                  Summarizing what the party says<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                  \n
                  \n

                  Examples<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

                  \n

                  “So you are saying that you are concerned about these three things: the money, your friendship, and getting your books back.”<\/p>\n

                  “So overall you seem to be saying that you like her, but you don’t really want to be friends anymore.”<\/p>\n

                  “The things that you want from him are…”<\/p>\n

                  “You’re saying that the problems you want to talk about here today are…”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"Techniques","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["ken-breeding"],"pb_section_license":"cc-by-nc"},"back-matter-type":[27],"contributor":[61],"license":[56],"class_list":["post-178","back-matter","type-back-matter","status-publish","hentry","back-matter-type-appendix","contributor-ken-breeding","license-cc-by-nc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/back-matter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/178\/revisions\/179"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/178\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"back-matter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter-type?post=178"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=178"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/childguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}