Listening and Responding

noreply@example.com (AG Sayyed) — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:18:20 +0000

Active listening and appropriate responding are fundamental counselling skills that make clients feel worthy, appreciated, and respected. These skills require complete attention, genuine interest, and careful observation of both verbal and non-verbal communication to maintain open, positive therapeutic relationships.

Overview

Active listening is a way of listening that involves full attention to what is being said for the primary purpose of understanding the speaker. It represents an essential skill set for counselling contexts, distinguished from passive hearing by its deliberate focus on comprehension and engagement. When counsellors give clients complete attention, speakers respond positively by interacting on a deeper level, perhaps by disclosing personal information or by becoming more relaxed.

Active Listening

noreply@example.com (AG Sayyed) — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 03:14:06 +0000

This document explores active listening as an essential core counselling skill that extends beyond ordinary hearing. It introduces the S.O.L.E.R. framework developed by Dr Gerard Egan for maintaining non-verbal attention and examines the linguistic, para-linguistic, and non-verbal dimensions of listening that enable counsellors to truly understand their clients' complete messages.

Understanding Active Listening

Active listening represents another important core counselling skill that can be practised in ordinary situations to enhance communication skills. Unlike passive hearing, active listening involves deliberately focusing attention and energy on understanding the complete message being communicated.

Non-Verbal-Communication on Ghafoor's Personal Blog

Listening and Responding

Overview

Active Listening

Understanding Active Listening