- Appreciative: An individualized form of listening that obtain enjoyment through the words or experiences of others; like listening to one’s favorite music or watching ..
- Discriminative: Happens when people try to distinguish one sound from everything else; like stopping work to hear if the phone is ringing
- Comprehensive: Happens when people listen for understanding. Involves trying hard to remember what the person is saying and to interpret the meaning as precisely as possible
- Critical: Help the listener sift through what he/she has heard and make a decision
- Active: Also called empathic listening, involves more than just paying attention or listening carefully. It also entails empathic and supportive behaviors that tell the speaker “I understand. Please go on”
- Sympathetic listening
In sympathetic listening we care about the other person and show this concern in the way we pay close attention and express attention, our sorrows for their ills and happiness and at their joys
- Empathetic Listening
When we listen empathetically we go beyond sympathy to seek a truer understanding of how others are feeling. This requires excellent discrimination and close attention to the nuances of emotional signals. When we are being truly empathetic we actually feel what they are feeling. In order to get others to expose these deep parts of them to us, we also need to demonstrate our empathetic in our demeanor towards them asking sensitive and in a way that encourages self-disclosure.
- Therapeutic Listening
The listener has a purpose of not only empathizing with the speaker but also to use this deep connection in order to help the speaker understand change or develop in some way. This not only happens when you go to see a therapist but also in many social situations where managers, human resource people and trainers and coaches seek to help employees learn and develop