There is listening and there is listening. Our range of listening abilities covers a lot of ground between two extremes.
| Passive listening | Hearing sounds but not interpreting them beyond bare recognition |
| Intermittent listening | Following part of what is said but not grasping the whole message |
| Unresponsive listening | Completely lacking facial expression or other signs of response |
| Borderline listening | Missing the main point and focusing on a minor detail selected for personal reasons |
| Emotional listening | Responding to selected words with fear, anger, or other emotions, failing to comprehend the whole message |
| Careful listening | Comprehending the main idea, the organization, and the supporting data of what is heard |
| Critical listening | Questioning the validity of what is said, rejecting any emotion-charged words, and maintaining a skeptical attitude toward the broad generalisations |
| Perceptive listening | Being aware of what is really being said even if the words don’t obviously express it |
| Creative listening | Intellectually and emotionally appreciating what is heard |
A teacher in one of my workshops shared with me a way of listening: she described loving teachers as listening with “the ear in the middle of their hearts". (Write the word “HEART". See the word “ear" inside?
Listen to your students with that special ear!
