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com

Active Empathic Listening as a Tool for Better

Communication
Archana Shrivastava*

Abstract
Volume of the consumer conversation is expanding day by day. Many leading companies worldwide are recognising the
importance of listening to the costumers and feel that it is not the same thing as it was five years ago. Listening in the present
context involves many other criterions such as granularity of individual opinions, leading indicators, unfiltered sentiments, etc.
This increasing speed and volume of conversations and its rapid development as a market force have made listening as one of
the biggest challenges faced by the present corporate world. One type of listening which is being highlighted these days is Active
Empathic Listening (AEL). AEL is a cognitive process involving the steps such as sensing, processing and responding. The study
adopts the items from the recently developed Active Empathic Scale to test whether there is a significant correlation between
the three elements of listening empathetically. The study also tries to find out if empathy in listening can make a person a better
communicator. The study further provides the evidences to prove that trainings with the focus upon empathic listening can improve
the overall listening abilities and justifies the emerging need of proper training and guidance to help the employees/ prospective
employees to understand the role of empathy in the process of listening.
Keyword: Listening, Active listening, Empathy, Communication

Introduction
We all know that listening is most often used but least
measured skill. Atwater (1992) observed that throughout
the years of formal schooling, students spent fifty percent
or more of their communication time listening followed
by speaking, reading and writing in that order. The reason
for this ignorance according to Hunsaker & Alessandra
(1986) may be the misconception that listening is related
to hearing. But with the passage of time it has been realized
that listening is much more than the physical activity. It
is an intellectual and emotional process in which all three
skills are integrated to extract the correct meaning. Poor
listening, as shown in Atwater’s (1992) study, is due to
the significant mismatch between the time requirement
for speaking and listening. Where the speaking rate
is 120-180 words per minute listening capacity of the
brain is 500-800 words per minute. This substantial gap
according to Newrik & Linden (1982) will lead a good
listener to use reaction time to his advantage for better
overall communication. While the poor listener will waste
it or worse yet misuse it so that the comprehension of the
message suffers. (p8) The realization of a listening as a
separate skill that can be taught and measured is too recent.
Before 1970, when International Listening Association
was formed very few outside the communication field
realized this fact. Slowly many tests for the listening were
developed but each measures different sub-skills. Many
studies talk about the significance of listening as a core
communication competency (Jones, 2011), still the fact is
that the scholarly research and theorizing about listening
is vastly underdeveloped ( Bodie, 2011).
Introduction to Active Empathic
Listening (AEL)
Listening is deeply rooted in the context of its ability to
help, create, maintain and enhance positive interpersonal
relationships. It is the quintessential positive interpersonal
communication behavior as it connotes an appreciation of
an interest in the other. (Bodie, p. 109) Past studies reveal
that a large percentage of people listen less effectively than
they believe and many are poor listeners. (Auxley, 1996, p.
77) But there is no denying of the fact that good listening
leads to positive interpersonal communication behavior
be it personal relation, parenting (Duncan, Coastworth,

*
Assistant Professor, Business Communication Area, Birla Institute Of Management Technology, Greater Noida, Uttar
Pradesh, India. E-mail: archana.shrivastava@bimtech.ac.in
 14 International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication
& Greenberg, 2009) marital relationship (Pasupathi et al.,
1993), sales job (Castleberry & Shepherd, 1993), health
care services (Watanuki, Tracy & Lindquist, 2006) or
customer satisfaction (De Ruyter & Wetzels, 2000). The
studies have also shown that good listeners are more liked
(Argyle & Cook, 1976) and are more trusted (Mechanics
& Meyer, 2000). This has also come up in the study that
people with good listening abilities have higher chances
of upward mobility in their work arena. (Sypher, Bostrom,
& Scibert, 1989) Listening is a kind of human behavior
that almost everyone thinks is important. (Weaver, 1972,
p. 24). But not many listening tests are available and the
ones that are there focus on testing reading comprehension
and mental ability which lack somewhere in giving valid
measures of unique skills and ignore listening as a complex
skill. Considering listening as a complex of skills few
efforts were made in developing multidimensional tests
of listening comprehension. These tests were developed
with the assumptions that there exist some identifiable
set of skills that can be taught in order to make a person
a good listener. (Ridge, 1993) Two alternative views
emerged from various studies that were conducted, first
considered listening as responding and second considered
listening as relating. The second one is more related with
empathy as the significant part of the listening process.
It focuses on the active presence of another individual
who is typically acting with empathic tendencies (Bodie,
2011b; Gearhart & Bodie). It talks about active- empathic
listening, one from the perspective of the individual and
other from the perspective of the relationship.
Active Empathic listening is an activity of listening that
combines traditional active listening procedure with the
element of empathy which will result in a higher form of
listening (Drollinger, Comes & Warrington, 2006, p. 162).
Drollinger et al. conceptualized AEL (active empathic
listening) as a three stage activity: sensing, processing,
and responding. During the first stage, i.e. sensing a good
listener will get involved in the listening procedure by
using techniques used by the active listener. There will
be an attempt to understand both explicit and implicit
information. Second stage will involve synthesizing all
the fragment of conversation to enable the construction
of a narrative whole. The third stage, i.e. responding will
involve questioning and clarifications to indicate that the
person was being listened. During this entire process,
the measure created by the Drollinger et al. (2006) put
emphasis upon the use of the element called empathy
which he believed is “the ability to perceive the internal
Volume 3, Issue 3 & 4, 2014
frame of another with accuracy and with emotional
components and meaning …as if one were the other
person” (Rogers, 1959, p.120). This also implicate that
the three stages i.e. sensing, processing and responding
should be positively correlated.
The study adopts the items from the recently developed
Active Empathic Listening Scale to test the correlation
between the three stages. The study further also provides
the evidence to prove that trainings with the focus on
the empathy as an element of listening can improve the
overall listening ability of an individual.
Methodo�og�
The business outlook is changing very fast. Instead
of persuading others to do what we want, we should
understand what others want and help them to achieve
it. Empathy in listening is the platform for effective
understanding, better communication and building strong
relations. In business, empathy is essential for handling
grievances and retaining customers. Active empathic
listening process involves three elements; Sensing,
Processing, and Responding. For any person to be
empathic listener needs to be good at all three processes/
elements. For example a person can be good at sensing the
information during listening process but if he is not good
at processing and responding he may not be a successful
listener. The purpose of the study reported below is to
test the correlation between three elements of empathic
listening (sensing, processing and responding) with the
help of the 11 items (Annexure. 1) borrowed from the
recently developed measure of Active- Emphatic listening
Scale (AELS). Reliability and validity of the scale has
been tested by researchers. Eight items that comprise
the AELS achieved high factor loadings (k>.60), and
the remaining three achieved adequate loadings (k>.50;
Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998), suggesting no
current need to add or remove items. Although internal
consistency reliability estimates were somewhat low for
the individual subscales, the reliability of the total scale
was acceptable (Thompson, 2003).
In the second stage of study the author investigates
whether the understanding of AEL helps the managers/
prospective managers become better listeners proving
the significance of trainings in this area. Based on the
objectives of the study two separate tests were conducted.
 Active Empathic Listening as a Tool for Better Communication
Test 1
H0: The three elements of empathy were significantly
correlated.
H1: There was no correlation visible between the three
elements of empathy.
Procedure
Group of 50 students of 2nd year Retail Management course
from one of the best B-schools in India were selected.
Students were first introduced to the meaning and growing
significance of Listening. While interacting on various
strategies of effective listening, students acknowledged
their awareness and value of active listening. But
they were not familiar with active- emphatic listening
(AEL) and its role in improving listening skills. Before
Table 1:
Table 2:
15
introducing the concept of active empathic listening,
the students were asked to go through a computer based
survey. The participants took about 20 minutes to read
and complete the survey. The survey borrowed 11 items
(Annexure. 1) from AELS ((Drollinger et al., 2006).
The participants were asked to indicate the frequency to
which they perceive each statement to be true to them at
the scale of five. The scores were then analyzed.
Analysis and Interpretation
Pearson r correlation test was preferred for the analysis.
A Pearson r correlation coefficient was computed to assess
the relationship between the three stages involved in the
process of active empathic listening. There was a positive
correlation between the three variables, r = 0.810, r= 717,
n= 50, p = 0.00. With the p value 0.00 which is less than
.05 we can say that there was a strong, positive correlation
 16 International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication
between the three variables, i.e. sensing, processing and
responding. This means that the candidates who were
found good at sensing and processing skills were also
found to be better respondents. Based on the results we
accept the null hypotheses (H0) in favor of the alternative.
Test 2
Procedure
Before introducing the students to the recently developed
measure of active- emphatic listening (AEL), students
had to undergo a diagnostic process where an audio CD
consisting of various small business scenarios was run
and the students were expected to register their answers
based on their understanding of those situations.
They were expected to use their Listening abilities,
understand various situations and then select best option
as the answer out of the ones provided to them. All
situations were taken from the work arena. These tests
were developed with the help of online resources available
on various listening websites.
(http://www.pearsonlongman.com/intelligent_business/
bec_higher.html
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/business_video10.
html )
The scores were preserved. Students were then introduced
to Empathy as a part of the broader theme of active
listening. They were asked to differentiate between
sympathy and empathy. They were also cautioned that
Empathy would be inappropriate in situations where the
other person wants solutions rather than a way to express
emotions. It is important to think carefully about what the
other person wants out of a given situation. They were
introduced to physical gestures such as tilted head which
suggest that the person is curious about what he hears,
furrow brow which suggests concentration. They were
also informed about some of the techniques of Active
Empathic Listening such as maintaining eye contact,
nodding, and producing neutral noises such as ‘ Hmm’,’
OK’ to encourage the speaker to continue.
Students were made to complete some quiz related to
empathy which were then discussed in the classroom. This
was followed by some role plays based on the difficult
Volume 3, Issue 3 & 4, 2014
situations at work place. The situations were imaginary.
Some of the situations that were given to the students
were:
∑ You had to do something you are not comfortable
with;
∑ You were wrongly blamed for some problem;
∑ You felt cheated and you cannot do anything about
it.
Small groups were formed and students were asked to
discuss how they felt when their partners were showing
empathy. The instructor very closely observed and guided
on the techniques to handle the conversation tactfully.
As the research aimed at finding out the impact of the
treatment or the intervention on the listening abilities
of the participants, they were again made to undergo a
diagnostic process. This time the audio CD consisting of
different business situations focusing the same sub theme
was run. Again the students were expected to register their
answers but this time they were expected to use Active
Empathic Listening (AEL) strategies to understand
various situations and then select best option as the answer
out of the ones provided to them. Both the pre- test and
post- test results were compared to measure the degree of
change occurred as the result of the treatment.
Test 2
The second step was to test whether the training in this
area with the focus upon empathy increases the overall
ability to listen.
Analysis and Interpretation
Experimental research with the pre-test post test design
was preferred to measure a degree of change occurring as
a result of the treatment or the intervention.
The following hypothesis for the above study is derived:
H2: Listening abilities improved after the treatment or
intervention.
H3: There was no difference visible in the Listening
abilities of the students as a result of the treatment or the
intervention.
To determine whether there is a significant difference
 Active Empathic Listening as a Tool for Better Communication
between the average values of the same measurement
made in two different conditions a paired sample t-test
was used. Both the measurements are made on each unit
in a sample, and the test is based on the paired differences
between these two values.
T-Test
Table 5:
Major Results: The paired sample T-test was conducted
to compare the listening abilities of the selected group
before and after the use of AEL strategies. There was
a significant difference in the scores for the pre test
(M=18.16, SD=4.25) with the post test (M=21.94,
SD=3.77); t (49) = -10.38, P=.000. With the p- value <
.005, the result displayed significant difference suggesting
that the practice into active- emphatic listening does
improve the listening abilities of the subjects.
The result drawn from the T-Paired test was significant
(PQ=0.00 <0.05). Based on the result we rejected the
H3 in favor of the H2. This also gives the answer to the
question “Can the trainings with the focus upon empathic
listening improve the overall listening abilities?” A clear
message is emerging: trainings in listening with the focus
on empathy will increase the ability of an employee to
better understanding the needs of the customers. For good
results corporate/institutes should train their employees/
prospective employees to become better listeners.
Limitations and Conc�usion:
We can conclude that empathy plays a significant role
in understanding the customers in a better way. But this
strategy also has some disadvantages such as the process
is very time-consuming; not always results-oriented; may
undermine power relationships within company; and not
everybody wants empathetic responses to their problems.
Another area of concern can be that the person with higher
empathic listening skills will be himself emotionally
charged. This may obstruct his understanding of the
17
Table 3:
Table 4:
situation fairly. It is therefore important to understand the
situation before deciding to adopt AEL.
Imp�ications
7.1 Method discussed in the study can be used by various
B-Schools to improve the listening abilities of the
prospective employees.
1.2. A clear message is emerging: trainings in listen-
ing with the focus on empathy will increase the
ability of an employee to better understanding the
needs of the customers. For good results corporate/
institutes should train their employees/ prospective
employees to become better listeners.
13. With the increasing significance of listening in the
corporate world, the scope for future research in
this area is immense. Not many studies have been
done on listening from this perspective.
1.4. AEL can prove to be effective in certain situations
but there is a possibility that it may not work in
all situations. Future research can focus on club-
bing other listening strategies with AEL to create a
wholesome listening model.
Re�erences
Arglye, M., & Cook, M. (1976). Gaze and Mutual Gaze.
London: Cambridge.
Auxley, S. (1996). Communication at work: management
and the communication-intensive organization. CT
Quorum Book.
 18 International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication
Bodie, G. D. (2011b). The active empathic listening
scale (AELS): Conceptualization & validity evidence.
Communication Quarterly, 59, 277-297
Castleberry, S .B., & Shepherd, C. D. (1993). Effective
interpersonal listening and personal selling. Journal of
Personal Selling and Sales Management, 13, 35-49.
de. Ruyter, K ., & Wetzels, M. G. M. (2000). The impact
of perceived listening behavior in voice to voice service
encounters. Journal of Service Research, 14, 167-202
Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006).
Development and validation of the active empa-
thetic listening scale. Psychology and Marketing, 23,
161–180.
Duncan, L. G., Coastworth, J. D., Greenberg, M. T. (2009).
A model of mindful parenting; Implication for parent
child relationships and prevention research. Climate
Child and Family Psychology Review, 12, 255-270.
Jones, S. M. (2011). Supportive Listening, International
Journal of Listening, 25, 85-103.
Pasupathi, M., Carctensen, L. L., Levenson, R. W., &
Gottman, J. M. (1999). Responsive listening in long
married couples: A psycho logistic perspective. Journal
of non verbal Behavior, 23, 173-193.
Thompson, B. (2003). Understanding reliability and co-
efficient alpha, really. In B. Thompson (Ed.),Score re-
liability: Contemporary thinking on reliability issues
(pp. 3–23). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Watanuki, S., Tracy, M. F., & Lindquist, R. (2006).
Therapeutic Listening. In M. Snyder & R. Lindquist
( Eds)., Complentary/ Alternative therapies in nursing
4th ed., pp. 45-46 New York : Springer
Volume 3, Issue 3 & 4, 2014
WEB SITES
http://www.pearsonlongman.com/intelligent_business/
bec_higher.html
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/business_video10.
html
http://peo.cambridge.org/images/empathy%20at%20
work.pdf
http://www.businessballs.com/empathy.htm
Anne�ure 1. E�ements o� Active
Empathic Listening Sca�e
Sensing
1. I am sensitive to what others are not saying.
2. I am aware of what others imply but do not say.
3. I understand how others feel.
4. I listen for more than just the spoken words.
Processing
5. I assure others that I will remember what they say.
6. I summarize points of agreement and disagreement
when appropriate.
7. I keep track of points others make
Responding
8. I assure others that I am listening by using verbal
acknowledgements.
9. I assure others that I am receptive to their ideas.
10. I ask questions that show my understanding of oth-
ers’ positions.
11. I show others that I am listening by my body lan-
guage (e.g., head nods).