SESSION 8: ACTIVE LISTENING AS ESSENTIAL COMMUNICATI

ON SKILL FOR EFFECTIVE FACILITATION

• The main purpose is to realize that active listening is the key to develop the ability to
create questions useful for reflective practice and for effective facilitation.
• Attitudes: Being focused
• Skill: Active listening; developing questions for
Reflective Practice
• Knowledge: Active listening
Specific objectives:-
• Identify active listening as the essential pre-requisite to be able to create questions for
reflective practice.
• Improve their active listening ability.
• Demonstrate the ability to use active listening to create questions for reflective practice
Activity 1: Reflective practice, asking
questions, and active listening
purpose of the activity:-
• To identify active listening as essential skill for facilitators to enable reflective practice in an
experiential learning process

• Agree/Disagree discussion
 Agree/Disagree discussion

• I think that one of the main differences between conventional training and CBT is
the focus on achieving performance improvement.
• I think that reflective practice basically means enabling participants to think about
how they do what they do in their job to help them identify ways to improve
performance.
• I think that reflective practice is how facilitators can engage participants through all
the stages of the ELC.
• I think that reflective practice can be integrated in all training methods.
• I think it is very important to be able to formulate questions using what
participants say i.e. building on their reflections.
• I think active listening is a very important skill for effective facilitation of
experiential learning.
Activity 2: Developing improved active listening skills
for effective facilitation

Purpose of this activity:

• To develop the ability to use active listening to develop questions for reflective
practice
Distribute the Communication Check This is a self-
explanatory exercise to self-assess how each person
perceives her/his communication. This is a private exercise
and no-one will be asked to disclose their score unless they
want to.
 COMMUNICATION CHECK
First: Rate each of the following skills using the key below:

• 1 = Never
• 2 = Sometimes
• 3 = Often
• 4 = Always true
• a. I do not interrupt others in my group.
• b. My voice is appropriately pitched (not too loud, not
too soft).
• c. I do not dominate the conversation (giving others a
chance to speak).
• d. I talk an equal amount compared to others.
• e. I look people in the face.
• f. I do not criticize (put down) others.
• g. When listening, I show my reaction to the speaker
(e.g., by nodding).
• h. I express what I feel; not only what I think.
• i. I face the speaker and avoid crossing my arms or turning away
from him/her.
• j. I ask or encourage others to speak.
• k. I respond to the speaker, showing interest.
• l. I do not interrupt others to make my point.
• m. I pay attention to the speaker the entire time he/she is talking.
• n. I ask questions to show interest in what the speaker is saying.
• o. I evaluate what a speaker says and how he/she says it rather
than judging the speaker himself/herself.
 Communication Check Score Chart
 

15–27 points = Poor 28–39 points = Fair

40–47 points = Good 48–60 points = Excellent
 
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