People rely on their listening skills to get the information they need to then act. Whether helping a customer choose between product A or product B, coaching an employee, or trying to resolve a dispute, there's a big difference between hearing vs listening. Listening is the foundational skill that influences our communication, and almost everyone has room to grow their listening skills to become effective communicators.

The Learning to Listen assessment helps individuals discover the difference between hearing vs listening and develop the knowledge and skills of effective listeners by exploring the three Dimensions of Listening: Staying Focused, Capturing the Message, and Helping the Speaker. With the optional classroom course, learners explore the visible and invisible aspects of listening, learn what it takes both physically and mentally to listen, understand common barriers to effective listening, and create a plan to put new skills into immediate action.

Help your learners achieve immediate and lasting performance improvement through the simple art of effective listening.

The Learning to Listen self-assessment is available in both online and print formats. Using one-on-one conversations as a frame of reference, individuals respond to 30 statements, choosing from a five-point scale of "almost always" to "almost never." Results reveal an overall listening effectiveness score and sub-scores in three dimensions: Staying Focused, Capturing the Message, and Helping the Speaker. The inventory takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, and we recommend you allow about an hour for interpreting results.

In addition to the assessment, the Learning to Listen Facilitator Guide includes all the tools you need to lead a half-day session. The third edition also offers online assessment options for individual users, self-study learning that features a comprehensive interpretation of results, the listening model, a review of responses, and development exercises to help improve performance.

By the end of this workshop, participants will do the following:

• Determine listening effectiveness in three dimensions
• Explore the visible and invisible aspects of listening
• Learn what it takes both physically and mentally to listen
• Understand common barriers to effective listening
• Create a plan to put new skills into immediate action
• Master the art of active listening in three dimensions
• Discover the hidden dimensions of listening and the physical and mental processes involved
• Recognize and overcome common barriers to effective listening

Learning to Listen can be used as the centerpiece of a standalone workshop on listening skills to determine the difference between hearing vs listening. It can also be incorporated into broader training programs on topics such as:

• Communication
• Performance coaching
• Customer service
• Needs assessment
• Selling skills training
• Supervising
• Negotiating
• Giving and receiving feedback

Print Facilitator Guide

Order one guide per trainer. This detailed, step-by-step guide includes background information, assessment instructions, scripts, discussion questions, and activities. It also includes samples of the Paper Assessment, HRDQue Cards, and Workbook. Facilitator support materials will be available to you as a digital download link in your order confirmation.

Print Workbook 5-Pack

Order one pack for up to five participants. A comprehensive takeaway including critical content, worksheets, and forms used during the workshop, as well as additional tools for on-the-job use.

Print Assessment 5-Pack

Order one pack for up to five participants. The print version is ideal for facilitators who prefer to oversee the scoring and administration of the assessment if you don't know who the participants will be before the class begins or if your learners do not have easy access to computers. It includes pressure-sensitive forms for scoring to aid manual tabulation. The recently updated print assessment features a color interior and readability improvements to create a more engaging experience for learners.

Online Assessment

Order one online assessment credit per participant. The online assessment is administered to participants through the HRDQ Assessment Center and includes personalized reporting, full-color charts, interpretive information, worksheets, and action planning. A detailed report is delivered electronically to the facilitator/administrator when complete.

HRDQue Card 5-Pack

Order one pack for up to five participants. A reminder card for participants outlining the key takeaways from the workshop.

Poster

We recommend ordering one per trainer. Understand and master Learning to Listen with this illustrated poster demonstrating the different "Dimensions of Learning."

QuickStart Train-the-Trainer (QST)

QST is a convenient, one-hour virtual coaching session for first-time facilitators of this product. You'll receive personalized, one-on-one coaching with a subject matter expert who will get you up to speed quickly and accurately so you can step into the onsite with confidence. We'll answer all your questions about facilitation of the product. And you can add additional coaching hours as needed. Your coaching session can be provided by telephone or video call and at a time of your choosing.

Facilitators will also receive an HRDQ Certificate of Completion for completing the QuickStart session.

Laurie Ribble Libove, MS, is a specialist in strategic human resource management and organizational development. She earned an MS from the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Ribble Libove served as a lecturer at the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley and an instructor in the MBA program at the Dominican University of California. She is the author and co-author of several HRDQ training tools, including Leading Change at Every Level, Trust: The Ultimate Test, and The Comprehensive Leader.