Active Listening Techniques: 30 Practical Tools to Hone Your Communication Skills

by Nixaly Leonardo

Product Description Essential tools to help sharpen your communication skills by learning to listen To listen actively is to listen with complete attention and an engaged mind and body. And, while it may come naturally to some, it’s also a skill that can be honed through practice. Active Listening Techniques will help you do just that, so you can ensure the people around you feel respected, understood, and heard. Through 30 practical communication tools, you’ll acquire the skills you need to better get your message across, allowing you to cultivate healthier personal relationships, achieve greater career success, and more. This guide to listening skills for adults helps Learn how to develop stronger connections through these simple and effective listening exercises.

Genres: Nonfiction, Communication, Self Help, Psychology, Audiobook, Ebooks, Personal Development

143 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 19, 2022

Reviews

[Grover Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given the title, I expected the book to be more about listening, not communication skills. Communication skills is in the title, but I was personally looking for a book that gave pointers that helped a listener stay engaged in a conversation. To focus on words, remember what people said, etc.

That being said, I’ll admit that I probably should have investigated the book further to see if it lined up with my own expectations.

For what it was, it was an easy read and good for reinforcing ideas that are solid foundations for good communication. Anyone that doesn’t naturally communicate well might benefit from this book.

I did wish that the book didn’t end so abruptly, though. After the last skill, there was no summary of implementing these practices in everyday life outside of the tips listed with each skill. It would have been nice for an outline and action plan to weave these into my personal life gradually.

Overall a decent read.

[Jessica Nybeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good practical read. This book offers clear tools and examples on how to communicate more effectively and ask better questions without sounding offensive or intrusive. It’s straightforward, easy to read and full of actionable advice that’s simple to apply in everyday conversations.

[Andrew Obrigewitsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Active Listening Techniques: 30 Practical Tools to Hone Your Communication Skills" by Nixaly Leonardo serves as a concise and highly practical guide for anyone looking to improve their interpersonal communication. Leonardo's book is compact yet brimming with actionable advice that can be quickly understood and applied by readers in various contexts—whether in personal relationships, professional environments, or everyday interactions.

The strength of Leonardo's work lies in its simplicity and directness. Each of the 30 techniques presented is designed to be easily integrated into daily conversations. The focus on fundamental skills such as maintaining eye contact, listening with full attention, and acknowledging others not only reinforces the basics of effective communication but also emphasizes the importance of empathy and respect in interactions. These techniques are essential for building rapport and fostering meaningful connections with others.

Leonardo explains each technique with clarity, often providing scenarios where they can be particularly effective. This not only helps in understanding the practical application of the techniques but also in recognizing the common communication pitfalls that these skills can help avoid. For instance, the section on eye contact discusses its role in building trust and demonstrating engagement, while also cautioning against cultural nuances where direct eye contact may not be appropriate.

The book also delves into the nuances of verbal and non-verbal cues, teaching readers how to better interpret and respond to them. This holistic approach to communication is useful, particularly in a world where interactions can be quick and misunderstandings frequent. By practicing these techniques, readers can learn to become better listeners and more thoughtful speakers.

However, given its brevity, the book may leave those already familiar with basic communication principles wanting more in-depth exploration or advanced techniques. It's most suitable for beginners or those who have not formally studied communication techniques. For seasoned professionals in fields like counseling, negotiation, or sales, the book might serve more as a refresher than as a source of new information.

Despite its concise nature, "Active Listening Techniques" does an excellent job of covering essential communication skills in a digestible format. Nixaly Leonardo's straightforward writing ensures that readers can quickly grasp and apply the lessons learned, making it an ideal read for anyone looking to enhance their daily interactions through improved listening and communication skills. Whether for personal growth or professional development, this book offers valuable tools to help anyone become a better communicator.

[Karen Hewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Active Listening Techniques: 30 Practical Tools" is a book by Nixali Leonardo that provides a comprehensive and practical guide to developing effective listening skills. The book offers a step-by-step framework for improving listening skills, and provides numerous real-world examples and case studies to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.

Overall, I found this book to be a highly informative and practical guide to improving listening skills. Leonardo's writing style is clear, engaging, and highly accessible, making even the most complex concepts easy to understand and apply.

One of the key takeaways from this book is the idea that effective listening requires an active and intentional approach that focuses on understanding and engaging with the speaker. Leonardo provides practical advice for improving listening skills, such as focusing on the speaker, paraphrasing, and asking open-ended questions.

Another important theme in the book is the idea that effective listening requires a willingness to suspend judgment and biases in order to truly understand the speaker's perspective. Leonardo provides practical exercises and techniques for developing empathy and active listening skills, and offers insights into how individuals can overcome common barriers to effective listening.

What sets this book apart is its emphasis on practicality. The book provides 30 practical tools that readers can apply immediately to improve their listening skills. These tools are easy to follow and can be used in a variety of situations, making them highly versatile.

Overall, I highly recommend "Active Listening Techniques: 30 Practical Tools" to anyone interested in improving their listening skills and building more effective relationships. The book is well-written, highly informative, and provides a wealth of practical advice and real-world examples that are sure to be helpful to anyone looking to become a more effective listener.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have read on communication skills and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you are in the position of EVER having to communicate with another person, you should read this book!

Thorough and comprehensive, the author describes the fundamentals of listening, obstacles to listening, how to work on yourself (your own distortions, expectations, etc.), the best ways to get through to others, persuasion tools, how to deal with emotionally charged situations and much, much more.

Very readable with practical tips and tools, this is definitely a book you should read and re-read occasionally. It definitely deserves a place in your reference library!

My sincere thanks to Rockridge Press for sending me a complimentary, no strings attached digital copy of this book. This review is absolutely voluntary and unbiased.

[Nate Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Active Listening Techniques is short, sweet, and to the point. The book combined practical rules with a particularly illustrative parable of how they're used. Honestly, one of the better books that I've read in the self-help category.

One of my particularly favorite concepts was the idea of reflexive listening: paraphrasing your understanding of what the speaker said back to the speaker

I empathized with rule seven as well: asking effective questions. At first, you can think that asking questions is a great way to actively listen. However, I've noticed in my own speech that sometimes these questions can come off as judgmental. The author recommends strategies to change the phrasing of the questions to make them less judgmental and more effective.

[Erina Najdovska · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more like a workbook, after a few notes on theory at the beginning, the book offers tools to master different active listening techniques. They all follow the same pattern: there is a story, that illustrates the example, then some pointers on how to handle the situation; and a few exercises / guidelines that you as the reader can try out.

[Gwynneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, since I've gone through this book so long ago, I can only really remember that it was a simple enough read with straightforward ideas of active listening. Nothing monumentally different in its approach that truly stuck with me, but it must have offered strong grounding for my day-to-day life back in September 2024.

[carlos medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Golden nugget

Book is easy to read. Thought it pragmatic & entertaining. This book is worth your time, it will make you a better listener or fine tune your listening skills. Happy learning!

[Matej yangwao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will finish later 🫣

>Active listening helps us comprehend the speaker's message and makes them feel heard.

>Active listening involves getting through to others by understanding their needs.

>One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. The ante gets uped as the book progresse In the last part of the book there were several incendiary remarks that had ME shout out loud 'Oooohhh dang!!! Cold!!!' and the authors polite responses that could only happen in a book. Ah to be that together.

[Gage Herrmann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incorrect title. It’s less information on his to truly hear what people are saying do you can better understand their problems, which is what they title made me think, and more of a relationship help book for bitter people.

[Jolane Tomhave]

I tried to listen to this book, but it just couldn’t keep my attention. I am not rating it and am laughing because I can’t tell if it’s me or the book! Anyone with trouble listening (i.e. me) should probably try the paper copy of any book on this topic 🤣.

[Douglas Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book, and I appreciated the examples/role play, but the type of person that will read this book in the first place probably already knows almost all of these techniques. It was an interesting read for me, but I didn't get a lot out of it.

[Rick Yvanovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these How To books especially when there are practical tools to use and in this case 30 of them!

Now my challenge is to apply each one and find out which ones I like and don't like and why.

This is going to end up like a reference book that I keep going back to.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my first experience with Active Listening- (educational career was my choice). This was a wonderful review and refresher course for me. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in communication aimed at the give and take of conversation.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tips

Reassured things I know and do. The examples at the beginning of each section helped give me an idea of other communication techniques in practice.

[Teri Sackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Very helpful tips. The situations used to illustrate the tips were applicable and relatable. The tips used common sense and were achievable.

[Katya Karam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing 👏

[Mari McR · Rating 2 out of 5]

These techniques seem haphazardly disconnected in application and not memorable.

[Parkway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to re-read this again starting tomorrow. It’s exactly what I needed to read. “When the student 👩🏽‍🎓 is ready, the teach will teach.”-Unknown

[Dannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good refresher and a lot of practical suggestions.

[Birunthan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed and provides scenarios which emphasizes the point

[emyrose8 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and only made it about 15 minutes in. Very basic techniques (good for people just starting out), but not what I was looking for.

[Akshay Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

useful

[Stephen Filippone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid advice. short and to the point

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hlepful tips, good examples.

[C Patt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like a make manipulator the way I consumed this

[Ier · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's okay informative

[Mats Visser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook