Usually when someone is venting at me, I feel like I should respond somehow and say something, but I have no idea what that something could/should be. Is it better to just listen or try to comfort them in some way?
Usually when someone is venting at me, I feel like I should respond somehow and say something, but I have no idea what that something could/should be. Is it better to just listen or try to comfort them in some way?
That is not the definition of active and passive listening I had heard.
Active listen is being engaged asking questions and showing empathy outwardly. That could be trying to “fix” it but it could also be the “why would they say” type lines or other affirmations that others in this thread are saying both I thought were types of active.
I could definitely be remembering incorrectly - it was about 13 years ago and a helluva lot has happened since then! As you recall it, what would passive listening be?
That would be just taking in the information but not giving any sort of feedback. Like sitting in a lecture that doesn’t allow questions, but in a 1to1
Tbh, I’m struggling to imagine when that style of passive listening would be appropriate one to one, outside of something like marriage counselling or an argument when “you’ve had your chance to speak, now let me speak without interrupting”. Nobody wants to vent to a brick wall with no absolutely no feedback at all do they? Or maybe they do and I’m just weird!
No and thats the point, passive listening is not suitable for 1to1 interactions and some form of active listening should always be employed