At ActiveComm Labs, we are big believers in communication and what it can do to improve research. Our background in both user experience research and communication has allowed us to harness the experiences of our users and provide the most accurate feedback to our clients. Our background in communication includes many years of research and training with hostage negotiators across the country. Through this training we learned the skills and techniques that negotiators use to resolve crisis situations and how to apply them in a research setting. We consider Active Listening to be one of the key components of an overarching method that we call Active Observation®. Active Observation® is a synthesis of Active Listening skills, influencing techniques and advanced observation of non-verbal communication such as facial expressions and body language to generate a deep and dynamic understanding of an individual.

This article will include contents similar to the training curriculum performed by hostage negotiators. We’ll provide you with a very brief overview of Active Listening as well as discuss some of its numerous applications. We’ll detail each of the Active Listening techniques and how and when to use them. Finally, we’ll discuss the importance of training in order to make these advanced communication techniques work in the context of research.

Active Listening – Overview and Concept
Active Listening consists of a set of communication techniques that were originally developed by psychotherapists as a way of getting their clients to feel safe and open up. This involved establishing rapport and trust by demonstrating care and a genuine desire to listen. Since its original development for psychotherapy, Active Listening has also been used for a wide variety of professions that rely on interpersonal communication. These professions include educators, law enforcement (particularly hostage negotiators), customer service, salespeople, and business professionals.

Active listening focuses on what a person is communicating to you. It includes techniques to ensure that you understand what you are being told, encourage further disclosure, and demonstrate that you are listening closely. When people communicate with one another, they not only communicate content but also emotions. It is the emotions behind the content that tell us the most about a person’s message. This can be extremely valuable in research by allowing the researcher to tap into the emotional component of a user’s experience with a product.

One way to grasp a better understanding of active listening is to understand the difference between active listening and passive listening. Passive listening is how most people learn to listen to one another and can result in missing a lot of content compared to Active Listening. It simply consists of sitting back and letting a person talk without taking any action at all. Think of it like listening to a keynote talk at a conference. It does not include interacting with the speaker or engaging in any way. It is a one-way form of communication. Anyone with experience speaking in front of a subdued crowd understands how uncomfortable it can be without any kind of engagement or feedback. This is how a research participant feels when you don’t engage him or her with Active Listening skills.

By contrast, Active Listening is, by definition, active. It includes engaging the speaker, asking questions, paraphrasing, emotional discovery and a variety of other actions taken by the listener in order to get more information from the speaker and build a relationship. As an active listener, your job is to engage in communication that will shape the behavior of the speaker to continue to disclose. An observer might describe it as a discussion in which two people are mutually interacting; however, when you are listening actively, the information will tend to flow in one direction, from the user to you. The information that flows to you will be the user experience. When appropriate, we’ll provide examples of an active listening exchange between a participant and a researcher to show how each technique should be used.

Active Listening – Specific Techniques
The specific techniques listed below are the communication actions that compose Active Listening. For each technique, the article will provide a description of the technique, why the technique is important, and how the technique can be most effectively used.

Eye Contact
Eye contact is looking the other person in the eye when he or she is speaking. It indicates that you are paying attention and listening to the person. The most effective way to use eye contact is to look at a person but do not stare. Occasionally make eye breaks, preferably looking down rather than away. Looking down gives the impression that you are thinking about what the person said. Looking away gives the impression that you are paying attention to something else.

Attentive Body Language
Attentive body language includes gestures and postures that indicate that you are interested in what you are hearing. This will make the person feel like you are listening to what they are saying and that you find them interesting. You can use Attentive body language by making gestures of understanding like nodding as well as postures that indicate interest such as slightly leaning forward or tilting your head.

Vocal Style
Vocal style is how a person uses speech rate, volume, and tone to indicate interest. Vocal style communicates to the other person your interest in what he or she is saying. Make the most of vocal style by making variations to speech rate, volume and tone to emphasize areas that are important or interesting in the conversation. An example would be speaking slower when asking about a topic that is very important.

Verbal Following
Verbal Following is responding to what the other person is talking about rather than abruptly changing the topic; it comes into play when you need to transition between topics for one reason or another. Verbal following shows that you are interested in what is being discussed even though you are changing the topic. In order to use verbal following always make a comment about what the other person was saying before you change the topic. This technique requires good judgment because some of the most valuable data can be gathered when you allow the participant to control the discussion.

Participant: It would be great if this device could sync with my PC also.

Researcher (Verbal Following): That’s a great idea. I’ll make sure to pass that on to the designers. Now if you saw this device in the stores, what would you expect the price to be?

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is when a person summarizes what the other person said. Paraphrasing demonstrates that you are listening, builds rapport and creates empathy by showing that you understand what the other person said. It can also ensure that information gathered is accurate. The most effective way to use paraphrasing is to listen to the other person and then summarize what the person said and ask them if what you heard was correct. Examples might be “Are you telling me…?”, or “So what you are saying is…?”

Participant: I’m not really sure, if it’s like it is now, probably about $50, but if it could sync with my PC, I’d be willing to pay $75, maybe a bit more. Researcher (Paraphrasing): So the ability to sync with your PC will dramatically increase the value?

Reflecting
Reflecting is when a person repeats back the last word of a phrase. Reflecting demonstrates that you are listening and paying attention. It is a simple way of gathering more information without asking for it. The most effective way to use reflecting is to repeat back the last word of a phrase then let the person elaborate on it.

Participant: Actually, I was really confused by this button.

Researcher (Reflecting): This button?

Participant: Yeah, it took me a while to figure out that it was a button. I thought it was just a label.

Silence
Silence is when you strategically don’t say anything. Many people use silence when they are about to say something important or just said something important. Many people feel uncomfortable when there is silence in a conversation and if you wait, the other person may say something that he or she would otherwise not disclose. Just be careful not to overuse silence because it will make the person feel uncomfortable. Also make sure you wait to use it until after you’ve already established some rapport with the person.

Minimal Encouragers
Minimal encouragers are words or sounds that are used to express interest. Minimal encouragers are important because it encourages the person to continue speaking and shows that you are interested and paying attention. When minimal encouragers are used properly, the person will not feel interrupted while he or she is speaking. Use minimal encouragers by making responses like, “oh,” “yeah,” or “uh-huh” during the natural pauses in the person’s speech. These pauses tend to happen at the end of sentences.

Participant: I can totally see myself using this all the time, especially when I’m travelling.

Researcher (Minimal Encourager): Yeah?

Participant: Yeah, when you’re sitting in an airport for a while you have to keep yourself busy.

Researcher (Minimal Encourager): Uh huh

Participant: And the fact that you can switch between functions so quickly really makes me want to keep using it.

Emotional Discovery
Emotional discovery is an effective way to talk to a person about his or her emotional experience. Emotional discovery is important because it shows that you are listening, care and understand what he or she is feeling. Use emotional discovery to respond to the emotions heard in a person’s voice, rather than the content. Tell the person how he or she seems or sounds, rather than how he or she is feeling. An example might be a statement like “you seem to be uncomfortable,” rather than “I know you’re uncomfortable.”

Researcher (Emotional Discovery): You seem a little frustrated.

Participant: I just can’t figure out how to do this, honestly, if I was at home I would have given up already.

Empathy
Empathy is indicating that you understand or identify with the emotions of the other person. Empathy shows the person that you care and that you understand what they’re feeling. Empathy is one of the most effective tools for building rapport. The most effective way to use empathy is to make statements that indicate that you have experienced the emotion or statements that recognize the difficulty of the situation. Avoid making statements that show pity such as “I feel sorry for you”
Researcher (Empathy): We all know what it’s like trying to work with an interface that isn’t quite right.
Participant: I just feel like if you changed these couple things over here, then it would be almost perfect.

Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no.” These kinds of questions encourage the person to elaborate on their answers. Open-ended questions are useful in gathering large amounts of information from the person with only a single question. It will also allow the person to express him or herself more completely and provide you with a greater understanding of the person. Use open-ended questions by asking questions that begin with “what,” “why,” or “could.” Examples may include “What did you do?” “Why did you do that?” or “Could you tell me more about that?”

Researcher (Open-Ended Question): How can you see yourself using this device?

Participant: Well, I’d definitely use it while I’m travelling, it’s great that it can keep me entertained and yet have so many other practical functions. I’d probably use it during my commute every day, although that would be a lot easier if it had some kind of docking station in my car. I’d probably even use it when I’m at home.

Close-Ended Questions
Close-ended questions are questions that can only be answered with a “yes” or a “no” response. Close-ended questions will generate concrete responses or force the person to acknowledge facts that they have avoided or unclearly addressed. Use close-ended questions to get a person to summarize or bottom-line and elaborate response, but be careful not to overuse them as they can make a person feel constrained and frustrated.

Researcher (Close-Ended Question): So you can see yourself using this regularly?

Participant: Yes.

Conclusion
After reading this article, you should have a pretty good understanding of Active Listening and how it works. As of right now, you know the techniques that compose Active Listening, but there is still another step to take in order to be able to use them effectively. Active Listening techniques should occur naturally, not as conscious actions that result from drawing from a knowledge base. You shouldn’t have to think about what you are going to say next. This requires taking knowledge of these techniques and transforming them into skills. The way to do this is through proper and effective training. Much like the training that hostage negotiators undertake. I encourage anyone that that is interested in maximizing their communication effectiveness to seek out hands-on training supervised by a qualified instructor. Feel free to contact myself, Demetrius Madrigal, or Bryan McClain at for recommendations on training resources.

Bryan McClain and Demetrius Madrigal

Seasoned negotiators say active listening is the most powerful tool available to build rapport with hostage takers, and significantly increases the chance of successful negotiations.

“Hostage negotiation is nothing more than a conversation under stress with peoples lives at stake, active listening is the foundation on which that conversation is based,” said, Dominick J. Misino, a former NYPD hostage negotiator.

Since the mid 1950’s active listening has been widely accepted and practiced in the field of psychotherapy. It’s a skill used to build bonds with clients whose experiences can range from post-traumatic stress disorder to marriage problems to career development. However, it has yet to be widely used in the law enforcement community, though its effects in other areas have been accepted. When applied in the law enforcement community these techniques will help negotiators gather accurate information, establish rapport and get the hostage taker to reveal personal information.

Negotiation trainers have begun adding active listening training into their curriculum; however, due to time constraints, trainers do not always have the ability to thoroughly educate participants on each and every technique. In response to this need, ActiveComm, a research and development company that focuses on human behavior, has developed a training workshop focusing on applying techniques of this concept. Endorsed by the International Association of Hostage Negotiators (IAHN), ActiveComm has developed a fully hands-on course entitled Applied Active Listening for Hostage Negotiators.

The course has already been shown to be effective. “ActiveComm’s Applied Active Listening for Hostage Negotiators course proved to be invaluable to our team. The hands-on scenario and role-playing provided the best training to date,” said, Detective Mindy Zen, hostage negotiation team leader for Morgan Hill Police Department.

“Bryan, Demetrius and Jason are experts in their field, providing current and accurate information on a negotiations front. We strongly recommend Active Listening for Hostage negotiators by ActiveComm for all negotiators.”

How active listening techniques should be used
There are key strategies to making active listening effective. Establishing rapport between the negotiator and hostage taker is crucial. This is done through active listening skills that show you are interested in the person. Adding trust, empathy and honest communication to a negotiator-taker relationship leads to successful negotiations. Trust helps the hostage taker believe the negotiator who promises he won’t be hurt if he comes out. Empathy will make him feel like he has something to live for and he can make the best of a bad situation. And honest communication will help negotiators obtain situational information to help keep fellow officers from getting hurt should the negotiation take a turn toward a tactical resolution.

Building this relationship does not merely entail repeating a series of techniques; it requires the strategic application of the proper technique to the proper situation in order to accomplish the goal. With this in mind, it is important to know not only active listening techniques, but also when and which technique to use.

Typically, active listening is used most at the beginning of the negotiation, when the hostage taker doesn’t want to talk to you. It will help the person feel that he made the right choice by opening communication. It is important in these situations to maintain active listening and be careful not to slip back into command presence. Even experienced negotiators can get emotional and slip back into that role, thus changing the tone of the conversation and possibly jeopardizing a negotiation.

However, if you are in a tactical situation in which you require immediate control of the subject as a matter of safety, it is not an appropriate time to use active listening. You must use command presence to instruct the subject to perform the actions you require immediately and convey that force will be used if he does not comply. When you feel that you have built a strong rapport and the hostage taker is thinking about coming out, it might be better to use influencing skills to talk the person out rather than to continue to build a relationship.

It is for this reason that another major area of focus for active listening is maintaining communication awareness. It consists simply of being aware of the emotions of the hostage taker based on voice tone, speech rate and content to name a few. Other important components include your emotions as the negotiator and how you present yourself to the hostage taker. It’s not uncommon for a negotiator to become angry or frustrated without realizing it. And it is very common for a negotiator to miscommunicate messages, saying something that he didn’t mean or saying it in a way that could be misinterpreted. Strong communication awareness helps keep you in control of the negotiation and avoid mistakes that could be costly.

Communication awareness is essential for knowing which active listening technique to apply. This skill requires you to read the situation, determine your status in the negotiation and choose the technique that will be most effective. For example, the skills of emotional labeling and empathy are arguably the most powerful active listening skills to building rapport.

Emotional labeling – naming the emotion that the person is feeling – is a facet in creating trust. By saying to the hostage taker, “you sound like you’re upset,” it can name their feelings without making them angry or uncomfortable. If you get a “yes” you can follow up with an empathic statement such as, “you know, if I were in your shoes, I’d probably be upset too.” If you get a “no” you can easily change the subject without having delved too deeply into the person’s emotions.
Emotional labeling combined with empathy is the one-two punch for hostage negotiators. It communicates to the hostage taker, “I know that this is how you are feeling and it is okay to feel that way.” The best time to use emotional labeling or empathy is when you have already established a bond and the subject has begun to open up and reveal personal information. Typically, if you can use emotional labeling and empathy successfully, it will lock in rapport and increase the level of trust. However, if used too soon, it may appear insincere.

Overall, learning to use the skills of active listening is not that difficult. Most of the techniques are used in everyday communication. But, because of the intensity of a hostage or barricade situation, it is important to leverage those techniques in order to apply them most effectively. This is why ActiveComm strongly encourages training over teaching in addition to recurrent training. By training properly on a regular basis, active listening will become an automatic and natural part of your communication toolbox.

It begins with training
ActiveComm has the highest standards for training effectiveness. The key to any skill is learning it properly, and that requires proper training. With a deep background in psychological learning theory and with experience training the scientific observation of human behavior, ActiveComm consultants offer deep insight into effective training methods. Emphasis on hands-on training, rather than lectures and more traditional styles of teaching gives participants time to practice the tools needed for successful negotiation. Repetition of these skills helps cement the action without having to consciously think through them.

Though active listening can be compared to normal communication, the situations in which it is used are heightened with the stressors of ensuring public safety, officer safety, and aiming for peaceful resolution. Active listening, like many communication skills, tends to work best when they’re automatic. When time is spent thinking about what to say next, it detracts from the capacity to fully grasp the emotional and tactical clues that will inform decision-making. If communication sounds forced or planned it may be perceived as suspicious. Moreover, negotiation and actions may move too quickly to plan your next move; emphasis should be placed on what the other person is communicating, rather than what you are going to say next. This should be your goal any time that you are training: to be able to perform the skill without thinking.
Another important requirement in training is frequency. Every officer undergoes recurrent training in firearms and practices regularly between training. The same is necessary with active listening and hostage negotiation skills. A negotiator should practice regularly with his or her team in order to build cohesion and improve skills. At the very least, practice must be undertaken in order to keep skills from degrading.

ActiveComm’s training course not only prepares negotiators to effortlessly use active listening skills, but also provides officers with excellent practice methods and guidelines. These include tips for practicing in a team or individually. Regular practice will increase comfort levels in a negotiation and enhance the ability to extract information from the subject, keep them calm, and get them to surrender.

Putting Skills to Use
For any negotiator that wishes to learn to use active listening more effectively, one important training strategy is listening to audio clips of experienced negotiators. Observe how that negotiator uses active listening; it is typically so smooth that you will miss it half of the time. When used correctly, active listening sounds completely natural and spontaneous. Through the application of the techniques discussed above, combined with recurring individual and team practice, active listening will become an integral part of your everyday communication. More importantly, increasing comfort and awareness in high-pressure negotiations will help keep you and your team safe and increase the chances of a successful negotiation.