One of the first things I have learned through the course is that paraphrasing is one of the most proficient ways to demonstrate understanding when actively listening. A client’s essential words summarize what they said, and the counselor then repeats them to ensure they understood it clearly. It is necessary to choose particular objectives for paraphrasing. Paraphrasing serves as a discussion promoter according to its purpose. The first stage in learning to respond to a client’s voice, body, and verbal messages is to concentrate solely on the oral substance of their communications. Excludes comprehension of their vocal and nonverbal cues.
Rephrasing verbal utterances from speakers is known as paraphrasing. That particular point is crucial because copying other people’s work is unprofessional. The identical words can, however, infrequently be used. A strong paraphrase can offer mirror images that are more concise and on-point than the original message. If so, customers might express gratitude by saying things such as “That is right” (Cyr, 2019). When paraphrasing, one should start their comments using the personal pronoun “you” to demonstrate that they reflect the customers’ internal opinions.
During my course, I have concluded several strengths and weaknesses for myself. The main flaw, as mentioned above, was paraphrasing. It has been a challenging process for me, as using specific words did not sometimes match my situation. However, I have also realized more strengths: good eye contact, the ability to be silent in conversations, a good introduction with confidentiality, and an excellent ending to the discussion.
The strength and caliber of the bond between counselors and clients is called the counseling relationship. Building trusting connections with clients requires the ability to listen and demonstrate understanding. Every counseling relationship consists of two relationships: one between the counselor and the client and one between the client and the counselor. All counseling therapy systems use different skill patterns, or micro-skills, in their work. Micro-skills are visible behaviors therapists and counselors use during sessions where both the sender and receiver use active listening. The complexities of complex interactions are made manageable and comprehensible (Cyr, 2019). Once these talents are acquired, a person can use them in various theoretical orientations. One can build on these skills and frame them in some ways when learning new therapeutic modalities. The following describes multiple micro-skills:
- Attendance abilities.
- The basic listening sequence.
- Selective attention and focus.
- Influencing techniques.
- Confrontational and difficult.
Second, I have learned that attending skills refers to a broad range of complicated actions and capabilities. Acquiring those skills has been an easy process for me. The various proficiencies that comprise the following skills span verbal and nonverbal communication. People hardly ever have their communication partner’s full attention. They are conscious of and grateful for this fact when it does. People rarely give themselves their complete attention. Thus it is understandable that most clients and possibly too many physicians need to be made aware of or responsive to their Meta messages. Clients frequently are unaware of nonverbal cues, and physicians could neglect to pay attention to them. When two individuals interact, attending gives the other person your full attention. Developing therapeutic rapport is likely challenging, if not impossible, without attentive skills (Cyr, 2019). Nonverbal communication is significant from two angles:
- nonverbal cues used by the client and interpreted by the therapist;
- nonverbal communication used by the clinician for therapeutic goals.
Attending nonverbal communication is a great way to understand clients better because it opens up a significant area of meta-communication: timing, paralinguistic spatial location, and bodily language.
Following another person’s thoughts and feelings while listening is taking in what they are saying from their point of view. Reflective listening is a unique kind of hearing that entails paying careful attention to the ideas and emotions that the other person is communicating. Reflective listening involves hearing and comprehending the other person before letting them know that one has done so. It requires you to actively engage in conversation with another person while maintaining full attention on the speaker. By carefully focusing on the other person’s need or issue, thoughtful listening prevents one from offering their viewpoint. Thus, reflective listening involves going beyond what is typically considered to be listening:
- To the best of one’s ability, it is essential to hear and comprehend what the other person is trying to say through their words and body language.
- Reflecting on the other person, one’s ideas and feelings that one observed in their words, voice, body language, and gestures.
Third, I learned that reflective listening serves multiple functions. Reflective listening is a technique that can be used to grasp better what is being said. The speaker can also benefit from feeling heard. Reflective listening can assist the speaker in achieving their goals. When someone is speaking, listening can aid in thought clarification, decision-making, or the deepening of emotional exploration. Both the speaker and the listener can benefit from it. Several circumstances call for reflective listening. When someone else is having a hard time or a problem, listening can help. Additionally, active listening is necessary for the communication skills of problem-solving, assertiveness, conflict management, and negotiation. In social settings, listening can foster a friendly atmosphere among people. Managing resistance or fury in others requires listening as well. It is needed to resolve conflicts. Effective listening is also necessary while leading talks and group discussions. Listening can help you understand directions. Reflective listening helps conduct any challenging negotiations with another person in general.
Reference
Cyr, J. (2019). Focus groups for the social science researcher. Cambridge University Press.