Two Ways of Listening: Responding vs Understanding

When it comes to having a good conversation, the ability to listen effectively is essential. Although listening may seem like a simple task, there are actually two distinct ways to do it: listening to respond and listening to understand.

Bryce Purnell
4 min readApr 23, 2023
Image explaining people who listen to reply is majority of the pie graph and people who listen to understand being the smaller part. Image by https://www.wisdommadeeasy.com/
Image from https://www.wisdommadeeasy.com/

In this LinkedIn article, we’ll explore the difference between the two, and discuss how to improve listening skills in order to have successful conversations.

Listening To Resolve And Solve

Listening to respond to solve is when you actively listen to understand the problem that is being presented and to find a solution. You are trying to provide a resolution by listening to understand the issue and then responding with a solution.

This type of listening is important because it allows people to work together and come up with solutions that work for everyone.

This type of listening is particularly important in English conversations because it allows people to understand the problem at hand and take steps toward resolving it.

It is also important to note that listening to respond to solve doesn’t mean simply providing an…

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