Learning module

Listening and Relationship Building

1.75 contact hours 5 learning objectives

Do you consider yourself to be a good listener? Or do you sometimes feel that things get in the way of your listening as effectively as you might want? The most ordinary conversations can often be the most influential, becoming real moments that matter in our lives. One reason that conversations result in moments that matter is that people are listening carefully to one another. The purpose of this module is to help you further develop your listening skills. By its end you should be able to recognize barriers to effective listening, the elements of the listening process and types of listening. Our overall goal is to help you acquire strategies to become a more effective listener.

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What You'll Learn

Module objectives

  • Recognize the components of the listening process.

  • Improve your listening skills.

  • Understand how communication affects relationships.

  • Recognize features of and ways to create supportive messages.

  • Learn ways to communicate ideas clearly.

Table of Contents

Module sequence

  1. Module Home

    This introduction presents listening as an influential part of everyday conversations and service coordination. It previews barriers, listening processes, listening types, and related strategies.

  2. Objectives

    Review the learning objectives for this module. Use them to focus on the knowledge and skills covered in the sections that follow.

  3. Background

    This section introduces listening as a way of relating to and understanding others. It discusses the listening process and common barriers to attentive communication.

  4. Why Listening is Challenging

    This lesson identifies external and internal barriers to effective listening, including information overload, preoccupation, noise, and assumptions. It includes a section-review question about poor listening habits.

  5. The Listening Process

    This section presents the listening process and its elements. Learners will encounter listening guidance, examples, and a section review.

  6. Understanding the Other's Perspective

    This section explores how listeners interpret messages through their values, knowledge, and beliefs. It covers perspective-taking, empathic listening, distortion, and a section review question.

  7. Analyzing and Remembering

    This lesson covers organizing, summarizing, and remembering a speaker's key ideas. It introduces analytic listening for signs of trauma, shame, and suffering, with a section-review question.

  8. Evaluation in the Listening Process

    This section discusses evaluation within the listening process. Learners will encounter evaluation concepts and a section review.

  9. Responding

    This section examines responses used during and after listening. It covers backchannels, supportive messages, dialogic listening, and a section review question.

  10. What Does It All Mean?

    This summary lesson describes listening as attending, understanding, remembering, and responding. It revisits active listening and strategies for information, problem-solving, and relationship-building conversations.

  11. References

    This section provides references for the Listening and Relationship Building module. Learners will find the sources cited in the module.

  12. Post Test

    Complete the module post-test to check your understanding of the material. Use the results to identify topics you may want to review.

  13. Evaluation

    Share feedback about the module and your learning experience. Complete this evaluation as you finish the module.

  14. Certificate

    Access your certificate after completing the required module activities. Use this section to view or download documentation of completion.