Listening Style Assessment

Communication Starts with Deep Listening

Do colleagues and friends say you are a good listener? Whatever role you play in a team, listening is a vital ingredient in your own and the team’s success. Without listening, there is misunderstanding, duplication of effort, disagreements, disengagement, lower wellbeing, and less creativity. New ideas emerge in the space between people in teams. And when we aren’t listening to each other’s perspectives and insights, we are not making the most of the rich resources we have.

In research, 75% of people think they are above or well above average in their listening abilities. Only 12% of those people rated their colleagues as having above or well above-average abilities. We’re biased – we think we are better than others at listening.

Rate your listening abilities

We also know that people can learn to become better listeners. To do so, we need to take a hard look at ourselves and ask friends, colleagues, and loved ones for their views on our abilities. We also need to improve how we listen by emulating those around us who do it well.

Improve your listening skills by listening to one conversation at a time – seek to have connected conversations with the people around you.

Take the assessment

We’ve adapted a widely used questionnaire called the listening styles profile. The survey takes just a few minutes. After this, you will see your results on the screen. You can also have the results emailed to you to share with others for their opinions.

Take your time to read each of the following statements. The stronger you disagree with the statement, the lower the number you will score. The stronger you agree, the higher you will score.

Do the assessment, then ask a close colleague to do it, too. This step is crucial as it provides a different perspective. Then, schedule a meeting and compare results.

Response	Description
1	Strongly Disagree
2	Disagree
3	Somewhat Disagree
4	Unsure
5	Somewhat Agree
6	Agree
7	Strongly Agree

Communication Starts with Deep Listening

Rate your listening abilities

Take the assessment

Enter your name and email address to receive the results of your quiz

I wait until all the facts are presented before forming judgments and opinions

When listening to others, I consider all sides of the issue before responding

I listen to understand the mood and emotions of the speaker

I find it difficult to listen to people who take too long to get their ideas across

To be fair to others, I fully listen to what they have to say before making any judgments

I get frustrated when people get off topic during a conversation

When listening to others, I appreciate speakers who give brief to-the-point presentations

I listen to primarily build and maintain relationships with others

When listening to others I focus on any errors and/or inconsistencies in what’s being said

I have a talent for catching inconsistencies in what a speaker says

When listening to others I focus on understanding the feelings behind words

I often notice errors in other people's logic.

When listening to others, I notice contradictions in what they say

When listening to others, it's important to understand how they feel.

I prefer speakers who quickly get to the point

I enjoy listening to others because it allows me to connect with them

I always listen carefully to what someone says before forming an opinion

When listening to others, I am mainly concerned about how they are feeling

When listening to others I become impatient when they appear to be wasting time

When listening to others, I try to hold off on forming an opinion until I've heard the whole message

Good listeners catch discrepancies in what other people say.

I tend to withhold judgment about another’s ideas until I have heard everything they have to say

I tend to naturally notice errors in what other speakers say

I am impatient with people who ramble on during conversations