Leadership and communication go hand-in-hand. Learn more about our solutions and leadership communication training that your leaders need to be effective.
Active Listening Training
Develop trust and relationships with others using the power of listening.
Active Listening Training — Choose Your Delivery Method
You Deliver
You can use our proven content to deliver an internal workshop on active listening, either online or in person, whichever you prefer:
Most Turnkey
Deliver targeted training to small groups: Our facilitator course prepares you to host a half-day leadership development workshop on active listening skills
Most Scalable
Accelerate development across your organization with an all-access pass to our full library of training workshops, including this active listening training
We Deliver
Or, we can incorporate it as part of a larger initiative for your organization:
Most Tailored
Combine with other topic modules and interactive experiences into a customized learning journey
Upskill Your Team With Active Listening Skills
Listening Skills Help Leaders & Organizations Achieve More
Being a good listener is vital to a leader’s success.
But a lot of people take their listening skills for granted. They might assume it’s clear that they’re practicing active listening and that others know they are being heard. But a conversation is more than just words.
The reality is that leaders often struggle with tasks and roles that directly relate to active listening. Accepting criticism well, navigating people’s feelings, and trying to understand what others think all require effective listening skills.
Fortunately, knowing how to talk less and listen more — meaning, how to listen to understand — is a skill that can be learned. Active listening is a valuable technique that requires the listener to thoroughly absorb, understand, respond, and retain what is being said during a conversation.
While engaging in active listening, the listener may also pay close attention to the speaker’s behavior and body language in order to gain a better understanding of their message and intent.
When you listen to understand, it helps you to become a more effective communicator and a better leader. Your co-workers and direct reports will respect your effort to be more present in conversations, interpersonal conflicts will be reduced, and you’ll likely see improvements in your relationships with others as a result.
Reduce Misunderstandings, Resolve More Conflicts, and Waste Less Time With Active Listening
Give your leaders the earn and practice more effective listening. With our active listening training, leaders learn to
1. Listen to the speaker, not just the facts being shared, but the values and emotions behind the facts.
2. Know specifically what to do, or to avoid doing, to be a better listener.
3. Avoid misunderstandings, build trust, and minimize wasted time.
4. Use their superpowers of Listening to Understand to resolve conflicts.
Help your team get more done at your organization and build a culture of respect and trust by developing better listening skills. We can deliver our world-class, research-based training on active listening — or you can, as it’s available in several delivery options. Contact us to discuss which one is right for your organization.
Why Choose Us for Active Listening Training?
At CCL, we’ve shaped the leadership development industry for nearly 6 decades through pioneering research and evidence-based innovation. We’re proud of our extensive expertise and experience serving organizations seeking leadership development strategies and solutions.
As trusted architects of transformation, we partner with clients — from global Fortune 500 companies to regional nonprofits — to help them tackle the leadership challenges they face, including active listening. When working with us, your organization can expect:
- Evidence-based leadership training solutions, based on over 50 years of research and decades of experience in leader development
- Collaboration with best-in-class leadership experts who have earned many awards and accolades for our partnerships with clients
- Customized white-glove services tailored to your organization’s needs and drawing insights from one of the largest leadership research databases in the world
- Transformational, personalized programs centered on your leaders’ individual strengths, skills, and real-world challenges
- Access to scalable learning experiences that foster new ways of thinking, expand capacity, and drive sustainable growth across your organization
- Partnership with a mission-driven organization working to advance the practice of leadership worldwide through a belief in the positive ripple effect that leadership development can have on individuals, teams, organizations, and society.
Our approach goes beyond skill-building — we help leaders instill new, deeper ways of thinking. With CCL as your partner for active listening training, you gain evidence-based, purpose-driven development that delivers meaningful, measurable, lasting impact for your organization.
What Our Clients Are Saying
As a top-ranked provider of leadership development, we’ve shaped the industry for more than 50 years and are trusted globally to design and deliver solutions that enable individuals and organizations to reach their full potential. Clients around the world — including 2/3 of the Fortune 1000 — have partnered with us for active listening training, driving remarkable transformations at their organizations.
But don’t just take our word for it — take theirs.
Let’s Discuss How Leaders Listen at Your Organization
Our experts are here to help. Let’s have a conversation about how active listening skills training could help support your development initiatives.
Related to Active Listening Training Courses
Address conflicts in a more productive way: upskill your team with conflict resolution training to improve conflict resolution for leaders.
Do your people struggle with giving effective feedback? Upskill your team with our feedback training solutions so they’re better equipped to give feedback that works.
Listening in Leadership: Research & Resources
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Avoid misunderstandings and practice more authentic communication in virtual settings by listening closely, not just for facts, but for feelings and values, too.
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Watch this active listening webinar to explore actions that go beyond just listening to create a space that fosters employee voice.
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In order to deal with awkward, tense, or challenging conversations, we first need to understand the common mistakes we make — and then take 5 steps.
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Whether in a planned coaching session or just an impromptu moment, you can open the door to valuable learning by doing these 3 things in a conversation.
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Empathetic leaders have been shown to be more successful. Learn why empathy in the workplace matters and how leaders and organizations can demonstrate and foster more empathy.
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You don’t have to be a coach to use these 6 active listening techniques. Go beyond active listening and truly listen to understand, turning a casual chat into a coaching conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Active Listening
Why is active listening important?
Active listening is an important communication skill, especially for leaders. The most successful leaders are those who can engage in effective listening and demonstrate strong emotional intelligence. By doing so, they are better equipped to address conflict, accept criticism, navigate relationships, and understand different perspectives. Active listening includes being closely attuned to the speaker’s body language and non-verbal behaviors to understand not only what is being said, but also the emotions and values underlying the facts. Lastly, knowing how to listen effectively is especially important because it helps leaders build trust and earn respect from their coworkers and teammates.
Does a good listener make a good leader?
A good leader must be a good listener in order to be successful. However, the reverse isn’t always true. For example, being a good listener is a vital skill for any leader, but leaders must also hone other core leadership skills. At CCL, our decades of experience and research have found that every leader, regardless of role, should have the fundamental 4 skills including self-awareness, communication, influence, and learning agility.
How can I become a more effective listener?
The best way to listen to understand others is to practice the 6 key active listening skills. First, you must pay attention to what’s being said, and give the speaker a chance to express themselves. Second, you must keep an open mind and withhold judgment. Next, practice reflection by periodically paraphrasing the speaker’s key points to make sure you’re following. Then, clarify and summarize what you heard by asking questions and giving a brief statement that covers the conversation’s core themes. Finally, after the speaker is done talking and you have a clear understanding of their perspective, you can begin to share your own ideas, feelings, and suggestions. To hone these skills, you may want to take a research-based active listening training course or workshop like our proven Listen to Understand training.
More questions? Our experts are here to help. Let’s have a conversation!
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