Listening is a skill that needs to be learned. Of course, many of us have the ability to listen. But active listening is what we should all strive for. This can be difficult but over time and with practice it can be obtainable. Hearing is something many of us know. Others don't have the ability to hear. But for those of us who can hear, it's important to note how to actively listening. Hearing can mean many things. It might mean your hearing music, or maybe a car drives past. But Active listening is a whole new form of hearing. Active listening is hearing with intent. Active Listening is intentionally hearing what someone said. A few ways to know if you are active listening is to recite what someone said. Another way might be to ask questions about what they said. This shows the speaker you are engaged in. According to Edvin Osterdaard who wrote The Attentive Ear, we understand that we can perceive sounds. But one's ability to fully listen to another way to hear. Oftentimes we are so busy we hear sounds everywhere all day long. But imagine every time you talked to someone they were fully invested in what you were saying. They weren't just listening but they were listening with intent. This is what active listening is. It's that barrier that forms. It's listening to someone or something to have a greater meaning. A depth that you can only reach through active listening.
Østergaard, Edvin. “The Attentive Ear.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 53, no. 4, 2019, pp. 49–70. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jaesteduc.53.4.0049. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.