Active listening on calls and in meetings

Skills you'll practise

• Use open, neutral questions and follow-up prompts to get the full picture on a call or in a meeting
• Show you are listening on a phone or video call, where the other person can't see you
• Check understanding with a summary and a teach-back question instead of 'Does that make sense?'
• Invite questions with open wording that people actually answer
• Write call or meeting notes that separate what was said from your interpretation and leave out unnecessary personal data

Course outline

1. 1.Using open questions and follow-up promptsLesson · 11 min
2. 2.Showing you are listening on a phone or video callLesson · 11 min
3. 3.Checking understanding with a summary and teach-backLesson · 13 min
4. 4.Inviting questions people actually answerLesson · 9 min
5. 5.Writing call and meeting notes without opinions or unnecessary personal dataLesson · 10 min
6. 6.Active listening on calls and in meetings: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 14 questions
7. 7.Active listening on calls and in meetings: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
8. 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out

Sources it draws on

The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.

• GOV.UK Service Manual: Using in-depth interviews (published 21 February 2017)
• GOV.UK Service Manual: Doing user research remotely by phone or video call (published 31 January 2018)
• GOV.UK Service Manual: Taking notes and recording user research sessions (updated 19 September 2017)
• AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, 3rd edition: Communicate Clearly, Tool 4
• AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, 3rd edition: Use the Teach-Back Method, Tool 5
• AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, 3rd edition: Encourage Questions, Tool 14 (reviewed April 2024)