What are the two types of listening skills?

What are the two types of listening skills?

• A. Active and passive
• B. Selective and active
• C. Critical and passive
• D. Reflective and selective

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that listening skills are often described in terms of how actively you engage with the speaker. Active listening means you’re fully present: you pay close attention, show you’re listening with cues, ask clarifying questions, and restate or summarize what was said to confirm understanding. Selective listening, on the other hand, involves filtering what you hear and focusing on particular points or details while tuning out other information. This can be useful in noisy or information-heavy situations, but it can also cause you to miss the bigger message if overused. In this framework, these two are presented as the two distinct approaches to listening, contrasting full engagement with targeted attention. The other pairings mix in terms like passive, reflective, or critical, which describe different aspects or techniques rather than the two broad categories being highlighted here.

The main idea here is that listening skills are often described in terms of how actively you engage with the speaker. Active listening means you’re fully present: you pay close attention, show you’re listening with cues, ask clarifying questions, and restate or summarize what was said to confirm understanding. Selective listening, on the other hand, involves filtering what you hear and focusing on particular points or details while tuning out other information. This can be useful in noisy or information-heavy situations, but it can also cause you to miss the bigger message if overused. In this framework, these two are presented as the two distinct approaches to listening, contrasting full engagement with targeted attention. The other pairings mix in terms like passive, reflective, or critical, which describe different aspects or techniques rather than the two broad categories being highlighted here.