Three Levels of Listening
Listening occurs on three levels. Level I listening where the focus is on oneself instead of the other. The client should always be using Level I listening but never the coach. The coach’s focus should never be on their own judgments and reactions, but always on the other.
Level II listening is focused listening with one’s focus placed completely on the communication coming from the speaker.
Level III listening, on the other hand, takes into account not only the words of the one who is speaking but also intuitive hunches, environmental factors, the proverbial ripples in the stream, emotional flavors and feeling tones, what the other is not saying as well as what they are saying. In other words, Level III listening is global listening, focused on the big picture.
A coach should always be listening at Level II or Level III but never at Level I. Level I listening is reserved for the client.
It is a good practice to monitor how we listen in the world. So many of us tend to fall into Level I listening,. no matter the circumstances. We tend to sift and evaluate all conversations in which we engage with the agenda of “What does this mean to me?”