How many times have you either asked or been asked, “Are you listening?” While we might think we know what it means to be an effective listener, different skills are needed to suit different situations. In the human services field, listening is a multi-faceted task that must take into account the needs of the client and the situation being addressed. In this first discussion, you will consider a range of listening skills and how they may be used in a human services setting. Specifically, you will identify active listening skills used within interpersonal and group settings.

Read Chapter 6 of The Interpersonal Communication Book; review the five human service career paths from Human Service Careers (Links to an external site.) provided by Films on Demand:

• Early Child Development & Services (03:01)
• Counseling and Mental Health Services (04:17)
• Family & Community Services (07:00)
• Personal Care Services (03:54)
• Consumer Services (04:11)

Consider the stages and skills associated with effective listening and reflect on the essential responsibilities associated with one human service career path.

Initial Post: Prepare a 300-word minimum reply that sufficiently addresses each of the items below. Don’t forget that it is critical to cite your sources of information, including the textbook, using APA formatting.

• What listening styles might this particular professional use in their work with clients, and how might they use them?
• Identify active listening skills (specifically, the three techniques of active listening identified on page 165) that the professional would apply in both interpersonal and group settings (e.g., one-on-one client interaction, facilitating a group session, etc.). Describe how and why they would be used.
• Using the Basic Counseling Skills (Links to an external site.) website, identify two to three interviewing skills, other than active listening, that the professional would apply in both interpersonal and group settings (e.g., one-on-one client interaction, facilitating a group session, etc.). Describe how and why they would be used.