What Is the Difference Between Active and Passive Listening?
There’s a saying: “We have two ears and one mouth- so that we can listen more than we speak.” But there’s a critical difference between hearing and listening, and it plays out in workplaces every day.
Think about the last time someone answered you completely out of context, or gave you a one-word response to a thoughtful question. That’s passive listening, the person isn’t fully present in the moment. They might be distracted, thinking about their next meeting, disinterested in the topic, or simply not making space for you in the conversation.
Active listening, on the other hand, means being fully present. It requires awareness of your own emotional state, conscious attention to how you’re contributing through body language and tone, and sensitivity to how the other person is experiencing the conversation.
The distinction matters far beyond etiquette. In the workplace, the quality of listening directly shapes psychological safety, employee engagement, and the strength of work relationships.
Why Passive Listening Undermines Workplace Culture
Passive listening is more common than most leaders realise, and more damaging than they assume.
Research on communication shows that approximately 7% of our message is verbal (the words themselves), 55% is visual (body language), and 38% is vocal (tone, inflection, pace). When someone is passively listening, they’re missing up to 93% of what’s actually being communicated. They hear the words but miss the meaning.
The impact is significant:
It Erodes Psychological Safety
When employees repeatedly experience being half-heard, they stop sharing. If someone raises a concern in a meeting and the response feels dismissive or distracted, they learn it’s not safe to speak up. Over time, this chips away at psychological safety – the shared belief that it’s okay to take interpersonal risks, ask questions, and raise concerns without fear of being embarrassed or punished.
It Fuels Disengagement
Employee engagement doesn’t survive in environments where people feel unheard. When leaders consistently listen to respond rather than listening to understand, employees sense it. They pull back, contribute less, and eventually disengage entirely, a pattern closely linked to quiet quitting.
It Damages Work Relationships
Building work relationships requires mutual respect and genuine communication. Passive listening signals the opposite, that the other person’s contribution isn’t worth full attention. Over time, this creates distance between colleagues, teams, and leadership.
How to Practise Active Listening at Work
The good news: active listening is a skill, not a personality trait. It can be developed with intention and practice.
Be Aware of Where You Are in Your Own Head
Active listening starts with self-awareness. Before you can truly hear someone else, you need to know what’s happening in your own mind. Are you stressed? Distracted? Already thinking of your response? Naming your internal state creates space to set it aside and focus on the person in front of you.
Listen to Understand, Not to Respond
Most of us listen to reply. We’re so busy preparing our next point that we miss vital information coming our way. As humans we are wired for connection. The brain is designed to look for threats and negatives, a survival mechanism that still drives our reactions today. Active listening means consciously choosing to be present and focus entirely on what the other person is saying. Instead, we often listen to respond vs really hearing what the other person is saying.
Pay Attention to Nonverbal Cues
With only 7% of communication being verbal, the real conversation often lives in what’s unsaid. Watch for body language shifts, tone changes, pauses, and facial expressions. These signals often reveal more about what someone truly means than their words alone.
Use Mirroring to Build Rapport
Mirroring is a well-documented psychological phenomenon where people naturally mimic the speech patterns, gestures, and nonverbal behaviours of those they’re engaging with. Research shows that effective mirroring builds rapport and trust, and helps the other person feel genuinely seen and heard.
It’s not about mimicry or manipulation, it’s about creating alignment. When someone’s energy, pace, and tone are reflected back to them, the relational space between you becomes safer and more open.
The Link Between Active Listening and Psychological Safety
The concept of psychological safety, popularised by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, is foundational to high-performing teams. And active listening is one of its primary building blocks.
When leaders and colleagues actively listen, they send a powerful signal: what you say matters here. This creates the conditions for people to share ideas, raise concerns, and admit mistakes, all of which drive innovation, problem-solving, and engagement.
Conversely, passive listening sends the opposite signal: speak at your own risk. And in environments where people don’t feel heard, communication becomes cautious, superficial, and ultimately ineffective.
They say 90% of problems in relationships, personal or professional, come down to a lack of communication. Either what isn’t being said (because people don’t feel safe enough to share) or what isn’t being heard (because people aren’t truly listening). Active listening addresses both sides of that equation.
Building Better Work Relationships Through Listening
Strong work relationships are built on trust, respect, and genuine connection, none of which exist without quality communication. When active listening becomes a team norm rather than an individual effort, the entire culture shifts:
- Meetings become more productive because people actually hear each other
- Conflict gets resolved faster because both sides feel understood
- Innovation increases because people feel safe enough to share unconventional ideas
- Employee engagement rises because people feel valued and respected
The more the relational space between two people is safe and open, the better the relating that takes place. Better conversations. Better communication. Better relationships. Better outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between active and passive listening?
Active listening means being fully present and engaged in a conversation, paying attention to words, tone, and body language with the intent to understand. Passive listening means hearing the words but not being mentally present, often because you’re distracted or preparing your own response.
How does active listening improve employee engagement?
When people feel genuinely heard, they’re more likely to contribute ideas, raise concerns, and invest in their work. Active listening signals respect and value, which directly supports higher engagement and reduces quiet quitting behaviours.
What is mirroring in communication?
Mirroring is a psychological technique where you subtly reflect the speech patterns, gestures, and nonverbal behaviours of the person you’re talking to. It builds rapport and helps create a safe, open conversational space.
Why is psychological safety important in workplace communication?
Psychological safety allows employees to speak openly without fear of judgement or retaliation. It’s the foundation for honest communication, healthy conflict resolution, and high-performing teams, and active listening is one of the most effective ways to build it.
How can I get better at active listening at work?
Start by becoming aware of your own mental state before conversations. Make a conscious decision to listen to understand rather than to respond. Pay attention to nonverbal cues. Practice mirroring to build rapport. And create space, ask follow-up questions instead of immediately jumping to solutions.
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Paula Quinsee is a Relationship Expert and engagement strategist. She helps organisations cultivate healthy workplace cultures through emotional intelligence, leadership development, and values-based implementation. Paula is the author of Embracing Conflict and Embracing No, and regularly speaks on workplace engagement, communication, and culture. Contact us to chat about how we can assist you with building engaged employees, engaged leaders and engaged organisations or book a discovery call here.