Restating in communication is a specific active listening technique where a listener repeats back single words or short phrases that the speaker has just used. This simple yet powerful method serves to acknowledge what has been said and encourage further elaboration.
Understanding Restating
Restating is a fundamental communication skill often employed by professionals, such as personal trainers, coaches, or counselors, to deepen a conversation and show attentiveness. It differs from paraphrasing or summarizing, as it focuses on echoing exact words rather than rephrasing the meaning.
How Restating Works
The core of restating involves mirroring specific linguistic elements from the speaker's statement. This often targets:
- Emphasized Words: Words that the speaker stresses or gives particular importance to.
- Emotionally Loaded Phrases: Words or short phrases that convey strong feelings, whether positive, negative, or ambiguous.
By echoing these specific words or phrases, the listener subtly prompts the speaker to expand on that particular point, emotion, or idea. It's not about interpreting or judging, but merely reflecting.
Purpose and Benefits of Restating
Restating is a quick and effective technique that offers several advantages in a communicative exchange:
- Prompting Further Discussion: It acts as a gentle nudge, inviting the speaker to delve deeper into the topic or feeling associated with the repeated word. This can open up new avenues for conversation.
- Demonstrating Attentiveness: By repeating their exact words, you signal to the speaker that you are actively listening and processing their message, rather than just waiting for your turn to speak.
- Clarification (Implicit): While not explicitly asking for clarification, restating can implicitly encourage the speaker to clarify or expand on a point if they feel misunderstood or want to add more detail.
- Building Rapport: When speakers feel heard and understood, it builds trust and strengthens the relationship between communicator and listener.
- Efficiency: It's a quick and easy technique to implement, requiring minimal effort but yielding significant results in conversational flow and depth.
Practical Application
Consider a scenario where someone says, "I'm feeling really frustrated with my progress." A restating response might simply be:
- "Frustrated?"
This single word, repeated with an inquisitive tone, cues the speaker to elaborate on why they are frustrated, what specifically is causing it, or how they are experiencing that emotion. It avoids leading questions and allows the speaker to steer the direction of their explanation.
In essence, restating is a minimalist approach to active listening that maximizes the opportunity for the speaker to self-explore and provide more information, fostering a more productive and empathetic communication environment.
