Alyson Straub Active Listening: The act of listening with more than one's ears in an attempt to hear the truth through the noise. The listener gives the speaker their full undivided attention, maintaining eye contact and exhibiting body language showing interest and acceptance of what is being said. An active listener allows the speakers thoughts to come full circle, without interruption, maximizing the depth and understanding of the thoughts and emotions the speaker is trying to convey. Active listeners must put their thoughts, ideas and personal experiences on the shelf until the roles of active listener and transparent speaker are reversed. Gestures of acknowledgment should be minimized as much as possible, for example a head nod. Ideally active listeners exhibit acute interest and are able to participate in the conversation inaudibly, feelings and/or gestures of disagreement or contest should be avoided until the speaker is through. This form of listening is used to take conversation to a deeper level, maximizing understanding, which thus minimizes conflict.