Mike Reeves Active listening is the process of clearing one’s mind of all self-centered thoughts and placing full attention on another individual’s words and mannerisms. This focus on both words and mannerisms is in order to grasp a true understanding of the speaker’s feelings and emotions. The next step, empathetic listening, is where the listener begins to not only understand, but feel the speaker’s feelings and emotions. It is often helpful to repeat and reword main points in order to validate these feelings and ensure the speaker of your interest and understanding. Each of these listening styles requires eliminating all focus toward past and future occurrences and attaining a sense of existing within present moment.