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Description

Active Listening: Creating Space to Speak, Decoding the Unsaid and Reformulating Accurately

Two days to genuinely listen to others and hear what is being said behind the words

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

In many professional conversations, each person is preparing their answer while the other is still speaking. Misunderstandings take hold, real needs remain unspoken and the same issues keep resurfacing without ever being resolved. The other person feels rushed and says no more.

This 14-hour programme treats listening as a skill that can be practised. Participants learn to make themselves genuinely available, to ask questions that open up a conversation, to notice non-verbal signals and unspoken messages, then to reformulate in order to check what they have understood. The exercises are based on real conversations brought by the group.

Learning objectives

  • Identify the personal obstacles that limit the quality of your listening
  • Ask open questions to help someone clarify what they mean
  • Reformulate both the content and the emotion expressed by another person
  • Decode non-verbal signals and the gaps between them and what is said
  • Bring to the surface a need that has remained unspoken in a conversation

What makes this programme different

Conversations observed in groups of three, then analysed on the basis of observed facts
A personal map of the reflexes that shut listening down
Real conversations from participants' working lives replayed in the session

Programme

1Making Yourself Available to What Others Say

Obstacles to listening

  • Identifying your own filters and quick judgements
  • The effects of offering advice too early
  • Managing interruptions and the use of silence
  • Practical and mental preparation for a conversation

2Questioning to Obtain Clarity

Types of questions and their effects

  • Open, closed and probing questions
  • Spotting generalisations and vague wording
  • Neutral follow-ups that do not lead the answer
  • Conducting an exploratory conversation

3Decoding What Is Not Said

Non-verbal signals and implicit messages

  • Observing tone, pace and posture
  • Spotting gaps between the words and the signals
  • Identifying topics being avoided
  • Testing a hypothesis without imposing an interpretation

4Reformulating and Checking Your Understanding

From listening to what happens next

  • Reformulating content and emotion
  • A shared summary at the end of the conversation
  • Handling disagreements revealed through listening
  • Concrete follow-up actions from the conversation

Who is it for

Anyone whose work relies on conversation, in particular managers, support functions, sales professionals and those dealing with service users.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.