Active listening: Elevate workplace conversations, relationships, and decisions
Michael Madson
Professor, founder, author, trainer
Better Listening, Better Leadership, Better Outcomes
Many workplace problems are not caused by a lack of intelligence or technical skill. They happen because people feel unheard, misunderstood, dismissed, or defensive. Projects stall, feedback conversations go poorly, tensions escalate, and teams lose trust when people listen only long enough to respond instead of long enough to understand. In fast-moving professional environments filled with distraction, multitasking, and information overload, strong listening skills have become both rare and extremely valuable.
In this workshop, we will learn how active listening can improve difficult conversations, strengthen relationships, manage conflict, and help you communicate more effectively across differences in personality, expertise, and authority. Rather than offering vague advice, the workshop focuses on practical strategies you can use immediately, including paraphrasing, emotional labeling, mirroring, validation, silence, agenda setting, and redirecting conversations productively. We will examine both strong and weak examples of listening, identify common communication barriers, and practice techniques that help people feel respected, understood, and willing to engage.
Workshop agenda
Welcome and why listening matters
Introductions, workshop goals, and discussion of how listening affects trust, collaboration, conflict, and workplace decision-making.
What Is Active Listening?
Learn what active listening is, common misconceptions, and how listening shapes understanding, empathy, and professional relationships.
Poor Listening Habits
Analyze common listening failures such as interrupting, defensiveness, distraction, and rehearsing responses instead of truly listening.
Core Active Listening Techniques
Practice agenda setting, paraphrasing, mirroring, validation, emotional labeling, silence, and nonverbal communication strategies.
Barriers to Active Listening
Examine physical, psychological, and semantic barriers that interfere with listening, especially during stress and difficult conversations.
Navigating Difficult Conversations
Apply listening skills to conflict, criticism, disagreement, emotional conversations, and workplace tension through guided scenarios.
Closing Discussion and Action Planning
Review key lessons, discuss additional applications to professional settings, and identify listening behaviors to practice after the workshop.
Learn directly from Michael
Michael Madson
Expert in technical communication, workplace training, and audience engagement
Who this workshop is for
The Overloaded Manager. You lead meetings, manage conflict, and give feedback, but conversations often feel rushed, tense, or unproductive.
The Technical Professional. You are skilled in your field but want to engage more constructively with clients, coworkers, & non-specialists.
The Emerging Leader. You want to expand your influence, ask better questions, minimize misunderstandings, and build stronger teams.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Michael Madson in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
Maven Guarantee
Your purchase is backed by the Maven Guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
$349
USD