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Active Listening

4.8on LinkedIn Learning
Beginner 1 hours English Course Certificate
SkillsActive listeningCommunicationEmpathyRelationshipsFeedback

Is this course right for you?

Our take
A LinkedIn Learning course that breaks active listening — endlessly cited, rarely actually trained — into specific, learnable techniques.

Good for: Turning listening from an assumption into a real, learned skill.

Skip if: You want broad communication training or long-form depth.

Its premise is uncomfortable and true: most professionals assume they listen well and don't, and the course turns that vague virtue into concrete habits you can practise. It's concise and high-leverage for anyone who works with people, and not the course if you want broad communication training or long-form depth. Access comes with a LinkedIn Learning subscription (usually a free trial first; free through many libraries), leaving a completion certificate on your profile as a learning record. Listening well never stops mattering (as of 2026).

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About this course

Active listening is a widely cited but rarely formally trained communication skill — most professionals assume they listen well, and most don't. This course breaks listening down into specific, learnable techniques: distinguishing listening to respond from listening to understand, asking effective follow-up questions, and reading non-verbal cues that reveal what's not being said directly.

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Instructor

DC
Dorie Clark
LinkedIn Learning instructor
310K+ learners30 courses4.8 instructor rating

Dorie Clark is a marketing strategist, executive education faculty member at Columbia Business School, and bestselling author known for her work on professional reinvention and communication.

Frequently asked questions

Because genuinely listening — rather than just waiting to speak — is a skill most people overestimate in themselves, and it underpins better relationships, fewer misunderstandings, and more effective collaboration and leadership. Active listening involves focus, not interrupting, reflecting back, and asking good questions. The course teaches these deliberately, since it is a learnable skill with real professional payoff, not something everyone naturally does well.

Anyone who wants to communicate and connect better — managers, team members, salespeople, or anyone whose work involves understanding others. It assumes no background and focuses on practical listening techniques, so it suits a broad audience. Given how central listening is to relationships, leadership, and teamwork, it is broadly relevant across roles and levels.

It is short — typically an hour or two — as a focused LinkedIn Learning course. That makes it an efficient way to pick up active-listening techniques you can apply immediately in conversations, without a large time commitment. The real improvement comes from practising the techniques consistently, so treat the runtime as the grounding and everyday interactions as where it develops.

Not by default — it runs on LinkedIn Learning, which is subscription-based — but a free trial is common, and many public libraries and universities give members full access at no cost. Check whether a library card or an institution you belong to already provides LinkedIn Learning before paying, since that quietly unlocks this course and the whole catalogue.

Yes, you earn a LinkedIn Learning completion certificate for your profile. Treat it as a signal of professional development rather than a formal qualification — listening skill shows in how you actually engage with people, not a badge. The real value is becoming a genuinely better listener, which shows up in your relationships and work far more than the certificate.
Paid
Included with LinkedIn Learning subscription
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