Validation, also known as "I hear you", is a key component of active listening. Author and relationship coach Michael S. Sorensen delves into the whats, whys, and hows of this important communication skill in this book.

Whether you want to improve your marriage, navigate difficult career conversations, or connect on a deeper level with friends and family, this active listening book will help you get there.

You'll learn how to:

• Calm (and even eliminate) other people's concerns, fears, and uncertainties.
• Increase your romantic relationships' feelings of love, respect, and appreciation.
• Quickly resolve, or even avoid disagreements
• Assist others in becoming receptive to your viewpoint.
• Give useful advice and feedback.
• Give others support and encouragement, even if you don't know how to "fix" the problem, and much more.

I hear you is charming, conversational, and easy to read, but the insights it provides can have a profound impact on how you view and approach relationships in all aspects of your life. Therefore, it is regarded as one of the best books on active listening.

Author: Michael S. Sorensen

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0999104004/

Active Listening Techniques is a book that contains 30 practical communication tools that will assist you in ensuring that those around you feel heard, respected, and understood. The skills you'll learn will help you not only become a more engaged listener, but also get your message across, cultivate healthier relationships, and even achieve greater career success.

You will learn:

• Paraphrasing, nonverbal cues, emotional labeling, mirroring, validation, and other fundamental active listening techniques are discussed.
• Each communication tool includes an illustrative anecdote as well as digestible strategies to help you apply the concept in your everyday life.
• Conflict Resolution - When navigating difficult or emotionally charged situations, learn how to use active listening.

The author, Nixaly Leonardo, LCSW grew up in New York City with her immigrant parents, older brother, and younger sister. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, CBT therapist, author, and owner of Practical Online Therapy, LLC. She has over ten years of experience working with clients who are struggling with anger management, depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, parenting, and interpersonal issues.

Author: Nixaly Leonardo LCSW

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1647390648/

One person speaks, while the other listens. Or, at the very least, that's how it's supposed to work...right? This witty book by psychology professor Michael P. Nichols explains why most people believe they are better listeners than they are, and teaches you how to master the lost art of listening. Thousands of readers have used the strategies in The Lost Art of Listening to resolve conflicts and transform their personal and professional relationships.

You'll find answers to questions like:

• Why do you so frequently fail to connect with family members, romantic partners, colleagues, or friends?
• How do emotional reactions obstruct genuine communication?
• Even in difficult situations, how can you make yourself heard and understood?

Furthermore, it includes vivid examples and practical exercises that put the ideas into context, allowing you to gradually become more aware of your thoughts each time you're in a conversation.

Author: Michael P. Nichols

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593859864/

Getting through to someone is both fine art and critical skill. This is especially true intense situations, where things can quickly escalate if you don't break through emotional barriers and get your message across.

Author Mark Goulston draws on his experience as a psychiatrist, business consultant, and coach in this book to help readers transform "impossible" and "unreachable" people in their lives into allies, devoted customers, loyal colleagues, and lifelong friends.

Among the best books on active listening, Just Listen teaches you how to:

• Make a strong and favorable first impression.
• Effective listening
• Talk an angry or aggressive person out of an unproductive reaction and into a more rational frame of mind.
• Obtain buy-in - the foundation of all persuasion, negotiation, and sales efforts.

Whether you're dealing with coworkers, friends, family, or total strangers, the first step in convincing anyone to do anything is to get them to listen to you out. This book on active listening will give you the tools you need to do just that.

Author: Mark Goulston

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0814436471/

You live in a world where social media constantly encourages you to take the lead and share your thoughts. On the other hand, it appears that there is not enough emphasis on actually listening to others. And it's making you feel more lonely, isolated, and intolerant than ever before.

Among the best books on active listening, You're Not Listening is a book written by Kate Murphy, a New York Times contributor and professional listener, that explains why you're not listening, what it's doing to you, and how you can change it. She delves into the psychology, neuroscience, and sociology of listening, as well as introducing you to some of the best listeners around, including a CIA agent, focus group moderator, bartender, radio producer, and top furniture salesman.

Overall, Murphy provides a genuine, passionate, and enlightening perspective on the current state of society, as well as a stirring call to action to assist readers in enacting positive change on a personal level.

Author: Kate Murphy

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250297192/

Listening: The Forgotten Skill is a well-known written guide and program that teaches how to turn effective listening into a powerful business tool. It's one of the best active listening books because it takes an interactive learning approach and includes worksheets, charts, and self-tests to help you track your progress.

You'll discover how to:

• Remove distractions and improve your focus on what is being said.
• While listening, look for keywords, phrases, and ideas.
• Remove your own listening biases.
• Body language cues should be interpreted.
• In order to elicit genuine information, ask constructive, non-threatening questions.
• Make others pay attention to you.
• Learn a variety of listening skills that you can apply both at work and in your personal life.

The active listening skills you learn in this book will help you navigate the kinds of misunderstood and misdirected messages that cause organizations to waste millions of dollars.

Author: Madelyn Burley-Allen

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471015873/

You must be able to engage in compassionate, mindful listening if you want to connect with people and truly understand what they're going through. Dr. David Rakel describes the power of human connection and how it can be used to improve health and well-being in The Compassionate Connection, drawing on his clinical experience and the most recent scientific research.

You are frequently interrupted and inundated with tasks and stresses that cause you to feel disconnected from others. You not only strengthen your bonds with others when you learn to practice the healing power of compassion; you also do emotional and physical good for yourself.

The tools in this book will help you improve the quality of your connections, whether they are between a doctor and a patient, a husband and wife, a parent and a child, or a boss and an employee. Dr. Rakel uses his clinical experience as well as cutting-edge research findings to demonstrate the critical role of compassion in health and healing. He writes convincingly that anyone, not just doctors, can learn to develop compassionate connections with others and thus improve everyone's well-being.

Author: David Rakel

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393247740/

4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication is a book that offers advice on how to overcome communication barriers when dealing with those close to you.

You will learn the following skills to assist you:

• Listen to what the other person is saying and feeling with more empathy and understanding.
• Avoid listening barriers that impede effective communication.
• To achieve mutual understanding, engage in empathic dialogue.
• Manage disagreements and conflicts calmly and successfully.
• Maintain your relationships on a regular basis.
• Feel the power of expressing thanks and appreciation.

Furthermore, at the end of the book, there is a 12-Day Communication Challenge and Action Guide to help you practice each skill individually and create a solid plan for your personal growth.

4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication is an excellent resource for understanding why and how to practice empathy in relationships. Because these skills are so important for a successful marriage, this should be required reading for anyone getting married. If you want to improve your marriage or any other relationship, this is the book to read!

Author: Bento C. Leal III

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1546581731/

In fact, listening is more difficult than it appears, but it is the difference between business success and failure. Bernard Ferrari, top executive adviser, explains in Power Listening how poor listening leads to bad decisions in organizations - and shows how good listening habits can be developed and mastered. It is one of the best books on active listening.

Here are some of his key points about good listening:

• It is not a passive activity; it is hard work.
• It entails asking probing questions, challenging all assumptions, and comprehending the context of each interaction.
• It leads to increased focus, increased efficiency, and a greater likelihood of making better decisions.
• It can mean the difference between a long and short career.

You'll learn how to "turn a tin ear into a platinum ear" by asking thoughtful questions, affirming your conversation partner, and demonstrating that you're truly present as you read this active listening book.

Author: Bernard T. Ferrari

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591844622/

Crucial Conversations is a book written to help you prepare for difficult conversations that you can't avoid. Those moments when your friend is agitated and desperate to talk to you, as well as those when you are the one who needs to vent. It teaches you how to put any feelings of anger, defensiveness, or resentment aside so that you can open the lines of communication and work toward a mutually acceptable solution.

You'll discover how to:

• Prepare for high-stakes discussions.
• Make it safe to discuss almost anything.
• Convert unpleasant emotions into effective dialogue.
• Be persuasive rather than abrasive.

This entertaining book will improve your conversational skills and emotional intelligence in a variety of areas, including how you approach negotiations at work and in your personal life. The quality of your dialogues and conversations determines the quality of your life. The book teaches you how to instantly improve your crucial conversations.

Author: Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan and Joseph Grenny

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071771328/