The art of listening

Someone speaks, and there is:

• the context - the setting, what has come before and is expected after
• the genre - informing, chatting, story-telling, gossiping, warning, commanding
• the attitude toward the listener - threatening, encouraging, caring, concerned
• the degree of interest in or connection with others - or the degree of self-preoccupation
• the tone of voice - melodic, flat, rasping
• the volume - shouted, spoken, whispered
• the use of breath - with a gentle flow, or caught in mid-flow
• the rate of speech - in a rush to get it out, or with all the time in the world
• the quantity - straight and to the point, extensive, or rambling
• the degree of specificity - vague and evasive, or full of detail
• the emotion portrayed - calmness, joy, sadness, despair, emptiness, hope
• the degree of self displayed - very open and personal, distant and kept hidden
• the words or phrases that are emphasised or repeated - and the meaning these repetitions carry
• the tenses used - past, future, present
• the degree of agency - or passivity
• the beliefs, assumptions and worldview - threading the words together
• the underlying messages - veiled, transparent, or hitting one over the head through the meaning between the lines
• the 'ums' and 'ers' - the stutters and the chuckles
• the silences - awkward or peaceful, reflective or hesitant
• the eye contact - engaged or avoided, the glances at meaningful moments
• the facial expression - frowning, worried, a mask, open, smiling, and how these play across the face
• the body language - gesticulations, the lean of the body, the angle of the shoulders, and how these match, or do not match the spoken words
• the variability - or the lack of variability in all the above
• and what is not said.

Oh, and there are also the words themselves that are uttered.