Active Listening: A New View for Latin America

You spend half of your waking hours—and most of your energy—at work.

You labor shoulder to shoulder with your colleagues and bosses, sometimes for years on end. Over the course of your career, you create relationships with dozens of people. You get to know each other, for better or worse. You go through ups and downs together. You share successes (and sometimes losses). Those relationships, along with your larger professional network, might lay the foundation for your professional advancement.

So chances are, those relationships are pretty important to you. And yet, they’re probably also pretty frustrating. People are complicated and often difficult. The workplace brings together people who might have nothing in common except who they’re employed by—and then it piles on layers of complexity and stress. 

It’s easy for relationships to fall apart under such circumstances. The same long history that helps you bond with one person might build resentment with another. A bad day might lead to unkind words that can never be taken back. Trust gets broken. Confidence gets lost. It happens all the time.

So how can you protect these relationships that not only make your workday more enjoyable but can help you move forward in your career? One of the keys is to have good communication. And as experts the world over will tell you, one of the most important aspects of good communication is to really listen.

Are you listening?

Listening isn’t the same thing as hearing. The latter simply means that your ears are working, taking in sounds and sending info to your brain for processing.

To listen means to give your attention to someone while you try to understand what they’re communicating.

But even then, there are levels of listening. In fact, according to Dr. Mark Goulston, the author of Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, there are four levels:

• Level 1: You aren’t really there. Maybe you’re multitasking or simply lost in your own thoughts.
• Level 2: You’re listening but you don’t see where the person is coming from. It’s easy to get offended or take something personally.
• Level 3: You’re taking the conversation seriously and feel responsible for holding up your end of it.
• Level 4: You’re not just listening, but connecting. You’re absorbing the meaning, seeking to understand, and making the person feel heard.

That final level is what we would call active listening. Let’s unpack the idea some more.

What is active listening?

Active listening means that you’re putting your own thoughts and emotions on pause while you absorb what someone saying. It’s about fully engaging with the speaker, understanding their message, and responding thoughtfully. It’s a big part of building trust and connection in conversations—not just at work, but also in relationships and everyday interactions.

Active listening involves:

• Being focused and present
• Using body language (like nodding and eye contact) to show that you’re interested
• Asking clarifying questions to make sure that you understand what’s being said
• Acknowledging that the other person’s needs are important

Can you see why this is a rather rare skill? Most people struggle simply to be fully present. 

But there’s something else: this concept was introduced in the United States in 1957 by psychologists Carl Rogers and Richard Farson, who coined the phrase in a paper titled “Active Listening.” It is unavoidably rooted in U.S. culture and mindset.

All humans have a deep-seated need to feel understood by those around them, driven by the evolutionary need to be part of a social group. Being heard is one of the ways we all get our needs met. 

The question is: How does active listening fit with Latin American culture? What works for us? What doesn’t? And what might we do instead?

Seven Elements of Active Listening

The standard definition of active listening is made up of seven specific habits that, in the United States, all contribute to better understanding and stronger relationships. Every element is important, but many of them are cultural and don’t come off the same way in other parts of the world.

Let’s take a look at each of the actions called for in the U.S. version of active listening and see how they might work in Latin America:

1. Paying Full Attention to the Speaker

In the U.S. version of active listening, this includes making eye contact, avoiding distractions, and staying mentally engaged with the speaker’s words. Doing this shows that you value the speaker and their message. 

In Latin America, while paying attention is equally important, non-verbal cues like maintaining strong eye contact might feel confrontational or too intense. It’s better to let the speaker know that you’re paying attention through gentle nods, relaxed posture, and soft eye contact.

2. Showing Engagement Through Body Language

Non-verbal cues such as nodding, facial expressions, and body posture play a crucial role in active listening in both U.S. and Latin American cultures. 

But in Latin America, these non-verbal signals are even more important, because so much of the communication relies on them. Your goal should be to mirror the speaker’s emotional energy through facial expressions, nods, and gestures. For instance, leaning in slightly when someone is sharing something personal can help you connect with them better than simply responding with words.

3. Staying Patient and Not Interrupting

In the U.S., the practice of waiting patiently and letting the speaker finish their thoughts is central to active listening. A lot of the time, interrupting is seen as somewhat rude.

In Latin America, interruptions or overlaps in conversation are a sign of enthusiasm, not disrespect. Instead of strictly following the no-interruptions rule, it’s more appropriate to adapt to the conversational flow—interjecting sometimes, but still making sure the speaker feels heard and respected by returning focus to their message after brief interruptions.

4. Providing Verbal Feedback

In the U.S., listeners might actively give verbal feedback as a way of showing they’re keyed in, such as asking clarifying questions or giving detailed responses. 

In Latin America, people often prefer to communicate through implied understanding rather than direct questioning, which might feel confrontational. While verbal feedback is still important, it makes more sense to ask open-ended, indirect questions that give the speaker a chance to clarify without feeling challenged. For example, you might ask, “Could you tell me more about that?” rather than “Can you clarify what you mean by…?”

5. Avoiding Judgment or Bias

In U.S.-style active listening, listeners are encouraged to hold off on passing judgment and stay neutral while the speaker shares their thoughts. 

This works well in Latin America too, especially in professional or hierarchical settings where it’s crucial to show respect. But in more informal environments, there’s a strong emphasis on empathy and connection, so staying emotionally engaged—rather than purely neutral—can help build trust. You might find it more useful to actively express emotional support rather than staying completely detached.

6. Responding Thoughtfully and Accurately

Standard active listening in the U.S. involves responding with carefully considered thoughts that accurately reflect the speaker’s message. A lot of times, this includes confirming that the listener understands what’s really being said by summarizing or repeating the speaker’s key points. 

This is important in Latin America as well, but responses that are too formal or calculated can feel robotic and impersonal. It works better to balance accuracy with emotional warmth in your response, showing that you not only understand the message but the feeling behind it. Saying something like “That must have been tough for you” can resonate a lot better than a purely factual summary of what the speaker said.

7. Asking Clarifying Questions

In the U.S., listeners are encouraged to ask clarifying questions to better understand the speaker’s point. 

But in Latin America, this behavior can sometimes disrupt the natural flow of conversation, especially if the speaker is purposely being indirect to avoid conflict or discomfort. Rather than probing with direct questions, it’s a good idea to focus on encouraging the speaker to share more through open-ended prompts or by showing a readiness to listen, like saying, “I’d love to hear more about your perspective.”

The Way Forward

As you can see, there are two common themes in adapting the concept of active listening for Latin America. First, we need to keep things subtle and indirect to avoid making people uncomfortable. And second, we need to look beyond the facts of the situation and emphasize the emotional and relational aspects.

Once we work those ideas into the concept of active listening, we can unlock all the benefits that our neighbors to the north get:

• Clearer communication
• The ability to do higher-quality work
• Fewer misunderstandings
• A positive atmosphere that inspires creativity and innovation
• Better problem-solving
• More trust and deeper connections among colleagues
• A more supportive team dynamic
• Faster conflict resolution
• A less stressful work environment

Sounds pretty good, right? This is what companies across Latin America are looking for in their workers, but about half the time they can’t find people who have the skills to make it happen.

We don’t have to copy the U.S. to close that gap in communication skills. We can do it in our own way.

Next in This Series

Now that we’ve explored how to make active listening work in Latin America, we’re going to dig deeper into the U.S. version of the concept. 

Active listening is widely recognized among U.S. business leaders as a crucial professional skill. But as we’ve just seen, there are some cultural differences that are really important to get right. 

If you’re hoping to work with a U.S. company or clients, you won’t want to miss the rest of this series.