paraphrasing meaning reflecting content back to the speaker

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However good you think your listening skills are, the only person who can tell you if you have understood correctly or not is the speaker. Therefore, as an extension of good listening skills, you need to develop the ability to reflect words and feelings and to clarify that you have understood them correctly.

It is often important that you and the speaker agree that what you understand is a true representation of what was meant to be said.

As well as understanding and reflecting the verbal messages of the speaker it is important to try to understand the emotions - this page explains how to use reflection effectively to help you build greater understanding of not only what is being said but the content, feeling and meaning of messages.

What is Reflecting?

Reflecting is the process of paraphrasing and restating both the feelings and words of the speaker. The purposes of reflecting are:

To allow the speaker to 'hear' their own thoughts and to focus on what they say and feel.
To show the speaker that you are trying to perceive the world as they see it and that you are doing your best to understand their messages.
To encourage them to continue talking.

Reflecting does not involve you asking questions, introducing a new topic or leading the conversation in another direction. Speakers are helped through reflecting as it not only allows them to feel understood, but it also gives them the opportunity to focus their ideas. This in turn helps them to direct their thoughts and further encourages them to continue speaking.

Two Main Techniques of Reflecting:

Mirroring is a simple form of reflecting and involves repeating almost exactly what the speaker says.

Mirroring should be short and simple. It is usually enough to just repeat key words or the last few words spoken. This shows you are trying to understand the speakers terms of reference and acts as a prompt for him or her to continue. Be aware not to over mirror as this can become irritating and therefore a distraction from the message.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing involves using other words to reflect what the speaker has said. Paraphrasing shows not only that you are listening, but that you are attempting to understand what the speaker is saying.

It is often the case that people 'hear what they expect to hear' due to assumptions, stereotyping or prejudices. When paraphrasing, it is of utmost importance that you do not introduce your own ideas or question the speakers thoughts, feelings or actions. Your responses should be non-directive and non-judgemental.

It is very difficult to resist the temptation to ask questions and when this technique is first used, reflecting can seem very stilted and unnatural. You need to practice this skill in order to feel comfortable.

Reflecting Content, Feeling and Meaning

The most immediate part of a speaker's message is the content, in other words those aspects dealing with information, actions, events and experience, as verbalised by them.

Reflecting content helps to give focus to the situation but, at the same time, it is also essential to reflect the feelings and emotions expressed in order to more fully understand the message.

This helps the speaker to own and accept their own feelings, for quite often a speaker may talk about them as though they belong to someone else, for example using “you feel guilty” rather than “I feel guilty.”

A skilled listener will be able to reflect a speaker's feelings from body cues (non-verbal) as well as verbal messages. It is sometimes not appropriate to ask such direct questions as “How does that make you feel?” Strong emotions such as love and hate are easy to identify, whereas feelings such as affection, guilt and confusion are much more subtle. The listener must have the ability to identify such feelings both from the words and the non-verbal cues, for example body language, tone of voice, etc.

As well as considering which emotions the speaker is feeling, the listener needs to reflect the degree of intensity of these emotions. For example:

	Intensity	Emotion
“You feel	a little bit	sad/angry?”
“You feel	quite	helpless/depressed?”
“You feel	very	stressed?”
“You feel	extremely	embarrassed?”

Reflecting needs to combine content and feeling to truly reflect the meaning of what the speaker has said. For example:

“ I just don't understand my boss. One minute he says one thing and the next minute he says the opposite. ”

“ You feel very confused by him? ”

Reflecting meaning allows the listener to reflect the speaker's experiences and emotional response to those experiences. It links the content and feeling components of what the speaker has said.

You may also be interested in our pages: What is Empathy? and Understanding Others .

Guidelines for Reflecting

Be natural.
Listen for the basic message - consider the content, feeling and meaning expressed by the speaker.
Restate what you have been told in simple terms.
When restating, look for non-verbal as well as verbal cues that confirm or deny the accuracy of your paraphrasing. (Note that some speakers may pretend you have got it right because they feel unable to assert themselves and disagree with you.)
Do not question the speaker unnecessarily.
Do not add to the speaker's meaning.
Do not take the speaker's topic in a new direction.
Always be non-directive and non-judgemental.

Advanced Communication Skills - The Skills You Need Guide to Interpersonal Skills

Reflecting and Paraphrasing

Part of the ‘art of listening’ is making sure that the client knows their story is being listened to.

This is achieved by the helper/counsellor repeating back to the client parts of their story. This known as paraphrasing .

Reflecting is showing the client that you have ‘heard’ not only what is being said, but also what feelings and emotions the client is experiencing when sharing their story with you .

This is sometimes known in counselling ‘speak ‘as the music behind the words .

The counselling skill of paraphrasing is repeating back to the client parts of their story

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It is like holding up a mirror to the client; repeating what they have said shows the client they have your full attention. It also allows the client to make sure you fully understood them; if not, they can correct you.

Reflecting and paraphrasing should not only contain what is being said but what emotion or feeling the client is expressing.

Let’s look at an example:

Client (Mohammed): My ex-wife phoned me yesterday; she told me that our daughter Nafiza (who is only 9) is very ill after a car accident. I am feeling very scared for her. They live in France, so I am going to have to travel to see her, and now I have been made redundant, I don’t know how I can afford to go.

Reflecting skill in counselling is showing you understand what the client said as well as the emotions it brings up for the client

Counsellor: So, Mohammed, you have had some bad news about your little girl, who has been involved in an accident. You are frightened for her and also have worries over money now you have lost your job.

Client: Yes, yes ... that’s right.

Notice that the counsellor does not offer advice or start asking how long Mohammed and his wife have been separated, but reflects the emotion of what is said : ‘frightened' and 'worries'.

Reflecting and paraphrasing are the first skills we learn as helpers, and they remain the most useful.

To build a trusting relationship with a helper, the client needs not only to be ‘listened to' but also to be heard and valued as a person.

"Reflecting and paraphrasing should not only contain what is being said but what emotion or feeling the client is expressing."

Definition of Reflection in Counselling

Reflection in counselling is like holding up a mirror: repeating the client’s words back to them exactly as they said them.

You might reflect back the whole sentence, or you might select a few words – or even one single word – from what the client has brought.

I often refer to reflection as ‘the lost skill’ because when I watch counselling students doing simulated skill sessions, or listen to their recordings from placement (where clients have consented to this), I seldom see reflection being used as a skill. This is a pity, as reflection can be very powerful.

When we use the skill of reflection, we are looking to match the tone, the feeling of the words, and the client’s facial expression or body language as they spoke .

For example, they might have hunched their shoulders as they said, ‘I was so scared; I didn’t know what to do.’

We might reflect that back by hunching our own shoulders, mirroring their body language while also saying ‘I felt so scared; I didn’t know what to do.’

Using Reflection to Clarify Our Understanding

We can also use reflection to clarify our understanding, instead of using a question.

For example, suppose the client says:

‘My husband and my father are fighting. I’m really angry with him.’

For me to be in the client’s frame of reference, I need to know whether ‘him’ refers to the husband or the father. So I might reflect back the word ‘ him ’ with a quizzical look.

The client might then respond:

‘Yeah, my dad. He really gets to me when he is non-accepting.’

So you can get clarification in this way. You can adjust where you are to make sure that the empathic bond is strong and that you are truly within the client’s frame of reference.

"When we use the skill of reflection, we are looking to match the tone, the feeling of the words, and the client’s facial expression or body language as they spoke".

Definition of Paraphrasing in Counselling

Paraphrasing is repeating back your understanding of the material that has been brought by the client, using your own words.

A paraphrase reflects the essence of what has been said .

We all use paraphrasing in our everyday lives. If you look at your studies to become a counsellor or psychotherapist, you paraphrase in class.

Maybe your lecturer brings a body of work, and you listen and make notes: you’re paraphrasing as you distill this down to what you feel is important.

How Paraphrasing Builds Empathy

How does paraphrasing affect the client-counsellor relationship?

First of all, it helps the client to feel both heard and understood. The client brings their material, daring to share that with you.

And you show that you’re listening by giving them a little portion of that back – the part that feels the most important. You paraphrase it down.

And if you do that accurately and correctly, and it matches where the client is, the client is going to recognise that and to feel heard: ‘ Finally, somebody is there really listening, really understanding what it is that I am bringing.’

This keys right into empathy, because it’s about building that empathic relationship with the client. And empathy is not a one-way transaction .

..."Empathy [is] the ability to ‘perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto as if one were the person, but without ever losing the 'as if' conditions." Carl Rogers (1959, pp. 210–211)

In other words, we walk in somebody’s shoes as if their reality is our reality – but of course it’s not our reality, and that’s where the ‘as if’ comes in.

I’ve heard this rather aptly described as ‘walking in the client’s shoes, but keeping our socks on’!

Empathy is a two-way transaction – that is, it’s not enough for us to be 100% in the client’s frame of reference , understanding their true feelings; the client must also perceive that we understand .

When the client feels at some level that they have been understood, then the empathy circle is complete.

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Principles of Active Listening in Counselling

Active listening is an essential skill counsellors can exploit to develop a positive and healthy interaction with a client.

“Active listening intentionally focuses on who you are listening to, whether in a group or one-on-one, in order to understand what he or she is saying. As the listener, you should then be able to repeat back in your own words what they have said to their satisfaction. This does not mean you agree with, but rather understand, what they are saying”.

Source: www.studygs.net/listening.htm

There are numerous situations in which counsellors can utilise active listening to build rapport with clients and improve overall communication. Some of these are explored below.

Information – getting a clear picture . This means asking questions to find out about needs, instructions and context of a client. Counsellors should check back to ensure they’ve heard and understood the relevant details, and that the client agrees on the facts.

Aim of the speaker: To tell them what you want.
Aim of the listener: To find out and confirm what they are saying.

Affirmation – affirming, acknowledging, exploring the problem . Listening actively to a person who would benefit from having their problem acknowledged by the counsellor.

The problem may or may not involve the counsellor directly. Counsellors may reflect back the client’s feelings and perhaps the content of the problem with a single statement of acknowledgment or during a dialogue over a period of time, exploring the difficulty in more depth.

Aim of the speaker: To tell someone (counsellor) about the problem.
Aim of the listener: To help them hear what they are saying. The listener is assisting the speaker to explore the problem further, so the speaker can find greater clarity and understanding for themselves.

Inflammation – responding to a complaint . When clients tell the counsellor they are unhappy with them, criticising them, complaining about them, or getting it off their chest, the best thing the counsellor can do (although challenging) is to effectively listen.

Aim of the speaker: To tell the counsellor that they are the problem.
Aim of the listener: Let them know that they have taken in what they are saying and to defuse the strong emotion.

When there is conflict it is very common to blame the other person. It is challenging to be objective when the emotional level is high. Active listening is an effective tool to reduce the emotion of a situation. Every time the counsellor correctly labels an emotion, the intensity of it dissipates like bursting a bubble.

The speaker feels heard and understood. Once the emotional level has been reduced, reasoning abilities can function more effectively. If the emotions are high, counsellors should deal with the emotions first by using active listening skills. Effective use of active listening skills can turn a challenging situation into a co-operative situation.

Below is a list of what a counsellor should and shouldn’t do in relation to applying active listening skills to a therapeutic situation.

A counsellor should:

Give the person speaking their full attention.
Repeat the conversation back to them, in their own words, providing their interpretation or understanding of the client’s meaning (paraphrasing).
By reflecting the content of what is being said back to the speaker, check their understanding of the message.
Be as accurate in summarising the client’s meaning as much as they can.
Try again if their paraphrasing is not accurate or well received.
Feed back to the client their feelings as well as the content (e.g. how did you feel when…? How did that affect you…? It looks like that made you really angry).
Statement: “This is hopeless.” Paraphrasing: “It seems hopeless to you right now”.
Statement: “There is nothing I can do”. Paraphrasing: “You can’t find anything that would fix it”.
Not try to force conversation, allow silences – and be aware of body language, notice changes and respond accordingly.

Counsellors should refrain from…

Talking about themselves and introducing their own reactions or well intended comments.
Changing topics and thinking about what they will say next.
Advising, diagnosing, reassuring, encouraging, criticising or baiting a client.
Using “mm” or “ah ah” exclusively or inappropriately or parrot their words.
Pretending to have understood the person or their meaning if they haven’t.
Allowing the client to drift to a less significant topic, because they feel the counsellor doesn’t understand.
Fixing, changing or improving what they have said – or finishing their sentences for them.
Filling every space with talk.
Ignoring their feelings in the situation.
June 2, 2009
Active Listening , Communication , Counselling Process
Counselling Theory & Process , Personal Effectiveness

Comments: 3

I used to be a volunteer at a telephone crisis center. I am not and have never been a counsellor. Having said that, the 3rd point from the “refrain” section sticks out a bit for me (and not because it’s wrong). I think I understand what you’re saying. You’re not there to tell them exactly what to do, you shouldn’t just give them a list of what’s wrong as if you’re trying to get rid of them, you shouldn’t just say “Everything will be ok,” just because you don’t know what else to say, etc. But I personally still like to ask questions that will hopefully help them find their own answers, do their own diagnosing, rediscover their own strengths, face their own faults where appropriate, etc. And FYI, I’ve written down my thoughts on listening here: http://blog.marcwong.me/2009/01/art-of-listening.html

Nice and crisp. Pls give referenceds related to ego functioning/reasoning and change of attitudes

The points are refreshing. Pls provide hints on confrontation techniques and analytical response

Listening 101: Developing “Active Listening” skills

by Steve Parsons | May 30, 2018 | Listening , Mentor , Mentoring | 0 comments

Active Listening Skills

The best way to develop active listening skills is by understanding the various degrees of listening you can engage in, and the results you can expect from each one. There are three basic levels of Active Listening: 1. Repeating or Parroting 2. Paraphrasing 3. Reflecting or Mirroring Some people ask what’s the difference between Active and Reflective Listening. They actually overlap: to be able to reflect or mirror what a speaker says, you need to actively listen. On one hand a reflective listener is an active listener. On the other hand, an active listener is not necessarily reflecting, he could just be Repeating or Paraphrasing.

The chart below shows the progression in the quality of listening that an active listener can engage in.

What to expect from each level of listening

Repeating , as you can see on the chart, is the most basic way you can listen. You just have to pay attention and remember the words the speaker is using, and then repeat the words back to the person. This will seem odd to the speaker. it’s best not to use this technique. The speaker may conclude that you are making a crude attempt at letting him know you’re listening to him.

Example of Repeating Speaker : I’ve been thinking about applying for the Assistant Director job that just opened up. I am ready to take on more responsibilities, even if it means working longer hours and more office politics.

You : You’ve been thinking about applying for the Assistant Director job that just opened up. You’re ready to take on more responsibilities, even if it means working longer hours and more office politics.

Odd… Let’s move along to the next level of listening. Paraphrasing involves paying attention, remembering and reasoning what the speaker is telling you. Learning how to paraphrase needs to be the first level of listening that is worth practicing and mastering. The speaker will feel listened to, because you are actually listening to be able to paraphrase back what’s being said.

Example of Paraphrasing Speaker : I’ve been thinking about applying for the Assistant Director job that just opened up. I am ready to take on more responsibilities, even if it means working longer hours and more office politics.

You : Now that the Assistant Director job is open, you are thinking of applying for it. You’re ready for it, despite possible disadvantages of the job.

By paraphrasing, you used similar words and phrases to the ones used by the speaker. You rearranged the words and phrases, which required you to listen and understand what the speaker is saying. Reflective Listening is where you actually process the information you hear and summarize it using your own words. Reflecting what the speaker said entails having empathy, withholding judgment and seeing the world from the speaker’s point of view. This level of listening leads to deep connection with people. The speaker will feel understood and may feel inspired and willing to understand you too. Example of Reflective Listening Speaker : I’ve been thinking about applying for the Assistant Director job that just opened up. I am ready to take on more responsibilities, even if it means working longer hours and more office politics.

You : You have mixed feelings about a promotion. You know there is a price to pay for moving up in the organization.

In this last example, you listened to the speaker and sensed some possible doubts about the value of being promoted. You reflected those feelings to the speaker summarizing the message in your own words.

Can you see the difference between the three levels of active listening ?

As you set out to become a better listener, skip repeating , aim to use paraphrasing as a starting point.

Practice Reflective Listening as much as you can, and with time it will become the way you listen all the time. This will improve your listening skills , your communication and connection with others.

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paraphrasing meaning reflecting content back to the speaker

Effective Conversation: The Power of Active Listening and Paraphrasing

In today’s fast-paced world, effective communication is more important than ever. Whether you’re engaging in a personal conversation or a professional discussion, the ability to actively listen and paraphrase can make all the difference in the quality of your interactions. In this blog post, we will explore tips on how to have an effective conversation by mastering active listening and paraphrasing.

The Power of Active Listening

Active listening is a fundamental skill that allows you to fully understand and engage in a conversation. It involves giving your full attention to the speaker, both verbally and non-verbally. Here are some tips to enhance your active listening skills:

Maintain eye contact: By making eye contact with the speaker, you show that you are fully present and focused on what they are saying.
Use non-verbal cues: Nodding your head, smiling, or leaning in slightly can encourage the speaker to continue and feel heard.
Avoid interrupting: Let the speaker finish their thoughts before interjecting. Interrupting can disrupt the flow of conversation and make the speaker feel unheard.
Ask clarifying questions: If you are unsure about something the speaker said, ask for clarification. This demonstrates your genuine interest and ensures that you have a clear understanding of their message.

The Art of Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the process of restating what the speaker has said in your own words. It shows that you are actively listening and helps to clarify and confirm your understanding. Here are some techniques to master the art of paraphrasing:

Summarize the main points: After the speaker has finished talking, summarize the main points they made. This not only shows that you were paying attention but also helps to reinforce the key ideas.
Reflect the speaker’s emotions: Pay attention to the speaker’s tone of voice and body language. Try to reflect their emotions when paraphrasing to show empathy and understanding.
Avoid using the same words: Instead of repeating the speaker’s exact words, rephrase their message using your own language. This demonstrates that you have processed their message and are providing your own interpretation.

By mastering active listening and paraphrasing, you can have more meaningful and productive conversations. These skills not only help you to understand others better but also enable you to express your own thoughts and ideas more effectively. Practice these tips in your everyday conversations, and watch as your communication skills improve!

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Matt Abrahams: The Power of the Paraphrase

An expert on public speaking shows how paraphrasing can help you navigate tricky communication situations.

November 19, 2014

A job seeker raises his hand to ask a question | Reuters/Rick Wilking

When you are giving a public presentation, don’t you hate it when you face … the dreaded question. You know the one: the emotionally loaded challenge that serves to undermine everything you presented prior. You had hoped you wouldn’t get it, but here it is. Or, you may face … the obnoxious meeting participant. You know this guy: He thinks he’s Mr. Smarty-Pants and wants everyone to know it. He ruins your meeting by going on long rants that contribute little and waste much.

These two situations can make even the most confident and calm speaker nervous. One powerful way to navigate your way through these two tricky communication situations is to rely on paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is a listening and reflecting tool where you restate what others say in your own words. The most effective paraphrases concisely capture the essence of what another speaker says. For example, at the end of your presentation a questioner asks: “In the past you have been slow to release new products. How soon will your new product be available?” You might paraphrase her question in one of the following ways:

“You’re asking about our availability.”
“You’d like to know about our release schedule.”
“Our release timeline will be … ”

Effective paraphrasing affords you several benefits. In Q&A sessions, for instance, it allows you to:

Make sure you understood the question correctly. After your paraphrase, the question asker has the opportunity to correct you or refine his or her question. There is no sense in answering a question you were not asked.

Think before you respond. Paraphrasing is not very mentally taxing, so while you are speaking your paraphrase you can begin to think of your response.

Acknowledge emotions prior to addressing the issue(s). Occasionally, you may find yourself confronted with an emotionally laden question. In order to be seen as empathetic, and to get the asker to “hear” your answer, you should recognize the emotion as part of your paraphrase. To a questioner who asks, “I get really exasperated when I try to use some of your features. How are you going to make it easier to use your product?” you might say: “I hear that you have emotion around the complexity of our offering.” By acknowledging the emotion, you can more easily move beyond it to address the issue at hand. Please note that you should avoid labeling the emotion, even if the asker does. If someone seems angry, it is better to use terms such as “strong emotion,” “clear concern,” and “passion.” I have seen a number of speakers get into a labeling battle with an audience member when the speaker names a specific emotion that the asker took offense to (e.g., saying an audience member seems frustrated when he is actually angry).

Reframe the question to focus on something you feel more comfortable addressing. I am not recommending pulling a politician’s trick and pivoting to answer the question you wanted rather than the one you got. Instead, by paraphrasing, you can make the question more comfortable for you to answer. The most striking example I have come across was in a sales situation where a prospect asked the presenter: “How come your prices are ridiculously expensive?” Clearly, the paraphrase “So you’re asking about our ridiculous pricing” is not the way to go. Rather, you can reframe the issue in your paraphrase to be about a topic you are better prepared to address. For example, “So you’d like to know about our product’s value.” Price is clearly part of value, but you start by describing the value and return on investment, which will likely soften the blow of the price.

Using paraphrases can also help you in facilitation situations, such as a meeting. In meetings, paraphrasing allows you to:

Acknowledge the participant’s effort. For many people, contributing in meetings can be daunting. There are real consequences for misspeaking or sounding unprepared. By paraphrasing the contributions you get from others, you validate the person’s effort by signaling that you really listened and valued their input.

Link various questions/ideas. You can pull together disparate contributions and questions and engage different participants by relating a current statement to previous ones. For example, you might say: “Your comment about our profitability links to the question a few minutes ago about our financial outlook.”

Manage over-contributors. Someone who over-shares or dominates a meeting with his or her opinions can be very disruptive and disrespectful. If it is your meeting, then the other participants will expect you to manage the situation. If you don’t, you will lose control and potentially credibility. Paraphrasing can help you move beyond the over-contributor while looking tactful. Fortunately, even the most loquacious person needs to inhale once in a while. During a pause, simply paraphrase a meaningful portion of the person’s diatribe and place focus elsewhere — to another person or topic. For example, you might say, “Forrest’s point about manufacturing delays is a good one. Laurie, what do you think?” Or, “Forrest’s point about manufacturing delays is a good one. What other issues are affecting our release schedule?” In both cases, you have politely informed Forrest that he is done, and you’ve turned the focus away from him and back to your agenda.

Beginning a paraphrase can sometimes be tricky, and people often ask me for suggestions for ways to initiate their paraphrases. Try one of the following lines to help you start your paraphrase:

“So what you are saying/asking is … ”
“What is important to you is … ”
“You’d like to know more about … ”
“The central idea of your question/comment is … ”

Paraphrasing has the power to help you connect with your audience, manage emotions, and steer the conversation. And once you begin to use the technique, you will realize it has the power to help you not only in presentations and meetings, but in virtually any interpersonal conversation.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

Basic active listening skills: reflecting content.

by ,

Paraphrasing: Why and How?

"...But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round - apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if any thing belonging to it can be apart from that - as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"

Clarifying: Why and How?

Let me see if I understand you...
I'm not sure I'm with you...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm hearing that...

"You fear the world too much... All your other hopes have merged into the hope of being beyond the chance of its sordid reproach. I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you. Have I not?"

Reframing: Why and How?

"...Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Chrsitmas! What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will...every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!"

"At this time of the rolling year...I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me !"

Practice Reflecting Content

The active listening primer.

Focus
Respect
Non-Judgment
Identifying and Reflecting Feelings
Reflecting Content (you are here)
Asking Productive Questions

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So well thought-out, Mary! Those were good choices to use, too, for the examples. The writing in Mr. Dicken's time was a lot more formal and differs a lot from how we write today - I doubt there was an OMG to be had in that book! :)

Thanks, Rayna! Nope - not a single OMG! :)

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What Exactly Is Content Reflection

Table of Contents

What exactly is content reflection?

In order to reflect content, you must accurately listen to another person and convey in your own words the main points of their communication. When you reflect on content, you pay attention to the ideas, concepts, convictions, facts, data, etc. Paraphrasing and restating the speaker’s words and feelings is the process of reflecting. Allowing the speaker to hear their own thoughts and concentrating on what they say and feel are the two goals of reflecting.Reflection is a process that can be very empowering. You can use it to organize your day, make decisions, and chart a course of action. You can also use it to break free from your ingrained behaviors and ways of thinking in order to find new liberties and opportunities.Examining one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings is what is meant by reflection. In psychology, the act of reflecting solely relies on observing one’s mental state, whereas in a spiritual context, it may refer to examining one’s soul.By having the client repeat certain parts of their story back to the helper/counselor, this is accomplished. This is a type of paraphrasing. Reflecting means demonstrating to the client that you have ‘heard’ not only what is being said, but also the feelings and emotions they are expressing while telling you about their experience.

What different kinds of reflection are there in counseling?

The client will frequently speak more during counseling sessions as they reflect on difficult situations, process them, and experience growth in those areas. However, when it’s the therapist turn to speak, it is important what you chose to say and how you chose to say it. The three primary categories of reflections are content, emotion, and thematic. They can analyze their feelings and think about the significance of those feelings, which helps them to better understand both themselves and other people. An appropriate way to use the reflection of feeling is to help clients understand that they can influence their own emotions and take responsibility for happiness and well-being.Reflection of Feelings: Repeating what the client has shared about his or her feelings; this lets the client know the therapist is listening actively and understanding what the client is saying, as well as giving them an opportunity to further explore their feelings.The ability of a client to identify and label their own emotions is frequently improved by reflecting their emotions back to them. It is important that counselors have a wide emotional vocabulary, so they can tailor their word choice to match a level of emotional intensity that is congruent with a client’s experience.Reflection is the process of discovering and analyzing who we are, as well as our viewpoints, characteristics, experiences, and deeds or interactions. We are able to see things more clearly and determine how to proceed.

What is reflection as a counselling technique?

In reflection, the listener tries to clarify and restate what the other person is saying. It can increase the listener’s understanding of the other person. It can help the other to clarify their thoughts. It can reassure the other that someone is willing to attend to his or her point of view and wants to help. Paraphrasing involves using other words to reflect what the speaker has said. Paraphrasing shows not only that you are listening, but that you are attempting to understand what the speaker is saying. It is often the case that people ‘hear what they expect to hear’ due to assumptions, stereotyping or prejudices.The difference between paraphrasing and reflective listening is that in paraphrasing you are only summarizing what the victim has said. With reflective listening, you are going beyond summarizing to identifying feelings that the person may not have identified, but their words and attitudes point to such feelings.Paraphrasing means ‘to state something written or spoken in different words, especially in a shorter and simpler form to make the meaning clearer’ (Cambridge Online Dictionary, 2022). Paraphrasing is ‘a restating of someone else’s thoughts or ideas in your own words.The difference between paraphrasing and reflective listening is that in paraphrasing you are only summarizing what the victim has said. With reflective listening, you are going beyond summarizing to identifying feelings that the person may not have identified, but their words and attitudes point to such feelings.

Why is reflection of content important in counselling?

When a counselor uses reflection, s/he accurately describes the client’s affective state from either verbal or nonverbal cues. By listening for and responding to the feelings of the client rather than the content of their statement you arc communicating that you can accurately sense the world as they are perceiving it. Self-reflection is an important part of supervision. The conscious understanding of one’s own emotions, feelings, thoughts, and attitudes at the time of their occurrence, and the ability to continuously follow and recognize them are among the most important abilities of both therapists and supervisors.Its power lies in being able to help you develop your understanding of the way you.

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The Power of Communication: The Principle of Paraphrasing

This lesson is a part of an audio course the power of communication: learning to communicate effectively by hans fleurimont.

Let's talk about paraphrasing and why in my view it is a very important principle to know and to understand. A paraphrase is an accurate response to the person who’s speaking, which states the essence of the speaker’s words in the listener’s own words. To put it another way to paraphrase is to express the meaning of something written or spoken using different words in order to achieve greater clarity. (And that what I just did was an example of paraphrasing).

So if I’m talking to someone and they’re explaining something to me, what I would do is paraphrase what they just said but in my own words. For example, let’s say that my wife is talking about her day and what she did at work and she is explaining the process of doing someone's taxes to me. So she says:

“One of my clients got all upset because they didn’t receive the whole amount they expected from their tax return and they threw a fit in the office.”

And then I would say “So they got mad because it was less than what they thought.” It’s as simple as that. You can paraphrase what someone says to you and you can also paraphrase something you said (Like how I did earlier). So now let’s talk about what goes into paraphrasing.

The Essential Elements of Paraphrasing Are:

Condensed. A good paraphrase is accurate. When people begin using this technique, they tend to be too wordy. A paraphrase should be shorter than the speaker’s statement.
Only the essentials. An effective paraphrase reflects only the essentials of the speaker’s message. It cuts through the clutter of details and focuses on what is central in the original message.
Focus on the Information. Another Characteristic of a paraphrase is that it focuses on the content of the message. It deals with the facts or ideas rather than the emotions the sender is expressing. Even though a firm distinction between facts and feelings is artificial, paraphrasing focuses on the content of the message.
Stated in the listener’s own words. The listener summarizes their understanding of what they heard in their own words. Repeating the speaker’s exact words (which is parroting) usually stifles or dry’s up a conversation, while paraphrasing, when used appropriately, can contribute greatly to the communication between people.

Example of Paraphrasing

Here is another example of paraphrasing:

Person A says “I want to bring you up to speed on a particular project. I talked with Claire, and she has been meeting with people at the state level for weeks about the funding. Things sound really up in the air. We should proceed with caution until we know more.”

One way we can paraphrase this statement is by saying “So the whole project is dependent on whether or not state funding goes through.”

This is just a quick example but there are many ways you can use paraphrases.

Always remember paraphrasing is very useful because it shows the person or people we are talking to that we are actively listening to them and that we understand what they are communicating with us. It is also helpful when you are teaching or giving instructions to a group of people. To paraphrase, it's a great principle to use when communicating. Believe me, the ability to paraphrase helps a whole lot especially in meetings with important people in your career and life.

Hans Fleurimont

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The Power of Paraphrasing

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Paraphrasing is a coaching superpower. Coaches use it as part of our active listening toolkit. It helps us connect and build trust. Learn why and how to incorporate paraphrasing in your work as a social leader.

Paraphrasing – What is it?

To paraphrase is to express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity. Oxford Dictionary

Paraphrasing is using your own words to reflect back what someone has just told you. Think of it as providing a smart mirror to the other person.

Paraphrasing – Why?

Paraphrasing denotes empathy. Research shows that when you reflect a person’s meaning back to them, they feel that you truly listened. People sense that you are making an effort to understand them. It gives the person you are talking to a chance to clarify and find common ground. This shared understanding fosters trust. When people trust you, they are eager to collaborate with you. Isn’t that the goal of any social leader?

Paraphrasing – How?

Listen actively and wait until the other person pauses.

Start with a statement like “what I hear you saying is…” or “let me see if I understand…”. You can also paraphrase and end with “Is that right? Did I understand you correctly?”.

You may paraphrase either the content of the person’s words or the emotion behind them. A way to paraphrase emotion, for example, is to say “that sounds really frustrating” when a person is exasperated over a situation. Again, paraphrasing is about letting others know you are really listening.

You can also paraphrase to amplify. This means that you reflect the person’s point in a way that moves the conversation forward. For example, someone talks about feeling frustrated and stuck. A way to amplify is “Wow, feeling stuck can be so frustrating. Sounds like you are ready for action. What might that look like?”. Amplifying is powerful, but tricky. It requires practice.

Remember not to abuse your new paraphrasing super power! Paraphrasing too much in a conversation may stop the flow. It might also make the other person uncomfortable and doubt your authenticity.

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About The Social Leadership Coach

My name is Cristina Custodio and I am the Social Leadership Coach. I coach social leaders working for a more equitable and sustainable world. I have over 25 years of experience in leadership and management. Since 2011, I have coached social leaders involved in education, philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, community development, climate, public health, STEM, United Nations, conscious business, and the arts. I am an ICF-MCC (Master Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation) with a BA in History & Literature and MBA from Harvard University.

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Sustaining the journey, three types of paraphrases, authored by:.

Thinking Collaborative

February 01, 2016

Whether you are working on the identity of a mediator in Cognitive CoachingSM or that of a collaborator and inquirer for Adaptive Schools, paraphrasing is a critical skill to master. As you recall, Thinking Collaborative teaches three levels of paraphrasing – acknowledging, organizing, and abstracting.

We acknowledge non-verbally with head nods, eye contact, etc., when listening. The acknowledging paraphrase is verbal feedback given to let the person know you are trying to understand. It includes acknowledging feelings and touches on the affective domain of the speaker. In Bloom’s terms, it operates at the level of comprehension reflecting understanding, not just a rote recitation back. Using different words to capture essence is critical as the new word triggers the attention of the speaker and causes them to consider the meaning and accuracy of the paraphrase. Hence, connection that was not there before is created. Rapport is built.

The organizing paraphrase moves from basic rapport to the cognitive domain. As the parts of what was spoken are analyzed by the listener, they are organized for the speaker and mediation of thinking occurs. There is often categorization of ideas, e.g., “There are three issues here,” hence the metaphor of containers. Often the speaker will have a cognitive shift just from hearing his/her thoughts put into some order that hadn’t existed prior to the paraphrase.

Drawing on the work of Hayakawa’s Ladder of Inference, the abstracting paraphrase infers meaning below the surface of what is said. A variety of inferences include listening for values, beliefs, intentions, concepts, identity, and assumptions. This is the most sophisticated paraphrase as it likely causes a group or speaker to think in new ways, previously inaccessible to them. For the next weeks, we will explore the abstracting paraphrase and offer tips for practice.

For this week, listen to your conversations and notice your own paraphrasing patterns.

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Counselling Skills in Action

Student resources, video 3.3 reflecting, paraphrasing, summarizing.

These resources support you in exploring the core skills of therapeutic work and integrated frameworks for ‘active listening’.

Mick Cooper describes and gives examples of the skills of reflecting, paraphrasing and summarizing (07:05)

Discussion question

What are the important things to bear in mind when using different skills of reflecting back?t

If only a preview is showing, please click here to access the full video.

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Active Listening Skills - Reflective Technique

The second component of active listening is the reflective technique, which involves reflecting back to the speaker what it is you believe they mean. However, it also has a second major element, which is the clarification of the meaning of what has been heard.

In practice, reflection and clarification are intertwined, in that reflection often leads to some degree of clarification, and attempts at clarification often require some degree of reflection.

The advantages of this technique are threefold:

• It increases your own understanding • It helps the speaker to clarify his or her own thoughts • It can reassure them that you are interested in their point of view.

Reflection The term 'restatement' is often applied to this part of the technique because it involves paraphrasing the speaker's words back to them as a question. For example:

Speaker: 'I don't think that's possible.' Listener: 'Are you saying that it's not possible to fulfill the order by Friday with the staff we have available?'

The most important part of this approach is that it must take account of the speaker's nonverbal signs as well as the actual words they use.

When employing verbal reflection, shorter interjections have the advantage that they interrupt the flow of the narrative less. Keeping your questions brief also forces you to stick to the main points, but it is not always possible because you do need to be specific rather than general.

By using reflection, the speaker can see that you are paying attention to them and making a conscious effort to understand what they mean. If you want to do this verbally you can use phrases or supportive sounds such as 'Yes,' 'Go on,' 'Ah ha,' 'OK,' or 'Mm.' Altering your posture slightly (for example, moving forward) or nodding your head shows you are taking on board what they are saying. You can also use the appropriate facial expression or make eye contact to signal to the speaker you are listening to them.

This tends to encourage people to open up and make their case in an honest and heartfelt way. If you feel there is more to explore you can use paraphrasing of the last few words spoken or an open question to keep the conversation alive. In some instances you may just want to remain quiet in order to give the speaker time to gather their thoughts again. These simple techniques can help bring to light issues that you were previously unaware of.

Clarification A mixture of reflection and direct questioning can get to the bottom of what people mean. These approaches enable you to correct misunderstandings and fill gaps in the narrative, thus gaining a better understanding of the overall situation.

The process of reflection provides an opportunity for the speaker to point out inaccuracies in your understanding. However, you need to be aware that they may not take the initiative to do so. Consequently, you should pay close attention to their body language and be on the look out for nonverbal signs that might indicate that you have misinterpreted their meaning.

Another thing to be aware of is that you can only clarify information that the speaker has articulated. If you suspect that significant information is being withheld, you cannot reflect it in the usual way, because you don't know what it is. Instead, you have to somehow reflect its absence by asking questions that lead the speaker to bring it into the open.

From your perspective, the end result of clarification is a fuller and more accurate understanding of the overall situation and a detailed understanding of specific issues. From the speaker's perspective, the end result should be a feeling that their circumstances and point of view have been understood.

Central to this process is the fact that you need to overcome any natural tendency that you may have to rush in with suggestions or solutions. If you do not, you will be unable to avoid acknowledging your own emotions during the communication. You need to allow the speaker to present the whole picture so that they expose the level of their knowledge and the extent of their ideas on how to address the issue in hand.

Some simple techniques you can use to ensure that you ask for clarification rather than offer your own opinion are as follows:

• State what you think the speaker has said, as you understand it • Check whether this is what they really meant • Use open, non-directive questions - if appropriate • Ask if you have got it right and be prepared to be corrected • Admit if you are unsure about what the speaker means • Ask for specific examples where necessary or if helpful for understanding.

By allowing several seconds of silence before you ask a question or give feedback you will ensure that the speaker has said all they want to. You can also indicate your attentiveness by accurately paraphrasing the speaker's words into a statement that communicates your impartiality and comprehension. It also allows you to clarify that you have understood their explanation of the issue.

When using clarification, a significant part of the technique is your ability to summarize the whole communication exchange, thereby illustrating your understanding of what has been said. In your summary be concise, objective, and non-judgmental, using the speaker's frame of reference to describe the essential elements of your conversation.

Where this conversation is part of several discussions you will often use your previous summary at the beginning of your next conversation to refresh and restate your current understanding. Active Listening Tips - Good listeners' detach themselves from their own concerns, attitudes, and ideas whilst they are listening. You achieve this by removing such distractions allowing you to observe both the conscious and unconscious signs of the speaker. You are then able to identify any discrepancies between these two signs and discern the true meaning of what has been said.

You may also be interested in: Active Listening Skills for Managers | Definition of Active Listening | Questioning Skills | Barriers to Active Listening | Advantages of Active Listening .

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How to Paraphrase When Listening

According to Forbes , simply paraphrasing what you’ve heard ensures that you’re listening attentively. Believe it or not, paraphrasing is a form of active listening. It gives you the opportunity to absorb and express information in your own words and, ultimately, increase your understanding of the topic.

Reflect on how to paraphrase when listening

Learning how to paraphrase when listening is fundamental in developing and honing your communication skills. Start by simply taking a moment to reflect.

Would you consider paraphrasing a form of active listening?

Exercises to help you paraphrase when listening

Now, it's time to put your reflection into action. Finding opportunities to implement your communication skills can allow you to paraphrase when listening.

Use "I" statements when repeating information back to your team. Consider: “If I understand you correctly..." or “If I’m hearing you…”
Restate your version of the information given to you as opposed to saying it verbatim. Use synonyms, repeat key phrases, and break down ideas into digestible chunks.
Highlight the main takeaways and substantiate them with quotes to your speaker at the end of a meeting. Avoid nitpicking at minor details when relaying the information back.

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Psychotherapy, personality, best active listening paraphrasing examples (35+ exhaustive list).

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What are active listening paraphrasing examples?

Paraphrasing is an important aspect of active listening. Paraphrasing helps understand the listener of their understanding of the said message being in line with that of the intent of the speaker.

Through paraphrasing, the listener uses concise words to restate the information and the feelings gathered by the listener through observing and attending well to the verbal and non verbal cues of the speaker.

Active Listening Paraphrasing Examples

The examples of paraphrasing include the following :

Frequently asked questions : active listening paraphrasing examples

What is paraphrasing in active listening.

Paraphrasing means restating the same information using different words. In a concise way the words of the speaker are said back to him by the listener to test and confirm his understanding of the speaker’s words.

What are four examples of active listening?

Is paraphrasing a form of active listening, how do you paraphrase when listening.

https://learn.devereux.org/nd/guides/qs-Listening.html

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/marcellus/node/807

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Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Summing up key ideas in your own words.

Make complex information easier to digest!

Imagine you're preparing a presentation for your CEO. You asked everyone in your team to contribute, and they all had plenty to say!

But now you have a dozen reports, all in different styles, and your CEO says that she can spare only 10 minutes to read the final version. What do you do?

The solution is to paraphrase and summarize the reports, so your boss gets only the key information that she needs, in a form that she can process quickly.

In this article, we explain how to paraphrase and how to summarize, and how to apply these techniques to text and the spoken word. We also explore the differences between the two skills, and point out the pitfalls to avoid.

What Is Paraphrasing?

When you paraphrase, you use your own words to express something that was written or said by another person.

Putting it into your own words can clarify the message, make it more relevant to your audience , or give it greater impact.

You might use paraphrased material to support your own argument or viewpoint. Or, if you're putting together a report , presentation or speech , you can use paraphrasing to maintain a consistent style, and to avoid lengthy quotations from the original text or conversation.

Paraphrased material should keep its original meaning and (approximate) length, but you can use it to pick out a single point from a longer discussion.

What Is Summarizing?

In contrast, a summary is a brief overview of an entire discussion or argument. You might summarize a whole research paper or conversation in a single paragraph, for example, or with a series of bullet points, using your own words and style.

People often summarize when the original material is long, or to emphasize key facts or points. Summaries leave out detail or examples that may distract the reader from the most important information, and they simplify complex arguments, grammar and vocabulary.

Used correctly, summarizing and paraphrasing can save time, increase understanding, and give authority and credibility to your work. Both tools are useful when the precise wording of the original communication is less important than its overall meaning.

How to Paraphrase Text

To paraphrase text, follow these four steps:

1. Read and Make Notes

Carefully read the text that you want to paraphrase. Highlight, underline or note down important terms and phrases that you need to remember.

2. Find Different Terms

Find equivalent words or phrases (synonyms) to use in place of the ones that you've picked out. A dictionary, thesaurus or online search can be useful here, but take care to preserve the meaning of the original text, particularly if you're dealing with technical or scientific terms.

3. Put the Text into Your Own Words

Rewrite the original text, line by line. Simplify the grammar and vocabulary, adjust the order of the words and sentences, and replace "passive" expressions with "active" ones (for example, you could change "The new supplier was contacted by Nusrat" to "Nusrat contacted the new supplier").

Remove complex clauses, and break longer sentences into shorter ones. All of this will make your new version easier to understand .

4. Check Your Work

Check your work by comparing it to the original. Your paraphrase should be clear and simple, and written in your own words. It may be shorter, but it should include all of the necessary detail.

Paraphrasing: an Example

Despite the undoubted fact that everyone's vision of what constitutes success is different, one should spend one's time establishing and finalizing one's personal vision of it. Otherwise, how can you possibly understand what your final destination might be, or whether or not your decisions are assisting you in moving in the direction of the goals which you've set yourself?

The two kinds of statement – mission and vision – can be invaluable to your approach, aiding you, as they do, in focusing on your primary goal, and quickly identifying possibilities that you might wish to exploit and explore.

We all have different ideas about success. What's important is that you spend time defining your version of success. That way, you'll understand what you should be working toward. You'll also know if your decisions are helping you to move toward your goals.

Used as part of your personal approach to goal-setting, mission and vision statements are useful for bringing sharp focus to your most important goal, and for helping you to quickly identify which opportunities you should pursue.

How to Paraphrase Speech

In a conversation – a meeting or coaching session, for example – paraphrasing is a good way to make sure that you have correctly understood what the other person has said.

This requires two additional skills: active listening and asking the right questions .

Useful questions include:

If I hear you correctly, you're saying that…?
So you mean that…? Is that right?
Did I understand you when you said that…?

You can use questions like these to repeat the speaker's words back to them. For instance, if the person says, "We just don't have the funds available for these projects," you could reply: "If I understand you correctly, you're saying that our organization can't afford to pay for my team's projects?"

This may seem repetitive, but it gives the speaker the opportunity to highlight any misunderstandings, or to clarify their position.

When you're paraphrasing conversations in this way, take care not to introduce new ideas or information, and not to make judgements on what the other person has said, or to "spin" their words toward what you want to hear. Instead, simply restate their position as you understand it.

Sometimes, you may need to paraphrase a speech or a presentation. Perhaps you want to report back to your team, or write about it in a company blog, for example.

In these cases it's a good idea to make summary notes as you listen, and to work them up into a paraphrase later. (See How to Summarize Text or Speech, below.)

How to Summarize Text or Speech

Follow steps 1-5 below to summarize text. To summarize spoken material – a speech, a meeting, or a presentation, for example – start at step 3.

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1. Get a General Idea of the Original

First, speed read the text that you're summarizing to get a general impression of its content. Pay particular attention to the title, introduction, conclusion, and the headings and subheadings.

2. Check Your Understanding

Build your comprehension of the text by reading it again more carefully. Check that your initial interpretation of the content was correct.

3. Make Notes

Take notes on what you're reading or listening to. Use bullet points, and introduce each bullet with a key word or idea. Write down only one point or idea for each bullet.

If you're summarizing spoken material, you may not have much time on each point before the speaker moves on. If you can, obtain a meeting agenda, a copy of the presentation, or a transcript of the speech in advance, so you know what's coming.

Make sure your notes are concise, well-ordered, and include only the points that really matter.

The Cornell Note-Taking System is an effective way to organize your notes as you write them, so that you can easily identify key points and actions later. Our article, Writing Meeting Notes , also contains plenty of useful advice.

4. Write Your Summary

Bullet points or numbered lists are often an acceptable format for summaries – for example, on presentation slides, in the minutes of a meeting, or in Key Points sections like the one at the end of this article.

However, don't just use the bulleted notes that you took in step 3. They'll likely need editing or "polishing" if you want other people to understand them.

Some summaries, such as research paper abstracts, press releases, and marketing copy, require continuous prose. If this is the case, write your summary as a paragraph, turning each bullet point into a full sentence.

Aim to use only your own notes, and refer to original documents or recordings only if you really need to. This helps to ensure that you use your own words.

If you're summarizing speech, do so as soon as possible after the event, while it's still fresh in your mind.

5. Check Your Work

Your summary should be a brief but informative outline of the original. Check that you've expressed all of the most important points in your own words, and that you've left out any unnecessary detail.

Summarizing: an Example

So how do you go about identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and analyzing the opportunities and threats that flow from them? SWOT Analysis is a useful technique that helps you to do this.

What makes SWOT especially powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you to uncover opportunities that you would not otherwise have spotted. And by understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats that might otherwise hurt your ability to move forward in your role.

If you look at yourself using the SWOT framework, you can start to separate yourself from your peers, and further develop the specialized talents and abilities that you need in order to advance your career and to help you achieve your personal goals.

SWOT Analysis is a technique that helps you identify strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. Understanding and managing these factors helps you to develop the abilities you need to achieve your goals and progress in your career.

Permission and Citations

If you intend to publish or circulate your document, it's important to seek permission from the copyright holder of the material that you've paraphrased or summarized. Failure to do so can leave you open to allegations of plagiarism, or even legal action.

It's good practice to cite your sources with a footnote, or with a reference in the text to a list of sources at the end of your document. There are several standard citation styles – choose one and apply it consistently, or follow your organization's house style guidelines.

As well as acknowledging the original author, citations tell you, the reader, that you're reading paraphrased or summarized material. This enables you to check the original source if you think that someone else's words may have been misused or misinterpreted.

Some writers might use others' ideas to prop up their own, but include only what suits them, for instance. Others may have misunderstood the original arguments, or "twisted" them by adding their own material.

If you're wary, or you find problems with the work, you may prefer to seek more reliable sources of information. (See our article, How to Spot Real and Fake News , for more on this.)

Paraphrasing means rephrasing text or speech in your own words, without changing its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. You can use both techniques to clarify and simplify complex information or ideas.

To paraphrase text:

Read and make notes.
Find different terms.
Put the text into your own words.
Check your work.

You can also use paraphrasing in a meeting or conversation, by listening carefully to what's being said and repeating it back to the speaker to check that you have understood it correctly.

To summarize text or speech:

Get a general idea of the original.
Check your understanding.
Make notes.
Write your summary.

Seek permission for any copyrighted material that you use, and cite it appropriately.

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Comments (10)

Over a month ago Midgie wrote Hi sahibaMehry, My view is that we paraphrase the meaning and essence of what has been said, rather than sentence by sentence or word for word. If you are to use the exact words, that would be 'quoting' someone. Hope that helps. Midgie Mind Tools Team
Over a month ago sahibaMehry wrote Hello could you please answer my question do we need to paraphrase sentences in summarizing or not we should summarize it word to word?
Over a month ago Michele wrote Hi SabrinaSeo, You are most welcome. We hope the information in the article was helpful. Michele Mind Tools Team

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Reflecting
Reflecting is the process of paraphrasing and restating both the feelings and words of the speaker. The purposes of reflecting are: To allow the speaker to 'hear' their own thoughts and to focus on what they say and feel. To show the speaker that you are trying to perceive the world as they see it and that you are doing your best to understand ...
Reflecting and Paraphrasing • Counselling Tutor
Paraphrasing is repeating back your understanding of the material that has been brought by the client, using your own words. A paraphrase reflects the essence of what has been said. We all use paraphrasing in our everyday lives. If you look at your studies to become a counsellor or psychotherapist, you paraphrase in class.
Principles of Active Listening in Counselling
Repeat the conversation back to them, in their own words, providing their interpretation or understanding of the client's meaning (paraphrasing). By reflecting the content of what is being said back to the speaker, check their understanding of the message. Be as accurate in summarising the client's meaning as much as they can.
Listening 101: Developing "Active Listening" skills
1. Repeating or Parroting. 2. Paraphrasing. 3. Reflecting or Mirroring. Some people ask what's the difference between Active and Reflective Listening. They actually overlap: to be able to reflect or mirror what a speaker says, you need to actively listen. On one hand a reflective listener is an active listener.
How To Practice Reflective Listening (With Tips and Examples)
There are two main techniques used for reflective listening. They are: Paraphrasing: it involves listening to the speaker and using your own words to reflect what they said. This is usually an effective way for both you and the listener to see if you properly understood the message. Mirroring: It is a shorter and simpler technique of reflective ...
Effective Conversation: The Power of Active Listening and Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is the process of restating what the speaker has said in your own words. It shows that you are actively listening and helps to clarify and confirm your understanding. Here are some techniques to master the art of paraphrasing: Summarize the main points: After the speaker has finished talking, summarize the main points they made.
Matt Abrahams: The Power of the Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is a listening and reflecting tool where you restate what others say in your own words. The most effective paraphrases concisely capture the essence of what another speaker says. For example, at the end of your presentation a questioner asks: "In the past you have been slow to release new products.
Basic Active Listening Skills: Reflecting Content
When it's done well, paraphrasing, 1) demonstrates understanding, 2) helps to verify that your understanding is accurate, and 3) offers clarity and deeper understanding to the person you're reflecting. To paraphrase, listen closely and then sum up what you're hearing in one concise sentence. After sharing the paraphrased statement, pause and ...
7.5.0: Communication Competence
We can paraphrase in three different ways: by rephrasing and reflecting back the content/denotative meaning of the message, the feelings behind the message, or both. To paraphrase you need to: Listen to what the speaker is saying; Pay attention to the speaker's nonverbal cues and the emotion(s) you think they are conveying
What Exactly Is Content Reflection
In order to reflect content, you must accurately listen to another person and convey in your own words the main points of their communication. When you reflect on content, you pay attention to the ideas, concepts, convictions, facts, data, etc. Paraphrasing and restating the speaker's words and feelings is the process of reflecting.
The Power of Communication: The Principle of Paraphrasing
Let's talk about paraphrasing and why in my view it is a very important principle to know and to understand. A paraphrase is an accurate response to the person who's speaking, which states the essence of the speaker's words in the listener's own words. To put it another way to paraphrase is to express the meaning of something written or spoken using different words in order to achieve ...
The Power of Paraphrasing
To paraphrase is to express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity. Oxford Dictionary. Paraphrasing is using your own words to reflect back what someone has just told you. ... You may paraphrase either the content of the person's words or the emotion ...
Three Types of Paraphrases
The acknowledging paraphrase is verbal feedback given to let the person know you are trying to understand. It includes acknowledging feelings and touches on the affective domain of the speaker. In Bloom's terms, it operates at the level of comprehension reflecting understanding, not just a rote recitation back.
Reflective Listening
Once you reflect back the speaker's idea successfully and they verify what you thin they meant by what they said, there is a high likelihood that they will tell you more. When both people are using reflective listening at the same time you will have a very deep and meaningful conversation.
Video 3.3 Reflecting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing
Help. If only a preview is showing, please click here to access the full video. These resources support you in exploring the core skills of therapeutic work and integrated frameworks for 'active listening'.Mick Cooper describes and gives examples of the skills of reflecting, paraphrasing and summarizing (07:05)
Active Listening Skills
The second component of active listening is the reflective technique, which involves reflecting back to the speaker what it is you believe they mean. However, it also has a second major element, which is the clarification of the meaning of what has been heard. In practice, reflection and clarification are intertwined, in that reflection often leads to some degree of clarification, and attempts ...
Reflect on how to paraphrase when listening
According to Forbes, simply paraphrasing what you've heard ensures that you're listening attentively. Believe it or not, paraphrasing is a form of active listening. It gives you the opportunity to absorb and express information in your own words and, ultimately, increase your understanding of the topic. Reflect on how to paraphrase when ...
Best Active Listening Paraphrasing Examples (35+ Exhaustive List)
The examples of paraphrasing include the following : "Your plans for the trip are changed". "You feel your husband has changed since last month". "Your feelings for your workplace seem more negative now". "What I just heard feels like you are no more interested in working at the same place". "So you mean your gut feeling does ...
Interpersonal Communication Chapter 6 Flashcards
Continually focusing communication on ourselves instead of on the person who is talking. A method of clarifying another's meaning by reflecting our interpretations of his or her communication back to him or her. Pretending to listen. The process of recalling what you have heard; the sixth element of listening.
Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Paraphrasing means rephrasing text or speech in your own words, without changing its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. You can use both techniques to clarify and simplify complex information or ideas. To paraphrase text: Read and make notes. Find different terms. Put the text into your own words. Check your work.