✅ Checkpoint: Listening Foundations

By Better Wise

Quiz

  1. In the lesson on active listening, what is the recommended pause before you reply to someone?
    • Wait about half a second so the conversation keeps its pace
    • Stay silent until the other person asks you a direct question
    • Count two slow breaths, roughly four to five seconds
    • Fill the silence with a quick piece of advice so nothing feels awkward
  2. A colleague says: "My manager moved our meeting again." Which response follows the no-fixing-yet rule?
    • "Do you want ideas, or do you want to think out loud for a bit?"
    • "Honestly, I would have quit by now."
    • "Have you tried making a list and prioritizing?"
    • "You should just talk to HR about it."
  3. Which of these is an open-ended question?
    • "How many people are affected?"
    • "You're upset about the deadline, right?"
    • "Did you finish the report?"
    • "What made the deadline hard this week?"
  4. A colleague says: "The launch landed, but the support team got hammered for two days and nobody had warned them." Which is the strongest second question?
    • "What are your plans for next quarter?"
    • "So did the launch succeed?"
    • "Was the support team upset about it?"
    • "Nobody had warned the support team. What happened when they found out?"
  5. Which sentence is a proper two-part paraphrase?
    • "That's not so bad. Projects get cancelled all the time."
    • "You're hurt, maybe a little embarrassed, because you found out in a group chat that your project was cancelled and no one checked with you. Did I get that right?"
    • "You said you found out in the group chat that your project was cancelled and nobody asked you anything."
    • "I know exactly how you feel. You should probably ask your manager why."
  6. A question that can be answered with yes, no, or a number is a ____ question.
  7. A paraphrase should be ____ than the original message, not a word-for-word repeat.
  8. The habit of asking a closed question to get the fact and then immediately opening it up with an open question is called the ____.
  9. Role-play a short conversation with a partner. They describe a frustrating situation at work. Run the full listening cycle: stay present, ask one open-ended question, then give a two-part paraphrase with a confirming question. Record or write down what you said, then rate yourself.
  10. Think of a recent conversation where you drifted or jumped in with a fix too early. Write the exact lines you would use to (a) return gracefully after drifting and (b) ask what the person needed before offering advice. Then rate your lines.

Sign in to submit answers.