Listening, questioning, summarising and synthesis Careful listening, summarising and synthesis help us reach a good knowledge and understanding of what everyone needs, and find solutions everyone can accept. Put simply:
good listening enables us to hear what others are saying;
questioning helps clarify what people are saying, or supports people to explore their needs and come up with new possibilities;
summaries help remind us of the key points in the discussion and check we have the same understanding;
synthesis is the skill that allows us to draw together different views and ideas to form one proposal that works for everyone.