Introverts may be quiet with a group of friends – but that doesn’t actually mean they’re listening to you.
In fact, their extrovert friends might have a slight advantage as listeners, University of Minnesota researchers said Tuesday.
People with more social-oriented personalities are better listeners, a new review of interactions between hundreds of people revealed.
While the review did not determine why, researchers suggested the reason could be because listening requires the ability to engage with others while managing self-focused attention, ensuring listeners stay present with whomever is speaking. That’s a behavior extroverts excel at.
“It is easy to assume that someone who is quiet is also a better listener, but listening is more nuanced than that,” Dr. Beth Campbell, an associate professor in the Department of Work and Organizations, said in a release.
A contradictory result
To better understand the relationship between social behavior and listening, the researchers asked 217 introverted and extroverted adults to select up to six friends and family members who would evaluate their listening abilities in four different scenarios.
The researchers examined how participants listened to whatever was said out loud, in a team setting where members worked to understand each others’ perspective, during one-on-one meetings and in a larger conference setting.
How well the participants listened was based on whether or not they interrupted a speaker, how they responded to speakers and how often their replies were self-focused.
Ultimately, the researchers found that there was “no support for the notion” that people who tend to be more introverted are “perceived as better listeners in interpersonal contexts.”
“Instead, results primarily show no relationship between extraversion and listening, and in a few cases, a positive relationship where individuals higher in extraversion are perceived as better listeners,” the researchers wrote.
The findings contradict a widely popular belief and a decade of research on the topic, asserting that introverts were just better listeners. A 2022 study from Harvard researchers found that extroverts may not been seen as paying much attention when listening and suggested behavioral changes to counteract that effect.
The Minnesota researchers included that study in their assessment.
‘A skill anyone can develop’
Some 80 percent of Americans think they are good listeners, according to a 2025 survey from the non-partisan research group More in Common.
But the researchers say their review reveals a need to revise the general understanding of what – and who – makes a good listener.
Instead of focusing on personality, improving listening is a skill that anyone can develop, they say.
People can do that by practicing active listening. That includes resisting impulses to interrupt, observing tone and body language and snapping back to the subject when attention falters, University of Washington researchers recommend.
Making eye contact also helps to ensure people know you’re on the same page, Michigan State University notes.
“Our research shows that effective listening is less about whether someone is introverted or extroverted and more about the behaviors that communicate attention and engagement to the speaker,” said Campbell.
”This is good news because it highlights that listening is a skill that anyone can develop, regardless of where they fall on the introversion-extraversion continuum.”
