Good listening skills are important for success in career, relationships, and life. To improve, be present, show respect, focus on the speaker, ask questions, and use non-verbal feedback. Listening is an active process that requires understanding and judgment.
Listening is an important skill that involves much more than the actual physical process of hearing. Good listening skills can be critical to success in a career, relationship, and life itself. You can improve these skills with practice: Be present in the conversation, show respect to the speaker, focus on what the speaker is saying, and ask questions to show you’re paying attention.
Remember that listening is an active process, rather than a passive one. You not only have to hear what a speaker is saying, but you have to understand it and then judge whether the information makes sense. To improve your listening skills, try these techniques:
Listen with respect. Use your tone of voice and choice of words to convey that you are really trying to understand what the person is saying. Give your full attention to the person speaking; don’t be distracted by other sights or sounds. Use eye contact to stay focused. Try to rule out any mannerisms from the speaker that might divert your attention from the content. Focus your mind on what is being said. Try adjusting your body position if you find yourself losing focus. Take notes to keep your mind focused. Stay open-minded and try not to predict what will be said. Don’t interrupt or plan what your response will be while the speaker is still speaking. When working on your listening skills, try to determine the main idea, or the most important point, of what the speaker is saying. Ask questions. If you’re not sure you heard something correctly or didn’t understand, ask for clarification. Some situations don’t always allow you to ask questions as the speaker speaks, so keep your questions in mind or write them down so you can follow along later. Provide feedback, either with verbal responses such as “I understand” or “I hear you say…” or non-verbal responses such as a nod, frown or smile.
These tips can help you improve your listening skills, which can improve other areas of your life as well.
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