![]() Be candid, open and honest when responding to the speaker, but do so in a respectful manner. Your job as the listener is to gain information, perspective and understanding. For example, say, “What I’m hearing you say is…” or “I’m not sure I understand…” This demonstrates that you are paying attention and will allow you to gain more information. After listening for a while, engage with the speaker by asking questions or reflecting back what you have heard. Active listening involves being patient and allowing the speaker to finish each point before asking questions. Worse, it frustrates the speaker and limits your understanding of the message. Interrupting shows impatience and disrespect, especially if you interrupt with an argument rather than a question. This can be another difficult step because the brain wants to jump in and solve the problem before the speaker has communicated the entire message. It’s also a good technique for keeping your attention focused on the speaker and the message rather than the noise in your own head. This acknowledgement doesn’t mean you agree with the person it simply indicates that you are actively listening. From time to time, interject with something like “Uh huh” or “I see” to indicate you are following what the person is saying. Acknowledge what the person is saying.Some active listening exercises should be facing the speaker directly and making eye contact, sitting or standing in an open position, and smiling or nodding occasionally. People can tell when you’re not paying attention, so use your body language and gestures to let them know you are locked into what they’re saying. This can be the toughest step to master, because most people are used to listening to the noise in their heads. Pay attention to the speaker’s body language as well as their words. Focus your entire attention on the speaker, listening without judgement or formulating a response before they’re halfway through speaking. The skills involved in this process aren’t difficult to learn, but they do take practice to master. How to engage in active listeningĪctive listening is the process of listening to someone in a way that focuses your attention on what they are saying so they feel heard and understood. To do that, you need to stay aware of which of the two noises you’re listening to and consciously redirect your attention back to the speaker when you get off track. ![]() Hearing becomes listening only when you pay attention to what the person is saying and follow it very closely. That’s where active listening techniques come into play. Unless you train yourself to remain vigilant, the brain usually ends up paying attention to the noise in your own head. Instead of hearing one noise, you hear two: the noise the other person is making and the noise in your own head. When someone talks to you, your brain immediately begins processing the words, body language, tone, inflection and perceived meanings coming from the other person. ![]() This involves ignoring your own needs and focusing on the person speaking - a task made more difficult by the way the human brain works. To develop good listening skills, you need to understand what is involved in effective communication and develop the techniques to sit quietly and listen. Download the listening assessment The challenge of active listeningĪctive listening is an art, a skill and a discipline that takes a high degree of self-control. Active listening enable employees, customers and other stakeholders to feel that their perspectives are heard, accepted and understood. Clearly, there’s a lot more talking than active listening going on.Īnd yet, few skills are more critical for effective communication and strong leadership than the ability to listen. Pause for a moment to consider how many emails, text messages, voice mails and other interruptive, one-way communications you receive every day. ![]() In this age of the Internet, smart phones and social media, it seems like people are talking at each other more than listening to each other. ![]()
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