Be an Active Listener : Develop Your Listening Skills

5 tips to improve your Listening Skills

In an ever shrinking world driven by technology, new avenues are being invented every day to connect and communicate with people more conveniently and effectively. Even though the means and methods of communication have increased, yet conversational skills are fast becoming a forgotten art, as they are being rapidly replaced by typing / texting skills. When people communicate verbally using any kind of communication means, a special type of skill called the Listening Skills plays a critical role to make that conversation effective and impactful.

Listening Skills are important because they not only help in nurturing personal relationships but also help in building strong and trustworthy professional networks .

There is an art and science to building and improving Listening Skills which can help us to become Active Listeners. This means that being able to respond promptly and appropriately when someone is talking to us as opposed to being a Passive Listener who demonstrates poor attention, thereby losing the trust and respect of the person talking to them.

Here are 5 tips  that can help you to become an Active Listener.

1. Demonstrate positive body language

Body language plays a vital role in making conversations effective and engaging. Demonstrate an open body language while making a conversation. For example maintain eye contact and face the person to whom you are talking to.  Do not let your gaze shift away from the person for too long . Maintaining eye contact while speaking lets the other person feel respected and at the same time it also keeps you stay focused on the conversation

2. Paraphrase

To be able to respond appropriately it is important to understand the message clearly. Paraphrasing is a great way to ensure that you have understood the message as was intended . This means repeating the message back to the speaker in your own words to confirm if you have understood it correctly. Besides, Paraphrasing also gives confidence to the speaker that you are making an effort to understand them and therefore it builds trust.

3. Don’t jump to Conclusions

Many times difficult conversations do not  let speaker articulate the message in the way it is intended. Be patient. Do not attempt to jump to conclusions before the speaker finishes talking. Demonstrate your support by nodding and encourage the  speaker to complete their sentences before responding to them.

4. Focus on the big picture

Many times when we are thinking too much in our heads during a face to face conversation we tend to lose the big picture. This can happen due to unimportant details or distractions. Stay focused on the meaning of the whole message instead of trying to flesh out the details without understanding the complete message. Shut down your internal dialogue and concentrate on the speaker’s message.

5. Show interest by asking questions

This would encourage the speaker to elaborate the issue and you will be able to respond more effectively. Ask open ended questions instead of YES-NO questions as these type of questions tend to shut down the speaker.

So, now you know the 5 secrets of an Active listener. Active Listening can help you to create engaging and meaningful conversations. Conversations that are productive as well as impactful. Now, start practicing your Listening Skills. Nurture your personal and professional relationships.

In my professional experience of training a large number of young aspirants for soft skills I have discovered that the above given tips have helped them in developing their Listening Skills for meaningful conversations when they practice it with a disciplined approach.