To listen, you have to make a conscious effort to hear what the other person is saying and understand and retain that information. Keep reading to learn what active listening is, why it’s important, why you need it to network, and how to master it.Īctive listening takes a little more effort than regular listening. Whether you are looking to work on personal or professional relationships, this is a skill that you shouldn’t ignore. The benefits of active listening show that it’s an essential skill to create and maintain strong relationships. It takes practice and refinement, as well as a will to improve.Many people often put their focus on improving presentation skills, but a skill that could often use some more attention is active listening. They can also support other excellent soft skills like critical thinking and interpersonal skills.īut remember this: Active listening doesn’t come naturally. The Key to Unlocking Active Listening SkillsĪctive listening skills can bring all kinds of benefits to your life and career. If you missed something, ask them to repeat it. Try to use some of their own language and phrasing. This way, you can ensure that you’ve absorbed all the key points they feel you should know. Instead, ask them if you can summarize the issue. When the other party is done (and only when they’re done) sharing their side of the issue, don’t jump right into giving your advice. These are questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no,” and they have a dual benefit: They clarify your understanding and prove that you’re listening. To practice active listening successfully, you must know how to ask open-ended questions. “ when you ask questions, it activates a different part of your brain.” “Most people think that the best leaders are the ones who can answer all the questions,” he says. Ask open-ended questions.Īccording to Leo Castillo, partner and lead culture and strategy consultant at Fearless Inc., the best leaders ask questions. If your eyes are darting around the room, the other party might feel like your attention is flitting around, as well. Take care to avoid subconsciously aggressive or defensive body postures such as crossed arms, slouching, or fidgeting, but maintaining eye contact is the big one here. More recently, the Harvard Business Review similarly reported that up to 80% of communication comes from non-verbal cues such as posture, breathing, and even sweating.Īctive listeners pay attention to body language-including their own. Only then can you make the speaker feel truly heard and provide meaningful advice. You need to forget what you think you know, set your ego aside, and put empathy and critical thinking front and center. But active listening skills rely on none of those.Īctive listening is almost like an out-of-body experience. For that, you’ll rely on your own experiences and instincts, as well as existing company or societal processes. When someone comes to you with a problem, your fist instinct is probably to solve their problem as quickly as possible. Active listeners withhold judgment.Īs an active listener, you must set aside judgment until you have all the information-and that can be really hard. If you’ve ever felt exhausted after a full day of meetings, it’s probably because of the active listening marathon you just ran. You also need to gauge body language, communicate empathy, and form open-ended questions to confirm understanding. But to be an active listener, you need to do more than hear the speaker’s words. Active listening skills are tough to master for a few key reasons: Active listening techniques require a physical commitment.
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