Improve Listening Skills | Learn How become active listener

How to improve listening skills

In this article you will learn about good listening skills practices, pitfalls to good listening, how to be an active listener, and the benefits of active listening skills. You will also learn how to improve listening skills. How often does poor listening make you miss an important point or phone number or botch a sale? It's important to be a good listener and to be perceived as one, since the communication process involves both sending a message and receiving feedback. In this article you learned how to improve listening skills, about good listening skills, active listening skills, pitfalls to good listening, how to be an active listener, and the benefits of active listening.

Seven Good Listening Skills

To improve listening skills, consciously practice the following skills as often as you can. As you use the following techniques more often, they'll become more natural, although you'll still need to apply a conscious effort to maintain your listening abilities.

• Focus 100 percent on the person speaking. Consciously show respect and consideration. Put the speaker at ease.
• When your mind wanders, make eye contact with the speaker. then shift focus and watch the words come from his or her lips. Repeat the words to yourself.
• If you can take notes, train yourself to write everything down word for word for word. If you can't take notes, mentally identify main ideas and summarize them periodically.
• Quiet your body and mind. Stop yourself from being preoccupied with anything but the matter at hand.
• Keep yourself from mentally phrasing your response instead of hearing the speaker.
• Delay judging what you hear until it's necessary. Suspend your own ideas and opinions until the speaker is finished.
• Verify that you get what has been said. Remind yourself that the idea of good listening is to interpret the meaning of a message the way the other person intended. Ask questions to clarify points. Respond appropriately.

How to be an active listener

• Active listening refers to a set of practices a listener can use to help understand the meaning of a speaker's message.
• To be active listener :
• Pay attention to how things are said, as well as to what is said.
• Listen for changes in the speaker's voice, tone, emphasis, pitch, or speed.
• Pay attention to the speaker's intention, as well as to what he or she says out loud.
• Listen for and differentiate between ideas, opinions, feeling, and facts.
• Work hard at perceiving the frame of reference and viewpoint of the person you are listening to.
• Put your understanding into your own words and use feedback.

The benefit of active listening Skills

Active listening skills helps you take advantage of opportunities you might not otherwise notice. In addition, learning how to listen well to others earns you similar treatment from them. Here are:

• Speakers feel less controlled by you and may release their feelings more easily.
• Speakers become less afraid of a negative response.
• Promotes more open relationship.