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10 Ways to Immediately Improve Your Listening (and Networking) Skills
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How To Be An Active Listener
- Ignore internal and external distractions (thoughts and sounds).
- Listen to the content of their speech and their specific wording.
- Listen to the context of their speech. Keep in mind the circumstances and themes and how they relate what’s being said.
- Listen to the tone of their voice. It conveys the speaker’s feelings.
- Listen for the emotions the speaker is likely experiencing so they will feel understood.
- Pay attention to their body language and make appropriate eye contact.
- Provide small verbal encouragements and don't fight silences.
- Ask open-ended questions to encourage elaboration and further your understanding of the big picture.
- If you need them to slow down or want specific info, ask close-ended questions.
- Offer affirmations that the person has made valuable and important choices.
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Selective Listening
Means to focus on a few key words and ignore the rest of someone's communication.
It often manifests as one gets distracted by external stimuli like random sounds or movements, and internal stimuli such as one's own thoughts and feelings.
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Active Listening
Means to fully concentrate on what is being said rather than passively absorbing it.
It's not just remembering the content of what was said, but using empathy and seeking to understand the complete message, including the emotional tones conveyed. It builds rapport, understanding and trust.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Effective communication
... is imperative for every successful business. Poor communication inevitably causes misunderstandings, confusion and conflicts that hinder productivity and professi...
Effective Communication is vital in business
- It helps to create effective brand messaging. It determines how your brand is perceived and also builds trust with customers.
- Customer service relies on good communication. "60% of consumers have stopped doing business with a brand due to a poor customer service experience." Microsoft’s 2016 Global State of Customer Service Report.
- It enables positive team relationships. Effective communication helps to unite teams and create a safe environment to express themselves.
It helps to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts. It can help to defuse a potentially explosive dispute while bad communication can set it off.
Worst Communication Mistakes
- Using a One-Size-Fits-All Communication Approach. Tailor the communication style to the intended audience.
- Speaking More and Listening Less. Listen to what is said, how it is said, and to what is not said.
- Assuming Instead of Asking More Questions.
- Using Negative Tone. Choose words carefully to eliminate negative reactions.
Avoiding Difficult Conversations.
Reacting, Not Responding.
Not Keeping an Open Mind. Accept and respect differences, listen without judgment and consider all sides of an issue.
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Key Ideas
"It's important to make the individual you are speaking with feel heard and understood. If you're not engaged in t..."
Julie Holmes - life coach
Technology And Conversations
Your environment affects your personal relationships. Technologies like social media are making conversations harder and less engaging. But getting rid of it isn't necessarily the cure-all for most of our social interactions.
If you have you've been feeling disconnected you can develop your conversational skills if you persist.
Become An Active Listener
Be engaged and listen to what they are saying. Show interest, ask questions and clarifications. This shows others that you care about what they are saying, and about them in the bigger picture.
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Key Ideas
Active listening
Is a technique for developing our ability to listen, to make a conscious effort to understand what people are really saying.
As a communication technique, it is used in many prof...
Core components of Active Listening
- Comprehending: To communicate, we must first understand what the other person (or people) are actually saying.
- Retaining: To respond in an appropriate manner, we must understand and retain what the other person has said.
- Responding: An active response should show that we understand what the other person has said, have paid attention to their words and also read their non-verbal cues.
Improving Active Listening skills
- Educate yourself on common cognitive biases and shortcuts;
- Avoid trying to respond immediately. Allow the other person time to finish speaking, then provide a considered response;
- Minimize conversational narcissism by keeping track of your use of pronouns(I, me);
- Seek to develop a clear picture of the other person’s logic;