Listening to people is a difficult thing to do. It’s easy to be distracted by our own thoughts or to get lost in the noise of others. And yet, it’s one of the most important skills you can have. When we listen, we show respect for the other person and learn more about them than when we talk with them. Here are some tips that will help you improve your listening skills. READ also about how to improve English listening skills.
We all know that listening is a crucial part of communication. But what are the best ways to improve your listening skills? We spoke to an expert in this field and discussed how you can take your communication skills to the next level.
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Listening skills are often not taught in schools. Although everyone needs to listen to understand others, we don’t always think about how we can improve this skill. Listening is a core life skill that is essential for social interactions, communication and leadership. See also listening to English is a skill.
Listening skills are critical to success. When you listen, you can learn from others. Listening helps you understand the other person’s perspective and get to know more about their thoughts and feelings. Listening also allows you to show empathy and care for someone else’s feelings and needs.
How To Improve Your Listening Skills?
1. Listen With Your Eyes
Whenever you are listening to people, look at them and maybe even smile: Body language says a lot about the level of your concentration; it also helps when responding to others’ words. Our facial muscles mirror how we feel and what body movements are natural responses whether they happen during anger or after being frightened. So if you see someone who is angry don’t just listen with your ears! Move your eyebrows up so they can communicate to the other person that you are feeling scared.
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2. Don’t Throw your Hands or Feet Around.
Body language not only communicates how we feel, it also says something about our attitudes and how seriously we consider what’s being said, which is important for decision-making. Hearing someone’s monologue may make us assume their message was serious; however, if this person starts waving their arms around combined with a running commentary, you wouldn’t take this seriously and probably dismiss their opinion. Emotions always come before actions, so avoid what’s known as the ‘apparent decoy effect’ where people will react in ways to disguise their true attitudes. For example, some studies have been done on whether we are able to listen if someone nods; it turns out that nodding rather than expressing agreement makes us more critical of what’s being said! We check up on other people’s behavior more than our own and this can be detrimental when you are trying to listen effectively. Do you want to learn English?
3. Speak in ‘Language of the hearing person’.
Don’t use language that is unreadable for people who don’t share your speech or brain capacity (e.g., slang ), respect what others say, avoid multiple meaning words like ‘both’, use visual communication such as pointing or drawing diagrams, always pay attention to social rules.
4. Show both sides of the coin or try to put things in perspective.
Similarities are an effective way to communicate and understanding two points of view is very important for shared problem solving – especially when there’s a clash! This doesn’t just apply within groups, it also applies with face-to-face communication; we often don’t ‘go along with what others say’ because they’re not on our wavelength and so if we ask for a colleague’s support this may not be forthcoming. Collaboration is critical to effectively and efficiently solving problems but avoiding emotional outbursts can be very hard; people are more likely to trust the other person who does it calmly and collaboratively rather than react in an angry manner! Never give up seeking agreement (There are lots of tips on good listening !)
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5. Look at yourself when you talk about what you think or know
We all do this! People who don’t look at themselves (especially in writing) can cause us immense difficulties and they do it because they want to make sure that what they say is understood; we are especially sensitive to messages from our own facial expressions. Writing only highlights your lack of eye contact, poor posture etc., so even if you’re wearing sunglasses I’d start by looking for a mirror before reading any text/ email (see the video clip on Mirror Therapy; you could also practise by recording yourself saying something out loud and then watch it back).
Why are listening skills important?
1. Things go a lot smoother when we communicate in an effective way
All of us can do it but some types of people find communication difficult and spending more time preparing for discussions – making sure you’ve understood the other person’s point helps avoid misunderstandings (not to mention also getting your own thoughts across clearly), clarifying things with questions and putting disagreements into perspective will all make discussing problems less stressful!
2. You’re going to be doing it for a long time (the world would be a lot less fun without communication)
You’ve got to pick up communicating well from the best otherwise you’ll never get it! Talking at length with people who don’t listen is very old but where does your own high-quality habits come from? Are you always agreeing when spoken to and using graphics effectively, are you getting them fired up about what’s in front of their eyes by providing inspiration or reference.
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In conclusion, here are some more resources on the topic:
I think I’ve got a lot of respect for any people who can communicate well, but in particular, there’s something really special about how genuinely caring and empathetic people communicate. It seems like a small thing to focus on but I’d say it makes such a difference to your life if you can just feel that other person’s emotions; you’re much more likely to listen attentively, and have a deeper emotional connection with people as a result. You May Like can you learn a language just by listening.