One guaranteed way to annoy people is to appear not to be listening to what they say. The key word is appear. You might be paying attention, but it might not seem that way. What you need to display is active listening. There are some barriers which can get in the way of listening, and you need to be aware of a couple of these 1 Prejudices This is two-sided. One is the feelings (positive or negative) that you have about the other party to the communication. The other is how they feel about you. It's vital to listen without prejudice.
Brain speed Most people speak at between 120/180 words per minute. At the same time, your brain works at 500/550 wpm. Therefore you need to concentrate fully on what's being said - and also learn not to interrupt simply to speed things along. You need to avoid the situation where your mind wanders to fill up this “empty space” between the speaking and listening speeds Try the following "active listening" techniques 1 # Teach yourself to carefully listen to the content - and to watch the body language which surrounds it. Check that the two messages are the same - if not, what the body is saying is likely to be the more accurate. Be careful not to focus on how something is said - thereby missing on out on what has been said # Listen to understand - rather than simply to respond. If, whilst listening, in your mind you're forming a statement, then you're getting ready to respond. If you are forming questions, then you're trying to understand # Provide verbal signals - sound like "uh-huh" "mmm" - words like "yep" "I see" "go on" "really" - demonstrate that you are listening # Provide non-verbal signals - such as eye contact, smiling, nodding, leaning forward, tilting your head slightly forward and to one side etc.
# Check your comprehension - summarize the other person's key points and ask them to confirm that you have correctly gathered the information # Repetition - repeat their last sentence or key points back to them - and then follow this with an inquiring question for further information So, work at developing your listening skills - and enjoy the results
Communication Skills - How to be a Better Listener - To learn more about this author, visit Gordon Veniard's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
