Active Listening: How to become a better listener
Listening skills are very critical for meaningful and fruitful communications. But it is easier said than done 
!
“Are you listening?”
We have heard this so many times growing up, many times form our teachers, more time from our parents and siblings. It sounds simple, but listening is not an easy skill to master. It takes patience to listen; it takes practice to be a good listener. It is human nature, we love talking more than listening.
Of course, this article is about active listening; not about random hearing, or casual listening- such as listening to our favorite music etc.
“Did you hear something?”
“Yes”
“What was it?”
“Somebody talking at the door”
“About what?”
“Don’t know”
“What you mean?”
“Oh, I didn’t pay attention; I wasn’t listening!”…
It takes conscious effort to be a good listener. It is commonly said that we become better listener with age. Now, lets us not wait on grey hair and beyond !
There are a few key things that we can proactively do to be better at listening:
Pay attention: Well, no surprises here. Paying attention to the speaker is first and foremost requirement. Lack of attention span is one of the biggest problems with poor listening. If we don’t make an effort, it is very common to drift into our own world, especially if the ‘talk’ or the topic is not of our interest.
Eye contact: The eye-contact helps with connecting to the person speaking. It helps understand where the speaker is coming from. The eye-contact also helps with improvement to attention span, and ‘staying’ with the speaker.
Avoid distractions: Avoid any kinds of distractions. Loud noise in the back-ground, cell-phone ringing or someone else talking at the same time can easily affect the ability to listen to the intended conversation. Read the rest of this entry »
