7 Key Active Listening Skills Pdf
Carmen Kalua
Active listening requires an open mind. As a listener and a leader, be open to new ideas, new perspectives, and new possibilities when practicing active listening. Even when good listeners have strong views, they suspend judgment, hold any criticisms, and avoid interruptions like arguing or selling their point right away. This can be easier if you maintain an open body posture. For example, having your arms resting on the side, rather than crossed across the chest, can signal a greater degree of openness.
So leaders, remember that the last and the most important step of active listening is taking action on what you hear, and that is an essential building block of truly compassionate leadership.
Now that you understand what the 6 active listening techniques are, seriously consider whether you are a truly active listener. You may want to try growing your active listening skillset by taking our 7-day active listening challenge.
Watch our webinar, How to Practice Authentic Communication in a Virtual Space, and learn how actively listening for facts, feelings, and values will improve your connections with team members and build relationships that result in more efficient and effective communication and collaboration.
Become a better listener and communicator, both at work and at home, by practicing your active listening skills. Take our Active Listening Challenge to discover 7 specific active listening techniques to try in your conversations next week.
A social psychologist with over 15 years of experience, Diane is a researcher with expertise in executive education and consulting. At CCL, she conducts research and provides subject matter expertise in the areas of women and leadership, the gendered assessment of workplace helping behaviors, leader listening behaviors, and employee voice.
Andy has over a decade of experience working as an organizational scientist identifying data-driven solutions that help organizations address some of their most pressing challenges. In his current role, his research focuses on work groups and teams and emerging leaders. Prior to joining us, Andy was a member of the faculty at Louisiana State University.
If you find that you are having trouble with listening, you might benefit from professional treatment. Other options include engaging in social skills training or reading self-help books on interpersonal skills.
Active listening helps you build trust and understand other people's situations and feelings. In turn, this empowers you to offer support and empathy. Unlike critical listening, active listening seeks to understand rather than reply. The goal is for the other person to be heard, validated, and inspired to solve their problems.
The three A's of active listening are attention, attitude, and adjustment. Attention entails being fully tuned in to the speaker's words and gestures. The proper attitude is one of positivity and open-mindedness. Adjustment is the ability to change your gestures, body language, and reactions as the speaker's story unfolds.
Reflection is the active listening technique that demonstrates that you understand and empathize with the person's feelings. In mirroring and summarizing what they've said, they feel heard and understood.
There are numerous ways to improve your active listening skills. One is to watch skilled interviewers on talk and news shows. Another is to research active listening techniques online and try them often in your everyday conversations, noting the speakers' reactions and looking for areas that need improvement.
Active listening requires mastering many skills, including reading body language and tone of voice, maintaining your attention, and being aware of and controlling your emotional response. In this article, the author explains what active listening is and how to improve this essential communication skill.
As with any skill, you can improve active listening with practice and by approaching conversations with greater intentionality. In this article, we'll go over what it means to actively listen and review seven ways you can improve your listening abilities.
Oftentimes, we don't retain what we hear. In fact, the average listener only remembers 25 percent of a talk or lecture two months later, according to testing from Harvard Business Review [1]. Active listening requires much deeper attention and empathy, which ideally leads to a greater understanding. It is the practice of paying full attention to what someone is saying in order to demonstrate unconditional acceptance and unbiased reflection, according to researcher Harry Weger [2].
The practice of being more conscious while listening can benefit your career. In your day-to-day conversations with colleagues, in networking, in sustaining genuine connections as a manager, listening makes people feel heard. Empathy, the basis of active listening, is crucial in building meaningful relationships. Active listening can even help you manage your emotions, retain data and information better, and resolve conflict.
Demand for social and emotional skills, including active listening, is projected to grow by more than 20 percent across all industries between 2016 and 2030, according to McKinsey [4]. Further, research suggests that good interpersonal skills are a strong predictor of workplace success overall, due to the link between team effectiveness, empathy, and inclusivity [5].
If you're interested in improving your active listening skill, the techniques listed below may be useful. They are derived from the notion that active listening is a practice that can always be improved.
Being mindful generally means being respectful and aware of the present moment. No daydreaming, no interrupting, and no thinking about what you're going to say in response. Instead, take in the content and purpose of their words and body language. That way, you and the speaker build an authentic connection.
Much of communication relies on the nonverbal. In fact, in face-to-face conversation, communication is 55 percent nonverbal, 38 percent vocal, and 7 percent words, according to researcher Albert Mehrabian [6].
Body language refers to the conscious and unconscious gestures and movements that express or convey information. It can include facial expressions, posture, hand gestures, eye contact or movement, and touch. When listening to others, consider what your body language says. Nodding your head, making eye contact, or smiling (if appropriate) are excellent cues to show that you're paying attention.
In turn, the speaker might give verbal cues when they want the listener to pay extra attention, like speaking more slowly or loudly to emphasize certain points, stressing certain words, using a different tone of voice, or pausing. In that silence, they might expect a response from their listener.
Neurodiversity is "a concept where neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation. These differences can include those labeled as Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, Tourette Syndrome, and others [7]."
While many of us might consider eye contact and body language to be hallmarks of good communication, neurodivergent individuals may communicate in different ways than we are used to. This could manifest in less eye contact and more limited body language, as well as more blunt and unfiltered use of language.
Sometimes, it is not enough to nod and maintain eye contact in a conversation. In the workplace, you might have doubts about whether your mind grasped the full picture. Clarifying and paraphrasing the information back to the speaker can help both of you fill in any gaps in understanding.
In formal situations, with a supervisor or a professor: Paraphrasing information can help you ensure that you have completely and accurately understood what the other person is trying to communicate.
Asking questions can eliminate confusion. You may think you have processed most of what they said, but you still have questions. By asking clarifying questions, you ensure you have heard the correct information.
As an active listener, you can also demonstrate interest by asking questions. Asking an open-ended question can encourage the speaker to elaborate on an important or interesting idea. It also shows that you have been listening attentively up to that point, and you want to know more. This can nurture a bond between the speaker and listener.
Toward the end of your interaction, make sure you end on a high note. Share a quick summary or a few notes about what the speaker said. If prompted, give your thoughts and opinions in a way that demonstrates you have digested the information. In informal settings, sharing thoughts and feelings may lead to deeper and meaningful conversations.
After the interaction, reflect on what you learned. Whether it was a lecture, interview, or a conversation with an old friend, you may have strong feelings or ideas that need to be processed or written down. You may want to share your reflections with your teacher, colleague, or friend. Feel free to reach out to them and engage with them after the initial interaction.
Build job-ready communication skills at your own pace with the Achieving Personal and Professional Success Specialization from the University of Pennsylvania, or practice the fundamentals of conflict resolution and intercultural communication with the Conflict Management Specialization from the University of California Irvine.
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