When you’re busy, it can be hard to find time to stop and listen. But listening skills are vital to good leadership. Here are seven ways to listen better, and improve your personal and work relationships.
In this fast-paced world, listening is becoming a dying art. The constant demands on busy professionals often makes listening just another task to juggle—and it doesn’t always get our full attention.
Yet active listening is vital for leaders. As Woodrow Wilson said, “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.” Indeed, active listening helps build relationships, solve problems, ensure understanding, resolve conflicts and improve accuracy.
Listen up and take note of these seven tips to help you master active listening:
Be focused
Our eyes strongly influence focus. If your eyes wander around, you flood your mind with distracting information and miss much of what is said. There’s no need to stare at the speaker, just maintain regular eye contact.
Be attentive
If possible, put aside what you’re doing and give your full attention to the speaker. In the middle of something urgent? Don't make a big deal out of it. Just explain that you’ll be all ears after completing that task.
Be observant
Listen to more than the spoken words. Sometimes, a person’s tone, facial expressions and gestures convey a lot more. Take clues from these non-verbal cues to get the full picture.
Be thoughtful
When on the receiving end, don’t dismiss the speaker’s actions or make judgements. Also, be careful not to downplay a concern with humour or statements like ‘just get over it’.
Be genuinely empathetic
Empathy is the essence of good listening. Although we can’t always fully relate to another’s experiences, try to put yourself in their shoes. That way, when you say, ‘I know how you feel’ it’ll be sincere.
Be slow to speak
Despite good intentions, only give advice when asked. There’s a reason ‘listen’ is an anagram of ‘silent’. Most people just want a sounding board and don’t require solutions on the spot.
Be interested
The best way to show interest is to ask questions. Ask to clarify unclear details, but wait for a pause, don’t interrupt the speaker. Paraphrasing is also a great way to demonstrate you’re really listening.
Churchill once said, “Listening takes courage”. It also takes consistent, daily practice to master active listening. Keep your ears open and follow our seven steps to listening better. Your professional and personal relationships will thank you for it.
About Victoria
Victoria believes that great communication has the power to change the world. She's passionate about helping organisations to lift their profiles, inspire action and achieve remarkable results by crafting and delivering their stories and messages in a clear, compelling and persuasive way. If you've got a question about how to produce high-quality communication plans or content, you can contact Victoria here or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Source: Harvard Business Review.