The best tip to help you this New Year is be a good listener! Sounds simple, right? Today with all the noises, cell phones, gadgets and stress of what needs to be done next, people are becoming poor listeners. If you have engaged a person in conversation and truly listen to them, you are showing them you value them.
During most meetings or conversations are you . . .
- Glancing at your watch, tapping your foot or playing with your phone?
- Rushing to get a word in and finishing people’s sentences?
- Interrupting to disagree?
- Ignoring nonverbal cues?
- Talking more than listening?
If you answered yes to a couple of these then you have become a poor listener.
Here is what you should be doing to improve your listening skills:
- Make eye contact and nod time to time.
- Paraphrase the speaker’s words.
- Calmly ask questions or state your view.
- Pay attention to their body language.
- Listen more than speak.
- Take notes if needed.
People feel unimportant when they feel ignored and there is no eye contact. Make sure everyone you speak with feels important. Multi-tasking is not as important as making someone feel valued. Making people feel important will help you to build relationships!
[...] First, it greatly improves your listening skills. [...]
[...] This technique works very well for a business owner in two ways. First, it greatly improves your listening skills. Second, by never nullifying a statement made by a colleague or customer it permits you to ask [...]