The value of active listening |  How to do proactive listening?

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Nobody likes to hear this from a friend or a co-worker, “Are you even listening?” That affects a relationship. One needs to be an active listener to make a good impression, create a good bond, look attentive, etc. Active listening is one of the most important abilities in good communication. Developing this soft skill can assist you in developing and maintaining relationships, solving problems, improving processes, and remembering information such as instructions, procedures, and expectations.

What is active listening? 

The capacity to focus totally on a speaker, absorb their message, comprehend the information, and answer wisely is referred to as active listening. Unlike passive listening, which is the act of hearing a speaker but not remembering what they said, this highly regarded interpersonal communication ability assures you can engage and recall precise details without requiring repeated information.

Active listeners utilize both verbal and nonverbal cues to demonstrate and maintain their focus on the speaker. This not only improves your capacity to focus but also ensures that the speaker sees you are attentive and interested. An engaged listener closely examines the speaker’s words and commits the information to memory rather than thinking about and mentally rehearsing what you could say after the speaker is through.

Importance of active listening in life

Because you ask pertinent questions to go deeper into the topic, active listening demonstrates that you have been paying attention to what the other person is saying. Active listening aids in the demonstration and development of relationships.

  • Compassion and empathy
  • Problem-Solving
  • Creates trust
  • Creates connections
  • Enhance your knowledge

Examples of active listening

If you are still in doubt about how can you appear as an active listener to the speakers, check the following examples:

Active listening skills (active listening techniques you can use)

Several active listening strategies might help you create a good impression during a job interview.

  • Creating empathy and establishing trust
  • Displaying worry
  • paraphrasing to demonstrate comprehension
  • Using nonverbal indicators to indicate comprehension, such as nodding, eye contact, and leaning forward
  • Brief verbal affirmations such as “I see,” “I know,” “sure,” “thank you,” or “I understand” are acceptable.
  • Inquiring with open-ended queries
  • To obtain clarification, precise questions must be asked.
  • You’re holding back on expressing your thoughts.
  • revealing similar experiences to demonstrate comprehension
  • You will impress the interviewer as a smart, analytical, and highly attractive applicant for the position if you use these active listening strategies. Consider potential circumstances that may arise during an interview and devise tactics to allow you to actively listen.

How to Promote Active Listening

We’ve all encountered circumstances in which our “listeners” were preoccupied or uninterested. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with this situation:

  • Find a topic that both of you are interested in. This is especially useful for small conversation as you get to know one another.
  • Demonstrate effective listening abilities. Make an effort to be a good listener. That individual may become a better listener after witnessing your active listening.

If the other person is disinterested in hearing you talk, end the discussion.

Ending note:

By using the aforementioned tactics in future talks, you may work toward creating better relationships and retaining more knowledge from professional interactions. It requires work to enhance and maintain active listening skills. Practice will make anybody perfect and seems more natural.

Carter Martin
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