A Guide To Effective Listening Skills

Listening is as important as speaking in the communication process. Communication is a two way process which involves interaction between two or more people. Group discussions, conferences and meetings can be good examples of interactive two way communication. In order to comprehend a conversation completely, you should understand the importance of listening. You cannot gain all the benefits by speaking throughout the conversation. In most of the cases, you cannot correctly decipher the complete scenario until you pay attention to what others are saying. Consider the following to become a good listener:

• Use empathic listening techniques.
• Do not judge other persons by their looks and try to comprehend the message before making a judgment.
• Use different techniques like asking, repeating and rephrasing to fully understand the message.
• Don’t get carried away or distracted during the communication session.
• Ask the other person to provide you with enough details to comprehend the message.
• Generate interesting responses depicting your understanding and interest in the problem resolution.
• Pay attention to non-verbal communication and try to understand the message between the lines.
• Ask your audience or fellow persons for their views and suggestions.
• When starting communication, state your stance or position in a specific manner.
• It is important to convey your feelings but you should never get upset during communication.
• You should describe your goals, reactions and consequences in a non-evaluative manner.
• You should be conjunctive and supportive in your communications.
• Acknowledge what your counterparts have to say and do not try to control conversations.

When utilising your communication skills, it is important to stay focused on your purpose rather than responding to emotional words and feelings. Try to interpret their purpose and change your tone accordingly. You should use supportive listening skills rather than one way listening and comprehension. Supportive listening enhances the usefulness of your communication session.

A major problem with listening and comprehension in a workplace is defensiveness. People usually respond to criticism and negative comments with defensive attitude. This kind of behaviour is especially visible between managers and subordinates. When people feel threatened, they show defensive behaviour which leads to avoidance, anger, competitiveness and other similar responses. A good listener will use different comprehension and listening skills to effectively transform a one way communication into a more meaningful, informative and interactive session.