Mind Tools Active Listening
Are you really listening?
Have you ever misunderstood or lack of information important to hear what it means you've missed an opportunity vital? You are not alone. Listening has always been and remains, one of the most vital skills for life. With so much competing for our time and attention that I have found effectiveness of mines and other listening skills are being increasingly questioned.
When I realize my deficit in this area most is when I go home after a busy day and my kids want to tell me all about his day and I realize my head is full of my work and other priorities and I'm not listening they really in the way that I and I would like. I left my job with my 'to do' list to clear my mind, however, I realize that still need focus on how effectively you really listen. I probably was not the only one here, so this issue for review.
So how well you rate your listening skills? How accurately hear and interpret what others say about you? How easily you are able to break his own concern with yourself and really tune with another person and what is important to them?
Contrary to popular myth "good salespeople are good talkers," excellent sales staff are the best listeners and interpreters of other people's information. It accurately record and reflect what the other person is saying to the point at which the other person (s) feels heard, understood and respected.
I can not stress the importance of effective listening to its success as a salesman, manager, director, team member, parent, spouse, friend or any other role you may have in your life. Listening is a vital skill that serves him well in many situations and if not done correctly, you may lose many opportunities and annoy people and lose in the process.
However, I find that people often do not know that there are different types of listening, and not all are effective. If we are to practice effective listening really have to practice and apply active listening skills.
Play is not the same to hear. Hearing is the first part, consisting in the perception of words spoken. Play, the second part, involves the attachment of meaning to what is says. Passive listening occurs when the listener has little motivation to listen carefully. Active listening with a purpose is used to obtain information for determine how another person feels and understand others. It requires effort on your part but the reward is the gratitude, respect and a deeper relationship.
Listening can be one of the most powerful communication tools!
What are the barriers effective listening?
There are a number of things that can become barriers to effective listening and communication. People can create barriers through of personal insecurities, even for simple derivatives embedded in their cultural background.
When it comes to listening, there are three levels of listening that we can exhibit.
Why do not you rate your current ability to listen using the following list:
1. marginal stream
- Minimum concentration and listening.
- Listener easily distracted by thoughts and fleeting impressions – leads to blank stares or silence inappropriate. This annoys customers and causes of communication barriers.
- Listener plays with the message but not really hear what is said.
- Plenty for misunderstanding
- Person / client feels the person serving / work / etc with them, not listening
- This type of listening is sometimes due to lack of confidence – the person is focusing too much on what to say next.
- O pro-olds may feel that you've heard it all before. They can love the person / client to hurry so they can move forward with the important things.
2. Listen Evaluative
- Second level of listening requires a higher level of listening and concentrating on individual words / client.
- Actively trying to hear what the person / client is saying, but you are making an effort to understand their intentions.
- Rather than accept and try understand the message, this listening evaluates and ranks the overall argument and focuses on the preparation of a response.
- Often it is anticipated the words of those who is willing to listen and respond as soon as a person / customer is finished speaking.
- Most attention is thus a response you form an opinion about the individual words / client before they finished.
- The risk of not accurately understand the message being sent.
3. Active listening
- He refrains from evaluating the pages of the person / client and try to see their point of view.
- The attention not only in words but also in the thoughts, the feelings of the person / customer.
- Requires a suspension of the thoughts and feelings to give personal attention solely to listening.
- Step into the shoes of another
- Tell the person / client through verbal cues and nonverbal they hear.
- The good use to verify, clarify and paraphrase.
Another good tip when practicing active listening is to take notes and use them when a paraphrase what the other has said. However, too often I see sales people do not depend only take notes in its report. After several meetings, no matter how alert you are, trust your memory when you have so many other things on his agenda is a risky practice I prefer not undertake.
Take notes along with the skills of active listening is a useful, yet simple strategy that works well with all levels. As I said when done correctly the person listening feel heard, understood and respected.
About the Author
Sue Barrett has a unique way of getting to the heart of the matter- she combines extensive knowledge, research, insight, and practical experience with a deep sense of compassion for all people to bring forth a more enlightened way of thinking and participating in the world. This makes her stand out from the usual crowd of existing business speakers. She believes that everyone lives by selling something and that all of us, no matter our background, can achieve excellence through purposeful action. Her ability to distill complex ideas and relate them to life’s everyday challenges and opportunities has audience members leaving with a stronger understanding of ‘self’ and how they can begin to achieve excellence through purposeful action.
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