Secrets Of Active Listening

‘Active listening is a master skill for personal and professional greatness’

Active listening is one of the most important life skill which can open the doors of improvement and success for all of us. So how do we improve our listening skills? The first important strategy is to not get distracted by your own thoughts and to give undivided attention to the speaker, instead of simply thinking of the response which we have to give, the moment the speaker finishes. Another important thing to keep in mind while listening and having a communication with other people is to take care of one’s body language, by keeping healthy eye contact, nodding your head and listening with an open body posture that is, not crossing your arms or legs while the other person is speaking as it shows a closed attitude. It is important that you understand not only what is being said to you but also why it is being said. Understanding the importance and relevance of speaker’s words is important for one’s growth. Paraphrasing is another technique to improve one’s listening skills. It is simply the act of repeating what someone else has said in your own words, which will give indication to other person that you are listening and are interested in listening. Paraphrasing can be combined with summarizing that is, going over the conversation with the other person one last time after it’s done to see if you missed something during the conversation or if something wasn’t understood correctly. It will give an indication that you were listening clearly and will give you confidence for future conversations. So, remove all the distractions and practice the art of active listening.