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HomeArticlesActive Listening in 2023: Defintion, Skills, and Examples

Active Listening in 2023: Defintion, Skills, and Examples

Any employee would benefit from developing the skill of active listening. It aids in your ability to fully comprehend what is being said during meetings and chats (and not just what you want to hear, or think you hear).

During job interviews, active listening is a particularly helpful technique because it can help you establish a good relationship with the interviewer.

How Does Active Listening Work?

Employers place a high value on active listening as well as critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Employing active listening strategies during job interviews can demonstrate to the interviewer how good your people skills are.

Active listening entails focusing on both verbal and nonverbal cues. Additionally, it entails making an effort to comprehend the speaker’s messages.

The speaker feels heard and respected when using this listening technique. Additionally, it demonstrates a shared understanding between the speaker and the listener.

10 Crucial Techniques to Improve your Active Listening

The following list of ten crucial active listening abilities will transform your life:

  1. Pay attention.
  2. Paraphrase
  3. Pose open-ended inquiries
  4. Ask for clarification
  5. Constraint judgements
  6. Employ nonverbal clues.
  7. Do not interrupt.
  8. Use succinct affirmations in speech.
  9. Be sympathetic to the speaker
  10. Permit silence.

1. PAY ATTENTION.

Active listeners give the speaker’s messages their undivided attention. They refrain from being distracted in any way, whether by noise, gazing out the window, checking their watch or phone, etc.
Active listeners refrain from speaking or sending other people nonverbal or verbal cues while they are paying attention to the speaker. Being attentive increases the speaker’s sense of respect and comfort.

2. PHRASING

To demonstrate that you grasp the speaker’s ideas or information, restate them in your own words. This shows the speaker that you are paying attention and enables you to confirm that you comprehend the content.
Examples:
You are disappointed because the professor declined to evaluate your project.
You seem to be searching for a new apartment.

3. POSE OPEN-ENDED INQUIRIES

Ask questions that will enable the speaker to provide more details. These questions should be open-ended, which means they call for a more detailed response and cannot be replied with a simple “yes” or “no.”

Examples:

  • What do you think of this undertaking?
  • How do you envision your future self?
  • What do you have planned for the future?

4. REQUEST CLARIFICATION.

When a speaker makes a remark that is ambiguous, the listener may ask clarifying questions to the speaker.
Active listeners probe for more information to better understand the speaker’s points. Gaining more knowledge can also be accomplished by asking clarifying questions.

Examples:

  • Did you state that it is two kilometers from the Senate building to the library?
  • I thought I heard you say that the speaker won’t be present this week.

5. RESTRICT DECISIONS

Active listeners refrain from passing judgment and pay attention without mentally critiquing the speaker.
When you listen to the speaker, try not to pass judgment. The speaker will feel more at ease presenting their views or ideas as a result.

6. USE NONVERBAL CUES

Active listeners show interest in the speaker’s messages by using nonverbal signs like eye contact, nodding, leaning forward, etc. In order to learn more, they also pay attention to the speaker’s nonverbal cues.
You can, for instance, nod your head to demonstrate that you comprehend what is being said. In a similar vein, you can convey your interest in the speaker’s messages by maintaining eye contact with them.

7. KEEP FROM INTERJECTING

Instead of interjecting during the speaker’s speech, active listeners wait until the speaker has finished speaking.
Interrupting implies that you don’t value what the speaker is saying.

8. USE SUCCINCT VOCAL AFFIRMATIONS 

To make the speaker feel more at ease and demonstrate your interest in what they have to say, utilize brief vocal affirmations.

Examples:

  1. You are correct.
  2. I recognize
  3. Yes, your arguments are sound.
  4. I concur.

9. SHOW SYMPATHY FOR THE SPEAKER

Try to convey the speaker’s feelings and emotions. The speaker’s expressions should be consistent with your own.
When someone tells you they lost their parents, for instance, you shouldn’t smile; instead, your facial expressions should convey pain.

10. PERMIT QUIETNESS 

Don’t interrupt or speak during silences when you are having a conversation. Give the speaker some space to reflect and gather their thoughts by allowing them to talk in silence.
Additionally, silence gives you, the listener, a chance to pause and think about the information you’ve just heard.

Active listening

Listening Bad Practices to Avoid

You must be willing to give up certain undesirable listening habits in order to become an active listener. You won’t be able to understand the speaker’s messages if you have these tendencies.

Here are the terrible listening habits to steer clear of:

  • Objecting to the speaker
  • Making snap judgments
  • Negative body language, such as slouching, lowering your gaze, folding your arms, etc.
  • Interrupting
  • Being hostile
  • Accepting diversion
  • Faking interest
  • Preparing the following statement
  • Simultaneous listening to many conversations
  • Concentrating on the speaker rather than the message

Active Listening

But how can you improve your active listening skills?

Active Listening

How to Get Better at Active Listening

One of the most crucial soft skills is active listening, thus having these abilities is essential. The ability to actively listen can be enhanced or developed, just like other skills.

By following the advice provided below, you can practice active listening:

1. Keep your back to the speaker and make eye contact.

When having a conversation, keeping eye contact is crucial. Steer clear of staring; it might be threatening. Making eye contact with the speaker conveys your attention in their words or information.

2. Avoid interfering

Interrupting conveys the notion that you are more important than the speaker or are uninterested in what they have to say.

3. Don't talk over the speaker.

Make sure the speaker has finished speaking before you ask a question.

4. Don't make snap judgments

Avoid drawing conclusions too quickly and try to concentrate on the speaker's points. Make no assumptions about what the speaker will say next.

5. Pose inquiries

Ask questions to get clarification instead of taking the speaker's messages for granted. Make sure the questions you ask are pertinent.
You can also question the speaker to learn more from them.

6. Avoid mentally practicing your responses.

It is impossible to listen and formulate a response at the same time. You risk missing the entire message if you mentally practice your responses.

7. Do not be distracted.

Avoid becoming distracted when listening to the speaker. Avoid engaging in activities like talking on the phone, fiddling with your hair, and many others.

8. Practice

Perfection comes with practice. Make sure you practice active listening in all of your daily interactions.
It is difficult to become an active listener; you must be willing to continually acquire new active listening strategies.

Advantages of Active Listening Techniques

Being a good listener comes with a lot of advantages. The following advantages are the importance of listening skills:

1. CREATE CONNECTIONS

You can develop or sustain personal and professional relationships by using active listening techniques.
Because they are comfortable around active listeners, most people want to develop relationships with them.

2. PREVENTS FORGETTING CRUCIAL KNOWLEDGE

You can hear everything that needs to be heard if you pay close attention to what the speaker is saying.
A better comprehension of a subject
You can learn more and have a better comprehension of the material being addressed if you actively listen.

3. RESOLVE DISPUTES

Because it helps you to consider problems from all angles and take into account other people’s feelings, active listening can help you avoid or resolve confrontations.
Conflicts frequently start when individuals don’t feel understood or when their messages are misunderstood. When you engage in active listening, you can avoid all of these situations.

4. SAVES BOTH MONEY AND TIME

You can avoid mistakes that will cost you time and money by actively listening.
If you don’t pay close attention to what is being said, you could make mistakes that will cost you money to fix.

5. RECOGNIZE AND ADDRESS ISSUES

You can detect the speaker’s issues and methods to address them by actively listening.
If you don’t pay close attention to the communications and nonverbal cues that someone is giving out, it will be challenging to pinpoint their issue.

6. INCREASES YOUR ACCESSIBILITY

Because they listen without passing judgment and also make others feel at ease when they share their opinions, active listeners are approachable.

Conclusion

Active listening is very important in our day-to-day activities, do make sure you improve your skills, it will be beneficial both in your personal endeavours and company operations.

 

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