10 Steps To Effective Listening
In today's high-tech, high-speed, high-stress world, communication is
more important then ever, yet we seem to devote less and less time to
really listening to one another. Genuine listening has become a rare
gift—the gift of time. It helps build relationships, solve problems,
ensure understanding, resolve conflicts, and improve accuracy. At work,
effective listening means fewer errors and less wasted time. At home, it
helps develop resourceful, self-reliant kids who can solve their own
problems. Listening builds friendships and careers. It saves money and
marriages.
Here are 10 tips to help you develop effective listening skills.
Step 1: Face the speaker and maintain eye contact.
Talking to someone while they scan the room, study a computer screen,
or gaze out the window is like trying to hit a moving target. How much
of the person's divided attention you are actually getting? Fifty
percent? Five percent? If the person were your child you might demand,
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," but that's not the sort of thing
we say to a lover, friend or colleague.
In most Western cultures, eye contact is considered a basic
ingredient of effective communication. When we talk, we look each other
in the eye. That doesn't mean that you can't carry on a conversation
from across the room, or from another room, but if the conversation
continues for any length of time, you (or the other person) will get up
and move. The desire for better communication pulls you together.
