Using active listening skills shows you care about someone else and you respect what they have to say. These active listening skills improve your ability to truly hear what the speaker is saying and feeling.These techniques work with anyone you care about, be it a child, teen, or adult.
Point your body and face toward the speaker.Do not plan your response as the person is talking. Listen carefully. Focus on the meaning of what's being said.
Have patience. Give the person time to have their say. Suspend your own reactions. Your goal here is to understand first. If you need to, interject a question to clarify what you think you heard.
Hear the emotion behind the words. Often, the emotion is more important than any logical message that's being conveyed. Use your heart even more than your head when using active listening skills. It is respectful to hear another person's feelings.
The logical message that's communicated is important too. Make sure you get the logic involved. If there doesn't seem to be much logic, just accept that. It likely means that the emotion of the message is what is important to the speaker.
After a good chunk of listening, summarize and reflect back what you heard. "So you're feeling________about________, is that right?" or "I heard you say we should________. Is that what you meant?" Listen carefully for any clarification the person may make.
Active Listening Skills go a long way toward cultivating positive relationships. True listening is a very respectful thing to do with your family and friends.
Thanks for the tips! H5!
I had to learn these when I got married. Very good information.
Wonderful ways to actively listen to someone. To often we just hear what we want to hear. Tweet
Great guidelines. Thanks for sharing.
Listen, I believe I heard what you're saying and agree with all the points in this list.
select one here...