Some thoughts on how to be a better listener…
I still find it challenging to really listen when someone is talking without my mind drifting to what I’ll say when they’re finished. But it’s an important skill so I’m always looking for ways to be a better listener and I thought I’d share some things that are working for me…
- Choosing to see your role in life as allowing people to come up with their own solutions so you more naturally fall into the listening rather than solving mode (remember the skill here is being a good listener, not advisor – offering advice will be needed at times but not nearly as often as we think).
- Learning to overcome feelings of discomfort when you have no response lined up or need to sit in silence for a few moments when they’ve finished talking.
- Trusting yourself to wait until they’ve finished before drawing on your ability (we all have this, we just need to use it!) to recall what resonated most in what they said and use that as a way to respond.
- Not being afraid to focus less on what was said and more on how it was said. We humans are expert at subconsciously detecting emotions so let this process do its thing and then share what you experienced.
If you’re interested in receiving our monthly Insights sign up here
