Having good listening skills can be on of the most important traits to possess within both your personal and business world. The quality of your listening skills directly correlates to the impact and enjoyment you create among both personal and business relationships.  What we pay listen to through out the day usually revolves around obtaining information, understanding concepts, having fun, and communication.

The stats around the amount of information we intake each day are astounding.  From music, internet, TV, talking, etc; you would think that we would be superb listeners.  But sadly we are not.  In fact, we only remember 25-50% of what we hear each day.

That means that you will only remember 25-50% of an important discussion with your manager, and even your spouse!  Hopefully, the small percentage that you do remember contains the most important point from the conversation!

Obviously, improving your listening skills can bring you a great return. Being a better listener will increase your productivity and more importantly, your ability to persuade and influence those around you.  Additionally, having great listening skills helps you to avoid any conflict and misunderstandings.

To do this, you need to pay attention to the other person, noticing not only what they say, but what they don’t say.

Strong listening skills includes understanding the body language of the person speaking to you. Many times you’ll get more out of a message sent through body language versus the actual words being spoken. So listening skills goes beyond just hearing the words, it includes seeing what is being said as well.  You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by what else may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments that you’ll make when the other person stops speaking. Nor can you allow yourself to lose focus on what the other person is saying. All of these barriers contribute to a lack of listening and understanding.

To enhance your listening skills, you need to acknowledge to the other person that you are indeed taking in and understanding the message they are sharing.  Simply nodding the head, or replying “uh huh” are the most common techniques to show that you are focused on what is being said.

There are five elements for having good listening skills. They help you ensure that you are receiving the other persons message correctly.

1)      Pay attention to what is being said.

2)      Show that you are listening to what is being said.

3)      Give feedback to the person speaking.

4)      Refrain from judging the message until it is fully expressed and understood.

5)      Respond with the appropriate words and body language.

Following this elements will greatly improve your listening skills.  Make a goal to raise your level of listening skills today.  Effective listening skills will add more value to you as an individual and even as an employee.

Additionally, be sure to share your knowledge with friends and family.  They will benefit from the experience you have gained.

To Your Success!