Resource: ARTICLE: Active Listening Information https://virtualspeech.com/blog/active-listening-skills-examples-and-exercises In today's world of high tech and high stress, communication is more important than ever, however we spend less and less time really listening to each other. Genuine, attentive listening has become rare. Active listening skills can help build relationships, solve problems, ensure understanding and avoid conflict. By becoming a better listener, you’ll improve your workplace productivity, as well as your ability to lead a team, persuade and negotiate. Active listening definition Active listening requires the listener to fully concentrate, understand, respond and then remember what is being said. You make a conscious effort to hear and understand the complete message being spoken, rather than just passively hearing the message of the speaker. In this article, we'll cover the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Why is listening important? Benefits of active listening What makes a good listener? Verbal and non-verbal signs of active listening Four different listening styles Examples of active listening Barriers to effective listening Tips to becoming an effective listener
Why is listening important? Listening is the most fundamental component of communication skills. Listening is not something that just happens, listening is an active process in which a conscious decision is made to listen to and understand the messages of the speaker. Active listening is also about patience, listeners should not interrupt with questions or comments. Active listening involves giving the other person time to explore their thoughts and feelings, they should be given adequate time for that. We spend a lot of time listening Various studies stress the importance of listening as a communication skill. The studies on average say we spend 70-80% of our waking hours in some form of communication. Of that time, we spend about 9 percent writing, 16 percent reading, 30 percent speaking, and 45 percent listening.