ACTIVE LISTENING

ACTIVE LISTENING

A great part of being a person is to listen and it is one of the things that are difficult for most people. To listen demands an active effort, to search and understand the meaning of what is said. It means that you must try and understand what your colleagues are saying and not what you want to hear.
Active listening is a conscious act that you can train.

Good advice to listen active

• Don’t be prejudiced against the speaker and what is spoken.
• Don’t make conclusions too fast.
• Don’t plan your answer while you are listening.
• Keep distance to your own meaning and problems.
•Be concentrated and listen to the essential points.
•Be aware of the speaker’s tone of voice and the body language.
•Be aware of your own body language.
•Use reflection, nod, and “I understand you – sounds”
•Ask to what is said if you are not sure.
•Tell if you have no time.

Typical blockage for active listening

•You don’t finish listening because you think you already understood
• You interrupt with a “but”
• You tell parallel stories – “it is like when…”
• Deliver the solution – “you just do….”
•Inattentive to body language, mime and tone of voice – don’t feel the difference between the surface and the depth in the message.
•You don’t ask quality questions – divert attention from the essential.
•You don’t avoid emotional reactions – “Why the hell is it always me?”