Communication accompanies people every day on many levels, our times provide a sginificant number of opportunities to communicate through social media, communicators, Teams or by phones. However, undoubtedly useful devices causes problems among people and their lower their ability to listen.
Why can’t we listen?
The largest problems are our human mentality and the tactics each of us uses, consciously or completely unconsciously. These include:
Ignorance – situation when people completely ignore what has been said;
Pretending listening – when people use non-verbal communication to show their interests, but the reality is quite the opposite;
Selective listening – when people listen to only interestingtopics and ignore the rest;
Empathically listening – when people analyze only the speaker’s intentions which stands behind his or her words.
Effective listening is a term in the field of interpersonal communication which is defined as listening with understanding which allows the person to fully absorb the message coming from the interlocutor, relate to it and create the desired responses. It is surprising how many people these days have problems with effective listening, they listen but they do not hear and do not absorb information properly.
By delving into effective listening, one might highlight a few significant elements that emerge during a conversation when it is conducted in an effective manner. These include interest in the interlocutor, receiving eye contact, or using other gestures belonging to nonverbal communication, such as nodding or open posture.
Are there ways to improve our listening skills? – Of course!
Let’s take a look at some tips that can help you improve your listening skills.
Face the speaker and maintain eye contact
Maintaining eye contact is a cultural issue, but statistically maintaining it according to statistics is a clear message that the interlocutor is interested in the topic of conversation and is focused on absorbing information.
Keep an open mind
Often people make judgments based on what we hear during conversations. Therefore is important aspect of effective listening to listen without judgment, even if a person personally disagree with what was said. The same applies to the haste of the interlocutor, which is not only rude but also deconcentrates hi mor her and prevents the transmission of information.
Asking questions
Another technique that shows one’s commitment to the conversation is asking interlocutor questions about the topics which is discussed. However, it is important to find a pause as a free place to ask questions. Interrupting the thought will have a negative effect on communication.
Try to feel what the speaker is feeling.
Last but not least, it is important to use empathy when listening effectively. Listener’s role is to put himself or herself in the position of the interlocutor. This often involves changing the way of thinking about the whole issue, drawing conclusions, and asking question, “What would I do about this problem?
Effective listening provides many benefits that significantly affect daily communication. First of all, information is transmitted faster and comprehensively. Moreover, it minimizes the chances of quarrels arising from disagreements in a team whose members did not agree on the arrangements. Therefore, it as a significant tool to use during every day conversations.
