10 Tips for Becoming a Better Listener in Business and in Life

In our world of technological multitasking (we’ve all had those days when the texts, emails, Slacks, and DM’s just won’t stop!) it can be difficult to leave room for quality facetime. This is especially true as many have moved to full-time remote working in light of the ongoing pandemic. 

With all these distractions at our fingertips, listening attentively and empathetically can be challenging, especially when you’re staring at a Zoom picture instead of a real person. However, working on your listening skills is especially important for maintaining healthy connections with others during this time. And the good news is, there are actually several strategies you can use to actively form better habits.

Strategies For Developing Better Listening Skills:

Focusing on Understanding, Not Responding

We all know that one person who doesn’t actually contribute to the conversation, they’re just waiting to say their piece without listening to what you said in the first place. To make sure this isn’t you, it’s important to focus fully on understanding what the person is saying, not thinking about your response before they’re finished speaking. If it takes you a few seconds longer to answer, that’s okay! It shows that you were fully tuned in and respect their contribution.

Being Careful with Note-Taking

Jotting down a few important details here and there is perfectly fine, but typing verbatim what a person is saying (known as non-generative note-taking) actually hinders your ability to remember important themes of the conversation. Instead, you’re better off handwriting a few summarizing sentences (generative note-taking) as this allows you to pay full attention to the conversation.

Ask Clarifying Questions

By asking thoughtful, detailed questions, you’re able to not only gain a better understanding of the conversation but also show the other person that you are tuned-in enough to contribute on a deeper level. These types of questions could be things like “Why do you think you feel that way about X?” or “What can we do to fix X problem that you mentioned earlier?”

Take a look at the guide from Chattermill below for several more tips for developing the art of listening for better connections.

Special thanks to Chattermill for providing this beautiful, helpful infographic about listening!