Resources/Six Tips for Better Listening
- Eliminate distractions. If you know that you will be having a lengthy discussion at your desk, arrange for someone else to handle your calls or set your voice mail to pick up all calls. Alternatively, hold the meeting at a venue where there are no telephones.
- Get rid of excess paper. If you desk is strewn with paper, you probably sit there and let your eyes skim your papers until you realise that you are reading a letter or memo instead of listening. Get rid of those papers.
- Do not get too comfortable. Rather than take a relaxed position when you are in a discussion, sit at the edge of your chair and lean forward rather than backward. This position not only brings you physically closer to the other person, but also enables you to be more attentive and to maintain eye contact.
- Be an active listener. Ask questions about what is being said. Paraphrase or ask specific questions about key points.
- Be an empathetic listener. Listen with your heart as well as with your head. Empathetic listeners not only listen to what other people say but also try to feel what the people are feeling when they say it. In other words, you put yourself in the speaker’s shoes.
- Take notes. Jot down key words or phrases. Write down figures or important facts – just enough to remind you of the principal points that were made. Immediately after a meeting, while the information is still fresh in your mind, write a detailed summary. Dictate it into a recorder, type it into your computer or enter it in your notebook, whichever is best for you.