LISTENING SKILLS

Far too many people talk and don’t listen. Listening is a concentration. Focus on the person talking to you. Not only will you be able to pick up a lot more than you would normally, you’ll also be increasing the bonding messages your body language is sending:
- Don’t stand so close. If you invade another person’s comfort one, you’re going to make them nervous, and as a result, they’ll be more focused on creating distance from you than actually listening to what you’re saying.
- Keep asking questions based on the answers the person you’re speaking with provides. For example, if you ask a person what she thinks are the most important elements of her job, and she veers off into the realm of ways she could do better if she had more staff, bring back the elements that are important and direct her to spell out why each of these functions could be improved with more help.
- Maintain eye contact. How much faith do you have in a person who, while you’re talking, appears to be reading something on the ceiling?

(Excerpted from Loud and Clear by Karen Berg. Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/wm2tod4)