Active listening is a difficult exercise that requires practice and awareness of what is done. It implies a sustained effort that you must commit to maintaining if you wish to find the right path to the transcendental of your class or meeting of work.
In addition, it allows for reflective interventions at appropriate times to stand out against the speaker. Impress your teachers, colleagues, bosses or clients and apply these tips to achieve an active listening that has a positive impact on your relationships with others as well as the enriched conclusions that you will extract.
Accept
Judging is your worst enemy when you seek to encourage active listening. If you disagree with something, manifest it but depriving yourself of the preconceived opinions or dislike of the speaker. Never disqualify a speech, only raise your vision with solid arguments that by themselves refute what your interlocutor defends. The judgments determine the active listening because you block your mind in an irrational way.
To look
The visual contact is the most sincere demonstration that a speaker can receive, making note that his words are welcome and analyzed. Dodging your eyes or fixing your eyes elsewhere is attitudes that can be interpreted as disrespect or fear in the face of a situation that disturbs him. However, the persistent and intense look can intimidate the speaker, so make sure you of being subtle and measured.
Focus
Constant interruptions cause the conductor to lose track of the main subject of the exposure, so you only have to intervene when necessary. Let the speaker be the one to guide the conversation and focus on what they are explaining, you will have time to convey your own speech.
Respect
The silences provide time to think about what they say, since orality in the words disappears during their articulation and can be difficult to maintain the sense of a long exposure or complex.
If the person takes a few seconds to find exact terms that best express their ideas, respect it and avoid attacking with your own words. Silence is also an ally to calm tensions, reflecting on the next steps that will be developed.
To Ask
The questions clear doubts because it allows elaborating on a particular point. These are a vehicle for requesting more details on a topic, reinforcing a vision, unraveling a speech and providing the opportunity to clarify points that were not sufficiently explained.
Be careful with the questions that start with “why …”, as it could provoke a defensive attitude in the person who is speaking.
Summarize
Make a summary of what you just heard is a tool to make sure that you understand the most important points. The speaker will be able to correct you when your understanding deviates from your focus of attention and you will be able to reach the axis of exposure. On the other hand, to check comprehension is a weapon to construct valid arguments in favor or against what is said.
