One simple technique to become a better listener
Would you like to be a better listener?
First, start by thinking about the conversations which you have each day. Are you really focused on listening or do you speak, and then wait for the other person to finish speaking so you can start up again? While your conversation partner is speaking, are you listening to them, or thinking about what you are going to say next? If this sounds like you, you aren’t listening, and it isn’t a conversation.
Today, I have one simple technique to support you in becoming a better listener.
When someone appears to have finished speaking, take a breath. Before you speak in reply, breathe in, then breathe out. That’s it.
It may be really simple, but it works in three ways:-
* Gives you a moment’s pause to really focus on what someone is saying to you
* Allows you to notice the urge to respond the moment other person has finished speaking, and reduces it
* Gives the speaker space
When I use this technique, I am surprised by how often the other person will say something else, seemingly after they had finished speaking. Had I not given them the space with my moment pause, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity.
If you want to be become a better listener, try this technique. Commit to using it at least once a day during conversations, and watch what happens. I think you will be surprised.