Listening to others is an essential communication skill in conversations. Being a good listener means you’re actively engaged with what the other person or people are saying, receptive to what they’re sharing, and able to keep the conversation going naturally while staying on a specific topic or parlaying into new or adjacent ones.
Becoming a better listener is a great way to enhance your overall communication skills, and it can serve you well in a business setting. In the workplace, or as a business owner or entrepreneur, you’re expected to communicate with many individuals, such as business partners, stakeholders, investors, vendors, employees, and those in managerial roles, as well as those in executive roles. When communicating in these settings, it’s essential to remain professional while still conveying your points, even during disagreements.
A big part of becoming a better listener is active listening, which means that you’re able to remain engaged and entirely focused on the other person, acknowledge what others are saying with non-verbal cues and communications that shows your engagement, as well as maintaining proper eye contact, among other important cues, which can have an impact on conversations, your receptivity during communications, and how you come across to others.
In certain instances, such as when giving a presentation or during a business meeting, while others are speaking, it’s necessary to be a great listener, so that you can understand what the other person is saying and the information they’re providing, as well as being able to respond or provide feedback when it’s your turn to speak. Participating in other practices, such as taking notes when the setting calls for it and practicing avoiding interrupting, makes all the difference when listening and being receptive to others.
Below, we’ll delve further into the points above, as well as other tips, strategies, and examples you can reference and apply to become a better listener. Keep reading below for more on these key points, tips, and practices that you can put in place during your next conversation:
1. Be an Active Listener
Becoming a better listener is intertwined with being an active listener. As noted above, being an active listener means that you’re able to partake in practices, such as being entirely focused and aware of what the other person is saying, knowing when and how to respond most appropriately and properly that aligns with the conversation, and knowing when to implement specific non-verbal cues, such as nodding your head, to show your understanding and acknowledgement. Being an active listener takes time and practice, but using tips like these can help improve your active listening and communication skills over time. Situations in which active listening may be important are during business meetings with stakeholders or negotiations with business vendors.
2. Ask the Right Questions
Another major part of becoming a better listener is asking the right questions. This practice shows that you’re actively engaged with what the other person is saying, and it also shows you care about what they’re sharing with you. Asking the right questions can also have a positive impact on how you come across to others, since it shows that you’re tuned in to what they’re saying and opens the door to better dialogue. Asking the right questions is also beneficial for getting the information you need, which is also important in business settings. It also helps bridge the gap between making a conversation flow more naturally, since the other person can also be receptive and answer your inquiries.
3. Avoid Interrupting
When speaking and holding conversations with others, it’s easy to want to interrupt, especially if a sudden question or statement comes to mind that you don’t want to forget. But one part of being a better listener is knowing how to curb interrupting. While some people may not mind another person interrupting them while they’re speaking, others may find it rude or inconsiderate, which is something you don’t want the other person to think of you, especially when doing business.
If you need to interrupt, practice holding your thought, making a mental note, and identifying the best time during your conversation to speak up, such as when the other person has finished speaking and is ready to hear your response. You can also quietly observe any non-verbal cues the other person may be giving, and it’s also better to identify when the best time is to speak. As a rule of thumb, it’s always best to wait your turn, unless there’s a matter of urgency or an emergency, depending on the situation.
4. Show That You’re Curious
As humans, we generally feel a sense of happiness and content when others are in tune and receptive to what we have to say. Another big part of being an active listener and showing positive feedback to others is showing your curiosity about what they’re saying. Showing curiosity doesn’t have to be an over-the-top outward acknowledgement all the time; it could be using a simple dialogue, such as “Wow, that’s interesting,” and then following up with a question that’s relevant to what the person’s saying.
Staying curious shows that you’re engaged, an active listener, and that you care about what’s being said to you. In business, some situations when being curious is key are during business meetings when others’ opinions, ideas, and viewpoints are actively shared, as well as when engaging with and responding to customers, such as when you’re gathering feedback on your business’ products and services.
5. Take Good Notes
Taking notes can also serve you well and promote better listening skills. The art of note-taking with pen and paper has evolved into a more digital practice, with digital note-taking and planner apps being widely used across businesses and teams, especially those with remote operations. But, no matter the method used, the practice of taking notes remains the same. Taking notes is helpful when you need to remember important information to reference later, such as key business data or facts and figures that are difficult to remember on their own.
Not all conversations warrant note-taking, but in some scenarios, such as during a business meeting or presentation when others are presenting, or during a customer or client-facing call for service-oriented businesses, it proves useful. It can also be helpful to make a quick mention that you’ll be taking notes during a conversation so that the other person understands that you’re still engaged with what they’re saying, even if you’re not looking at them the whole time they’re speaking.
6. Use Verbal Acknowledgements
Using verbal acknowledgements and non-verbal cues go hand in hand with becoming a better listener. These cues and acknowledgments piggyback on active listening during a conversation and can enhance your communication skills and how you come across to others. Incorporating verbal acknowledgements in your conversations, such as “I understand” or “That makes sense,” shows that you understand and are paying attention to what the other person is saying.
It can also be beneficial and have a positive overall impact on the conversation you’re having. Instances when using verbal acknowledgements are best include when the other person takes a brief pause after they’re done speaking and are awaiting your response, or during lengthy discussions when the other person is talking for an extended period of time.
7. Practice Focusing
The final skill you can practice and implement to be a better listener is improving your focus. It’s easy to get distracted and caught up in our own thoughts, zone out, or get distracted momentarily when others are talking to us. By practicing better focusing skills, you’ll be able to concentrate better on what the other person is saying, which is key in business settings.
To practice better focus skills when you have downtime, you can do things like make a mental checklist ahead of your next conversation, which includes different points such as maintaining eye contact with the other person, coupled with other tips outlined above, like using verbal acknowledgments sporadically during conversations when it’s the most natural and appropriate to do so. You can also practice mindfulness skills outside the workplace, such as meditation or other mindfulness-related exercises, which can also help improve focus.
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