Listening is known to be one of the keys to effective communication and yet it is a skill which is rarely taught and that many of us do not truly develop. To start the year, we have collated a short selection of resources to help improve listening skills.
Reasons to improve listening skills
Although we may spend a lot of our time listening, research suggests that many of us are not very good at it and only really hear between a quarter and a half of what is said to us.
At first glance, we might think this just leads to frustrations in our personal relationships causing those we interact with regularly having to repeat information that we missed. By not truly listening, however, we often miss far more than simply the information being conveyed.
In both our personal relationships and in the workplace, practicing to improve listening skills can help us become more effective. Here are a few of the advantages:
- increase our knowledge and understanding of different viewpoints
- improve our productivity with a better ability to influence, encourage and negotiate
- help build trust and strong relationships
- help avoid conflict and misunderstandings
Some suggested resources to help improve listening skills
5 ways to listen better
In a great TED talk, sound expert Julian Treasure entertainingly explains why we are losing our listening and offers 5 tools to help improve our own conscious listening.
As we re-emerge from lockdown, how are your listening skills?
An article from our own blog which looks at the benefits of improved listening with 6 tips to help us listen to understand.
How to become a better listener
This Harvard Business Review article emphases the importance for leaders to be good listeners. Acknowledging it's an undertaught skill, the authors offer 9 tips to help leaders become more active listeners together with some ideas for improving the subskills involved in listening.
Top tips for becoming a better listener
The Samaritans have created this poster to encourage people to listen to the important things they are being told by using the acronym SHUSH.
We have added this section to our Stress Management resources page which includes a comprehensive collection of stress management resources divided into pertinent sections.
Training and coaching to improve listening skills
As our training courses can be tailormade, our trainers can include a section on listening skills within many of our course topics. Individual or group coaching sessions are another pathway to help improve listening skills.
If you would like to have a conversation about either of these options or would like further details about any of our courses or coaching avenues, please either complete and return our contact form, or call the number you will find on it.
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