Honey Mag

How many times do you find yourself in a conversation with someone and all of a sudden you start to tune them out. After their eighth sentence you become completely bored and your mind starts to wander. This can be a terrible thing especially at work. If for example it was your boss that means you may have missed out on one important key point for your next office meeting etc. Communication is a two way street and plays a major role in any kind of relationship.  Effective listening requires hearing, understanding, and analysis. This is a skill and isn’t always easy because the key is learning how to do these three things simultaneously.

Step 1- Body Language

When you are holding a conversation with someone make sure you are standing in a comfortable position. If the person is talking too close to you it may make you uncomfortable thus forcing you to focus on wanting them to back up versus what they are actually trying to convey to you. Once the person approaches you, just gently position yourself in a way that is comfy without it being too noticeable. Remember that great eye contact will help you stay focused on what they are saying and will show them that you are listening.

Step 2- Removing Yourself

After you are standing in a comfortable position and are ready to receive the message from someone just remember to try and remove yourself from the conversation. Just briefly forget about what you want to hear and how what they are saying will affect you at least until they are done talking. The reason for doing this is so that you can try to just listen to the information for what it is.

Step 3-Paraphrasing

When you can paraphrase something that someone has just told you it will help you remember it.  And it will show the person that you are really listening and might possibly care about what they have to say.

Step 4-The Pause

A brief pause is a great way to show a person that you are absorbing what they just said and contemplating a good response before moving forward. If someone asks you questions in a conversation and you are always offering a quick answer it can appear as if you aren’t listening or don’t care enough to absorb the information.

Step 5- Ask Questions

Make sure that if you don’t understand something a person is saying that you ask the right questions. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to walk away confused about what you just heard when you had the opportunity to ask for clarification.