Listening skills are as important as verbal ones. Without listening and summarizing what the other person is trying to say, you won’t be able to communicate effectively only with verbal skills.
Here, we’ll discuss how to improve your listening skills.
1. Maintain Eye Contact:
Did you ever try to talk to someone while they are being unattentive? Looking at a computer screen? Unless you have the EQ of a starfish, it would’ve annoyed you. Don’t make someone else feel the same. Try to pause for a moment from what are you doing and listen to what they have to say. If it’s relevant, engage more. If not, politely ask them to go away.
As a student, maintaining eye contact through the lectures might not be possible, but following the class to sharpen listening skills is. If that too doesn’t solve your homework problem, homework help for electrical engineering will surely do.
If it’s a conversation that’s been happening over the rooms, consider moving to face the other person. Without eye contact, conversations feel like text messages. You don’t get to see their emotion.
2. Be Attentive:
Don’t be staring at them after you’ve made eye contact. Just let them know that you are attentive and have your focus glued onto them. Carry on with your work as usual, but keep responding to them if you wish to engage in the conversation.
To sharpen listening skills, you must first have to pay attention. Without being attentive, you’d not be able to listen to the other person properly.
It’s evident that if you don’t focus on listening, you won’t ever be able to listen. Or even if you do, you won’t be able to recall. Filter your thoughts, noises, and distractions to listen to the other person effectively.
3. Keep an Open Mind:
Listen only to listen. Keep your conclusive statements to you until they finish. You may feel violated or think what they did was stupid, don’t judge before it’s over. As soon as you start judging their words and actions, you stop screening your personal thoughts and compromise your significance as a listener.
Don’t cut them in between. Occasional friendly finishes are considerable. But if you have already developed the habit of interrupting, it’s annoying. You might soon be having a reality check when someone would really be offended by your ignorance and cut you loose.
4. Engage Yourself:
When you listen to someone, try picturing their thought process. Imagine buildings, characters, monuments, whatever they include in their story, try recreating those in your mind. In the process, you’d find spaces, ask them about it. They’d be more than happy to contribute to your picturization.
If it’s boring and doesn’t have much scope of imagination. Try focusing on key points and words. Try engaging them in conversation with the notes, when they finish. Whatever you do, if you are really interested to listen, don’t wander off. Bring yourself back whenever that happens.
The Bottom Line:
Listening is always not enough. Try incorporating feedbacks if they are looking for it. Consider supporting them emotionally when it’s necessary. Make them happy when they are sad. If you don’t listen effectively, what they’re trying to convey goes into vain.
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