Ways to be an Effective Listener

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Written by: MARY Meng

To be an effective listener, you have to follow eight steps. The first step is preparing to listen. You have to concentrate on what the speaker says, not just hear and forget. The second step is avoiding pre-judgement. You, the listener, have to avoid pre-judge the speaker’s appearance or occupation, or jump to any conclusions before hearing what the speaker says. The third step is being open-minded. Although you are listening to what you would not like to hear, you have to keep listening and appreciate the speaker’s point of view. The fourth step is establishing eye contact. To show that you are listening carefully to the speaker, you have to make eye contact. The fifth step is watching for signals. You have to watch the speaker’s posture and gesture, and listen to intonation in the speaker’s words because sometimes these aspects could mean something that the speaker considers important. The sixth step is extracting main points. You have to pick out and repeat to yourself the key words or phrases that the speaker said because it can help you remember what the speaker said. The seventh step is giving feedback. When you are listening to the speaker, you have to give positive feedback non-verbally, by nodding or smiling, and you have to be alert to provide a suitable remark or ask a question to assist your understanding of the message. The final step is making notes. To remind you about the conversations, lectures, or meetings, you have to record and make notes all the important points. In brief, if you aim to climb the ladder of success of being an effective listener, you will have to practice the following steps above with your speaker.