The Art of Active Listening

To listen actively means to listen with careful attention. It also means to be sincerely curious and engaged. No faking it! Doing so will not only give you valuable knowledge, but also make the person speaking feel more positively inclined toward you. That’s because the vast majority of us-difficult or not-have an inner radar that registers whether our words are falling on receptive ears. Understandably, you might not always feel like being genuinely engaged when someone with who you have a difficult time is talking, especially if they’re being critical of you or going on about something you’ve heard a million times before But have you really listened to them lately, or were you mostly just pretending to? Could they possibly have anything new or valuable to tell you? ight they provide you with clues on how to respond to them in a noninflammatory way? Active listening will help you find out. Active listening involves both nonverbal behaviors, each of which will let the person speaking know that you’re registering and considering their comments. Moreover, these behaviors will help you process what’s being said in an emotionally skillful way, without flying off the handle.Activate to view larger image,