A participant in any conversation has two goals: first, to understand what the other person is communicating (both the overt meaning and the emotion behind it) and second, to convey interest, engagement, and caring to the other person.
– Robin Abrahams, research associate, Harvard Business School & Boris Groysberg, professor, Harvard Business School
Takeaways of Note:
Active Listening – 9 tips..
1. Repeat people’s last few words back to them
2. Don’t “put it in your own words” unless you need to
3. Offer nonverbal cues that you’re listening — but only if it comes naturally to you
4. Pay attention to nonverbal cues
5. Ask more questions than you think you need to
6. Minimize distractions
7. Acknowledge shortcomings
8. Don’t rehearse response while person is talking
9. Monitor your emotions
Active Listening – skills needed…
“Picking-up Skills” (gathering the information needed)…
1. Hearing
2. Auditory processing
3. Reading body language, tone of voice, or social cues accurately
Staying Mentally Present...
4. Maintaining attention
5. Regulating your emotional response
Pulling Everything Together…
6. Integrating multiple sources of information
7. “Performing” active listening (eye contact, nodding, appropriate facial expressions)