American Voices Authentic Listening Integrated Skills
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Everybody’s talking at me, I don’t listen a word their saying only the echoes of my mind. Is this tune reverberating for you from the early 70′s? It appears we faced lack of listening achievements then also. Today what comes into view is our lack of tete a tete communication. Texting, emailing, and voice mail get the gist of the message across, but this engineering is blocking out any prospect for intimacy. Relearning how to listen may fetch back the caring in communicating. Next time you are invited to a party, consider prompting a speech and then just listening to what emerges. If you listen, rather than plainly listen what is being said, you engage your senses, your heart, you publicize growth, and a distinctive experience, for yourself and others. Ponder these few listening skills 1. Consider that each person you meet is a reflectiveness of a great deal of aspect of yourself. Explore it. Be curious. 2. Ask open ended questions that by design disclose more information. Ask the deeper question in a conversation. The question that is begging to be asked, the one that is the intention of the interaction, that question that is so telling. 3. Learn to be comfortable with silence. This allows for reflection, and connection that goes deeper than words. Silence gives rise to the space for more to be revealed. It is perchance better to feel, and get what the person is communicating, rather than gathering more data by asking questions. 4. Show respect by looking into the person’s eyes. Read the facial expressions. Hear the tone of voice, is it passionate, sad, or neutrally charged. Stand at a distance that is suitable and comfortable. Pay attention by providing eye contact, looking away demonstrates distraction. Excessive nodding is distracting, and may be sensed as condescending. 5. Listen for language style, is it formal, casual, funny, serious, or humorous. Being authentically you, while also sameness the speaker’s style, allows for better flow of communication. People more effortlessly relate to others who relate in the same manner. 6. Listen for points of connection and commonality in the content of the conversation. This is your prospect to percentage something you have observed that may be of value to the speaker. This builds trust and rapport. It may spark a more enthusiasti chat. Keep in mind that a dialog that is solely in regards to you is a dialog of the deaf, so be generous with your attention. Make it when it comes to your audience as much as it is in regards to you. Your words engage when they are apropos. 7. Listen for what is not being said. Behaviors, or body language, many times give more clarity and clear or deep perception than words. Is there a synchronicity amidst what is said and what is being reflected? Listening with your intuition may support you relate, or it may signal for you the end of the interaction. Is what you see what you get, or is there an elephant in the room? There is no value in listening to untrue truths. 8. Clarifying what you listen is necessary to good listening skills. Repeating back a phrase, or thought, shows that you have pledged your attention, and likewise that you care sufficient to understand it correctly. It gives the speaker space to rethink the thought, or rephrase it, and often times brings more outstanding meaning to the interaction. It is this dance, among the speaker and the listener, that may lead to a deeper connection and a mutual win/win. 9. Turn off those echoes in your mind and you will find that choices to navigate the speech will flow more naturally. Everyone has something to offer you if you may just be present to totally listen. Honor each person that crosses your path by giving them your unseparated attention, in that very special moment, and you’ll find you honor yourself most of all. |


