When we think of communication many of us initially think about the way we express ourselves. Of equal importance is the ability to listen.
Five Techniques
Here are 5 techniques to help you with your listening skills:
| Technique | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Clarifying | To secure additional facts. To help explore all sides of a problem. | 'Do you mean ...?' 'Could you explain that?' |
| Restating | To check meaning and interpretation with the speaker. To encourage the speaker to analyse other aspects of the situation and discuss them. | 'As I understand, your proposal is to ...' 'Let's see if I have it right, you want to ...' |
| Neutral | To indicate you are listening and interested. To encourage the speaker to continue speaking. | 'I see' 'That's interesting' |
| Reflective | To demonstrate that you understand how the speaker feels. To help the speaker evaluate feelings as expressed by another person. | 'You feel that the decision wasn't made with all of the facts' 'The situation as you saw it was shocking' |
| Summarising ideas | To bring discussion into focus. For easy summary. To serve as a springboard for further discussion or as a new aspect. | 'These are the key points...' 'Am I correct in saying this is how you feel about the situation...?' |
Which of these techniques do you use regularly and which can you work on?
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