5 Steps that Can Transform Your Listening-Skills into a Business Asset

What are the strategies of effective listening skills?

Did you know that strong listening skills can help entrepreneurs do well in business? Listening is integral to problem-solving because it's the primary way to learn new information. When people are alert, aware, and observant, our natural instincts start to amplify constructive decision-making. The more you understand how to listen when interacting with people, the more you realize exactly how to brainstorm and create solutions.

Listening Opens Minds

Business Expert Janice Tingum explains that, “Listening skills have a direct impact on a company’s interaction with customers and other businesses. Listening enables managers to acquire facts so that they can make decisions that benefit a company. Listening is also essential to building trust, and can reduce conflict. The reputation of a business depends upon listening skills.”

Here are a few tips on how to practice mindful listening at a professional level:

1) Eliminate all Distractions

If you want someone to clearly recognize that you are listening during interaction, give them your undivided attention.  Multitasking in the middle of a conversation is confusing, dismissive, and it fuels misunderstandings.

2) Activate a Sympathetic Connection

Listening isn’t just about giving someone an audience.  It’s also a process of consensus-building and mutual agreement.  It’s important to break the ice by establishing an emotional or intellectual connection when listening.

3) Be Intentional

Listening isn’t a passive behavior.  It’s an active one.  The only way to successfully listen is by deliberately focusing your energy on the interaction you’re having. Commit to paying attention, and commit to absorbing what you hear.

4) Nod and Acknowledge

Listening is a two-way street.  It’s a back and forth that requires feedback and confirmation about comprehension.  When listening to other people, remember to nod when you understand what they’re saying, and verify through gestures that the conversation is progressing smoothly.

5) Ask Follow-Up Questions

Agreement is only achieved when all parties in a conversation have no doubts about consensus.  If there are any uncertainties or unknowns produced by an interaction, asking questions will clear the air.

Conclusion

Listening is a cornerstone of good communication, and good communication as part of doing business.  The more people practice good listening skills in the workplace, the more professional interactions will result in desirable outcomes.  Good listening sets people up for success in business.

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