10 Listening Tips | International Day of Listening

Ten Listening Tips

Value listening. Consciously choose to listen more and listen better.
Prepare to listen. (Put away the cell phone.)
Listen with an open mind to what the speaker has to say.
Let the speaker finish talking before you respond.
First, listen to understand, not to respond.
Look for verbal and nonverbal clues about how important this message is to the speaker.
Listen for strong emotional content of the message, as well as the meaning of the words.
Be aware of cultural differences, age differences, and gender differences in how people speak to each other and how they listen to each other. They may be expecting different indicators of listening and respect.
Reflect back what you’ve heard if that seems appropriate.
Respond in a way that shows that you have listened and follow up with future actions to show that you listened.