Active listening

Active listening is about being immersed and engaged in what another person is saying, REALLY saying. 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. Research suggests that we only remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your partner, friend or colleague for 10 minutes, you may be only paying attention to less than half of the conversation. As a result, you are not hearing the whole message, despite believing that you have. When I did my psychotherapy training we spent 2 months on purely listening. Not being allowed to talk or respond but to be present in what the other person is saying (verbal and non-verbal). Learning how to listen is a skill, but one any of us can master.⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣Some tips to become better at listening: Try continuously focusing on what the person is saying, be aware of their body language too, try park those thoughts that come in to interject or distract you, reflect back what is said, ask for clarification, and summarise what you have heard.⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣If you feel that someone isn’t listening to you, you can always ask if they are following what you have said or ask them what they have heard.⁣⁣⁣⁣
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