Active listening skills involve more than merely hearing the spoken words. Deep active listening requires a connection with the entire conveyed message, understanding its nuances and empathizing with the underlying emotions.
Active listening also entails observing body language, hand gestures and eye movements, as well as noticing shifts in the tone of voice, pitch and volume.
If you’re a coach, therapist or practitioner working with clients, you’ll already be flexing your active listening skills. But here are a few tactics you can adopt to refine your skills and deepen your communication with clients, family and friends:
- Express Engagement: Keep eye contact, nod intermittently, and utilize your facial cues to show that you are wholly engaged and receptive. Prompt the speaker to proceed with brief verbal affirmations such as “I understand,” “Alright,” and “Continue.”
- Pursue Understanding: Provide feedback to mirror and elucidate your interpretation of what has been communicated. Phrases like “It appears that you’re suggesting…” or “What I comprehend is…” can aid in ensuring you capture their viewpoint precisely.
- Desist From Interruptions: Allow the speaker to fully articulate their thoughts before you respond. Interrupting can derail their train of thought, disrupt their coherence, and inhibit your ability to fully comprehend their message. It also reduces the likelihood of escalating into an argument.
- Nurture Empathy: Strive to empathize with the speaker’s perspective, even if it deviates from yours. This understanding can aid you to respond with enhanced compassion and acceptance.
- Propose Open-Ended Queries: Instead of settling for binary yes/no inquiries, pose open-ended queries that encourage the speaker to delve deeper into their thoughts and emotions.
- Recap and Summarize: After the speaker presents a point, pause to rephrase their statement to confirm your comprehension. This affirms your understanding and signifies to the speaker that you are tuned into their dialogue. Try using phrases like, “So, to ensure I’ve got it right, you’re expressing that…”
- React Appropriately: Active listening is a reciprocal interaction between individuals. Respond in a manner that acknowledges and respects the speaker’s perspective, even if it conflicts with your own.
Active listening is a powerful skill to enhance communication both personally and professionally, and it’s also an invaluable tool to cultivate in your clients for enhancing their interpersonal relationships.
Author:
Viki Thondley
Viki Thondley-Moore is an Integrative Holistic Counsellor, Brain-Based Coach, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Mind-Body Somatic Practitioner, Wellness Coach, Meditation Teacher, Educator and Disordered Eating Specialist. Viki is founder of MindBodyFood and Founder/Director of the MindBodyFood Institute.
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