We can all be better communicators. As sales and business professionals one of the keys to success is our ability to express our thoughts and ideas and to accurately understand those of others. While we seem to excel at getting our point across, many times we struggle to grasp the others persons’.
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| How To Improve Your Listening Skills |
As Stephen Covey said, “Seek first to understand then to be understood.”
If this is the case, you must improve your listening skills—and yes they are skills. They take practice, commitment and work.
Here are four areas to concentrate and improve upon:
Focus
It seems simple, but it’s surprising how many times we simply aren’t focused on the other person when they are talking. Whether we’re thinking of what we’re going to say next or just letting our mind drift—we aren’t present in the moment. Listening is an active activity not a passive one. Focus and really listen to the other party. Hear not just their words but their facial expressions, body language and non-verbal communication. Once you begin to actually, actively focus it will surprise you at how inactive you’ve been in the past.
