Master active listening techniques for better workplace communication. Step-by-step guide to improve professional relationships and career success.
Most people listen to reply, but only a few listen to understand. This is the key difference between passive listening and active listening skills. The truth is that we spend more time learning how to speak confidently than learning how to listen. In today’s world, active listening is indispensable. When you listen, you learn more about others by picking up on what is left unsaid. This helps you build trust and get buy-in from your team. Do this right, and you will be perceived as a better leader.
Want to learn practical ways to develop active listening skills?
In this blog, we’ll cover the basics of active listening, including:
- What is active listening?
- Why Active Learning Skills matter
- Step-by-step guide to developing your active listening skills
Ready? Let’s get started.
What is Active Listening?
Active listening means putting all your attention on the speaker’s words, expressions, and emotions. It involves keeping an open mind without judging the intentions of the other person. As the speaker talks, you acknowledge through nodding.
When you respond, you ask questions to confirm you have understood the speaker before sharing your thoughts. As you may have noticed, active listening skills are really comprised of a number of skills. These include:
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Paying attention: Being fully present in the conversation
- Being non-judgmental: Not criticizing or disregarding the other party’s opinion
- Acknowledging concerns: Using verbal or non-verbal gestures to show you’re listening.
Asking questions to ensure you’re understanding the other person’s point of view
Why Active Learning Skills Matter
In the modern workplace, leaders use active listening skills to:
Understand customer needs
Whether you are in sales, customer support, or any customer-facing role, you can get much better results just by letting your customer speak. When you clarify their concerns, you build instant rapport and can tailor your pitch to their needs.
This means customers feel part of the solution, and not as if they are being sold to. More often than not, active listening skills can create a positive brand impression in the minds of customers, driving repeat sales and loyalty.
Receive feedback
Handling customer complaints is much easier with the use of active listening skills. Most customers want to feel heard. Active listening allows you to respond with empathy. Once you acknowledge their concerns, customers are much more likely to negotiate a solution. Whether you are a sales representative or a manager, active listening can be used to manage customer expectations and prevent churn.
Build better teams
During coaching or developmental sessions, employees are often defensive about issues affecting their performance at work. With effective listening strategies, you can set the stage for a two-way dialogue about the underlying problems and get agreement on the best way forward. Active listening enables you to offer emotional support and understanding that employees often need. This creates engagement and can go a long way in improving team performance.
Step-by-Step Guide to Developing Your Active Listening Skills
Like all other skills, active listening can be learned over time. Each time you try it, you get real-time feedback, which only helps you improve:
Step 1: Start with the intent to listen first, speak later
As humans, we are creatures of habit. The key is to become aware of your unconscious patterns when communicating with others. Ask yourself, “Am I fully present with my full attention?” Turn off your phone and remove any other distractions in the background. Put Approach every conversation with the idea of understanding and absorbing ideas first.
Step 2: Show you’re listening with gestures and body language
Your brain and body both influence each other. By making eye contact, leaning forward, nodding, and making hand gestures, you can subconsciously put yourself in a more receptive state. It also shows the speaker that you are interested in what they have to say. This builds rapport and encourages them to reciprocate.
Step 3: Avoid mentally rehearsing your answer
As the other party speaks, you start mentally framing your answer. This reactive pattern of communication often makes you lose focus. You may not understand the speaker’s perspective, affecting your ability to acknowledge and empathize with their situation. Put your attention on the speaker—their words, tone of voice, emotions, gestures, and expressions. Keeping an open mind helps you learn about their needs.
Step 4: Empathize and confirm
Next, you must acknowledge the speaker’s concerns by summarizing or paraphrasing their thoughts. Addressing feelings first can create rapport, especially in the business context. You might say, “I can see that you are frustrated with the situation.”
Describe their concerns in brief and then ask, “Is that correct?”. This tells the speaker you are interested in finding a solution to their problem, making them more receptive towards you.
Step 5: Offer your comments and suggestions
Now that you have confirmed your understanding of the problem and empathized with the speaker, you can provide a solution or share your perspective on the situation. Use your feedback skills to provide practical, actionable advice. In sales or customer success teams, the solution is often offered at the end of the conversation. Why? Without empathizing and confirming that you understand the problem, the customer might not be fully convinced that the problem will be solved.
Active Listening Techniques for Career Growth
Here are some best practices you can use for developing your active listening skills:
Reflect
In most cases, we tend to respond automatically as soon as the other party finishes their statement. Listening is about giving the other person space to express their situation. As a team manager or leader, this can help you understand the issue from all angles.
Take a brief pause and ask additional questions for clarification. This can be useful in a team communication or leadership communication setting where there are differences of opinion on the problem and the best way to solve it.
Summarize
During a conversation, it is important to summarize at the right moment. Sometimes, the speaker may talk nonstop, and you may not have the chance to speak. In this situation, it is Ok to interrupt the speaker. You might say, “Hang on, I want to make sure I fully understand your concern..”. This will give you some room to confirm the facts of the situation.
Secondly, after you summarize the speaker’s narrative, you must paraphrase in your own words. This will help you see the problem from their point of view and your own perspective. Make sure to confirm by asking, “Did I understand you correctly?”
Respond
You should wait for the speaker to finish speaking before responding. This makes them feel heard. If mediating in a conflict between team members, avoid giving advice and stick to the facts. Sometimes, emotions can run higher with both parties accusing each other of being wrong. However, you must respond with empathy and professionalism.
Examples of Active Listening and Empathy in the Workplace and Personal Life
Here are some examples of active listening and empathy in workplace settings
Scenario 1
- Your co-worker says, “I am deeply worried about the upcoming client presentation
- Response: “I can see how much this means to you. It is natural to feel stressed before a big presentation.”
- Why this works: You acknowledged your co-worker’s stress and showed understanding. This can make them feel heard.
Scenario 2
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I am concerned that, we have not had enough training time on the new project management software’
- Response: “It is a new software that will take time getting used to. It is completely OK to feel anxious.
- Why this works: You validated the other person’s concerns and helped them feel supported.
Scenario 3
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Your team member says, “We are close to the project deadline. I’m not sure we will be able to complete it on time.”
- Response: “It is not an easy task to complete a large project in such a short time. I would feel the same way if I were you.”
- Why this works: You acknowledged the team member’s state of mind and suggested that his reaction was completely normal.
Scenario 4
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The recruitment team has received hundreds of applications for this position. It is going to be a close finish. I’m worried whether we will find the best fit”.
- Response: “It is going to be a tough call; all the applicants seem to be equally good. I can see why you feel overwhelmed”.
- Why this works: You validate their concerns about hiring the right candidate, thereby reassuring them.
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