How do you balance listening and speaking in a conversation or a meeting?

They foster understanding, empathy, and effective communication. By actively listening, individuals show respect and interest in others' perspectives, leading to a more engaging and productive dialogue. Providing feedback allows for clarification, addressing misunderstandings, and ensuring that all parties are on the same page. This balance promotes a harmonious exchange of ideas, creates a supportive environment, and ultimately results in more meaningful and impactful interactions.

Great leaders are often described as individuals who possess exceptional listening skills. The ability to really hear and actively listen to those around them distinguishes these leaders from the rest and their impact is undeniable. Being a great listener requires discipline, patience, and empathy, but the payoffs are enormous. When leaders choose to listen to their teams, they gain invaluable insight into their people, their needs, and their motivations. This information can shape the choices and incentives offered by the organization, leading to more effective and efficient decision-making, improved productivity, and ultimately, greater success.

Finding the right balance between listening and talking is crucial in any meeting or conversation. To achieve effective communication, it is important to not only be an active listener but also to contribute to the dialogue. Being a good listener involves giving your undivided attention, maintaining eye contact, and showing empathy towards the speaker. By actively listening, you not only gain valuable information but also demonstrate respect and show interest in what the other person has to say.The right balance is often a subtle rhythm that is identified intuitively. There is no formula just practice and watching for nonverbal cues.

Your body language is speaking to the person talking. You have lost the plot if you seem disinterested and in a hurry to jump into the conversation. Try nodding slightly, as this gives permission for that person to continue and open up.

Active Listening: I really focus on what others are saying, giving them my full attention without jumping in. Take Notes: I write down key points while they talk so I can remember what I want to say later. Ask Questions: I ask questions to clarify things and show that I’m engaged and interested. Share the Floor: I make sure to invite others to share their thoughts, keeping the conversation open. Time Management: I keep an eye on how long I’m speaking to ensure everyone gets a chance to contribute. Summarize: I summarize what I've heard before I share my thoughts, which helps everyone feel heard and understood.

When it comes to giving feedback, the best skills are the ones that leave a lasting impact and promote growth. That's why I believe that empathy, clarity, and specific examples are essential when it comes to providing constructive feedback. Empathy helps establish a connection and trust between the giver and receiver, so they can work together towards improvement. Clarity ensures that the feedback is understood and that the goals are clear. Specific examples highlight areas of strength and those that need improvement, leading to impactful change. By mastering these feedback skills, you can inspire others to achieve their goals and grow to their full potential.

A key part of active listening is getting comfortable with silence. Resist the urge to fill silence with your own words. Instead, pause for a couple of extra seconds to process what you've heard, and to give your counterpart the chance to elaborate or share more. Often, the most impactful question is simply two or three seconds of silence.

Improving listening skills requires focus and active engagement. Start by giving the speaker your full attention and avoiding distractions. Use nonverbal cues like eye contact, nodding, and smiling to show interest. Ask open-ended questions and use reflective statements to encourage elaboration. Summarizing key points and showing empathy also help. In my experience, balancing listening and speaking in meetings improves team collaboration and decision-making. Once, by actively listening to a junior developer's input, we identified a critical issue early, leading to a more robust solution. This approach fosters a more inclusive and productive environment.

It can be more difficult to do when in online meetings but body language is important. Although you are not in the room you can still act as if you are to show empathy with the speaker.

Feedback is really important - but it is also really important to make sure that you are listening to understand, not to respond with feedback. Hear what is being said, rather than jumping to thinking about what to respond with.

It's important to listen with intent and reply to support the conversation. There is a reason why we all have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason.

Sone people might try and dominate the meeting to stop you building influence. If this happens, make sure you are also given the respect of time and space to share your views.

Thinking about your style and others different styles can really help with this balance - sometimes silence is okay! It may be that people need longer to reflect and others are quick to respond. Knowing your preferences and those around you means you can make sure you leave space for everyone to share in their own way. If you are leading a meeting, you don't have to fill the silence, sometimes it can be really helpful to have a short pause for people to think!