What are some strategies to use when you are struggling to remain patient during active listening?

Active listening requires deep patience to fully understand others’ perspectives. When feeling impatient, redirect your mental energy towards curiosity. Ask exploratory questions instead of formulating responses. Visualize yourself in their shoes, validating why they feel a certain way based on their unique experiences. Keep your breathing slow and steady. Avoid interrupting - jot down notes about points you want to come back to instead. Remember, they deserve to feel heard. Suppress the desire for immediate solutioning by recognizing the goal of active listening is for clarity. Meet them where they’re at in their journey with empathy. Remember, patience manifests when we pause our projections and make space for differing perspectives.

I remember starting to tune out in a conversation that someone had invited me to, to ask my professional opinion on growing leadership influence, and I started to zone out. How rude! I immediately shifted body position: sat up straight, leaned towards her, put my hands on the table. With my body signalling 'attention', my brain soon followed. And guess what? It was a fun, engaging conversation after that! Shift your body, practice emotional aikido, and your brain follows.

In my experience as a Life Coach and NLP Practitioner, empathy is the bedrock of effective communication. Focus on WE and not ME. The number one enemy to listening is distraction and pre-occupation. Emails, phones, notifications. Secondly, effective listening means putting aside your prejudices, assumptions and biases. It is also important not to make judgement about the speaker or message. This is easier said than done. Thirdly, keep up with the non-verbal cues. Body language is almost 50% of what is being said. If we miss out on that we miss out on half of what is said. Finally, the NLP technique of mirroring has helped me focus. Mirroring in body language, words and reflecting back on what is being said. Hope this helps.

As a cultural diversity and inclusive leadership coach, I tackle the complexities of multicultural communication. Key strategies are to fully engage to grasp the true meaning and emotions in conversations through. 1. Cultural Awareness: Learn about team members' cultural backgrounds to understand their communication styles. 2. Language Sensitivity: Use clear, simple English and avoid idioms, acknowledging not everyone is a native speaker. 3. Diversity Training: Enhance cross-cultural communication skills through diversity and inclusion training. 4. Leveraging Diversity: Encourage varied thinking and problem-solving, clarifying any misunderstandings due to dialect or accent. 5. Visual Aids: Employ charts and visuals to bridge language gaps

Since I moved into coaching and started interviewing guests on my podcast, listening skills have become crucial for me. Answering this particular question, here is what I have been doing: 1) using pauses before responding, give myself a moment after the speaker finishes speaking. 2) practice, like any other skill it takes time to improve.

I think this is presumptive. The problem here is that, you need to be authentic and genuine with your clients. A lot of coaches are so desperate to be their clients hero, they will say they understand anything, when really they don’t. Only empathise with that you can and Validate that which requires it. ??

Pause and Reflect: Before entering a conversation, take a moment to pause. Reflect on your intention to listen actively and be fully present in the interaction. #NidhiBawa

As soon as you feel impatient it means that you are not 100% present and focused on your client. Always remember that during the session nothing from what is happening there has to do with you. It only has to do with them. They can use this time as they please. Whatever we bring is only a recommendation. We have no opinion, no judgment. What we bring is a safe space and a white canvas.

Empathising also helps you avoid judging and forming an opinion based on your own experiences, knowledge and beliefs. Validation is an amazing tool to restore self-confidence in clients as many of them have not experienced that enough so it enhances the whole coaching experience.

As you relax into this moment, Start to see the question behind the question. Hold presence for them, Activate your own fullness of presence, Out of your mind & into your heart, And in this space, Magic will be unfolded.

Absolutely asking open ended questions does help in navigating the current perspective and break the unconscious bias .It can be 1) How did I arrive with this conclusion 2) Is there something from the past that made me think this way

Stay curious. Asking open ended questions will help you to stay in that curious mindset and remind yourself that you are there to help your client by guiding them, not by forcing them down a path. The questions you ask to help satisfy your curiosity will allow for more patience. You are on the journey with your client.

Open ended questions are great. But can lead to clients spiralling off on a stream of consciousness. As a coach I know that I can patiently bring them back to any one of those thoughts. Together we can slow down the process and get curious about each of them. Patience is something you choose to be rather than something you are. Remembering that I'm there to go at the client's pace. It's about allowing them to uncover their own insights. Rather than quickly delivering my perspectives.

So often asking powerful questions changes the entire nature of the conversation. A powerful question is a term used in coaching and counselling to describe any question that best serves the intent of the asking and also best facilitates an exchange of deeper meaning and understanding between both parties in the conversation.. For instance, if you’re finding out more about someone, you are looking for information, so a powerful question at this point is one that invites a detailed description of that person and their lives. If you were asking to help solve a problem or generate ideas, then a powerful question would be one that help create some insight or understanding or new perspective in the answer.

I think what is the most important here is to have a real interest for the person in front of you, to really want to know who she/he is and how he/she feels, just for the sake of it and without any kind of judgment.

I prefer direct reflection back in the speaker's own words, since paraphrasing often encourages us to skew their words towards our own way of thinking. If we aren't sure we understand, curious open questions may be more helpful.

Oh...this is my favourite...paraphrasing reflects that one is listening to the speaker ,and is interested to know whether he has understood it rightly ...in terms of Neuro Linguistic programming it is "understanding the Map of others " ...Map is not the territory, and understanding someone's map helps one to step in their reality ...it creates understanding, respect and bonding

I agree, showing compassion and being on the side of the client is paramount. If a client feel understood and valued during the session, they will focus more on what is important. Client will relax, the more clear and conscise my listening techniques are, most importantly, client will find its own solution, to its own problem, diring the active listening session!

Writing down, The exact phrases & words used, Then mirroring back in a trusted space, Filled with presence & awareness, Is so powerful. Hearing one’s own exact words, Through the voice of another, Allows them to be seen in a new light. Powerful.

During my coaching executive education now 6 years ago I have always wondered why my master coach would make us practice Kundalini yoga and would make us meditate everyday. Now I know why! Taking care of ourselves first and creating the space in our life to be present FULLY and connected is the most imperative step. So now before a session I make sure I meditate 10 min before start, taking position and emptying my head from everything going on so I can be there with my client and give my full undivided attention that they deserve!

Listening with your presence, Your awareness & beingness, Instead of your mind, Will allow you to operate from fullness, And not be depleted. Dropping out of the mental exercise, Into the heart space of awareness, Changes everything.

Short Walks: Step outside for a brief walk to get some fresh air and clear your mind. Physical activity can rejuvenate you and improve focus. Deep Stretching: Incorporate simple stretching exercises to release muscle tension. Pay attention to areas like your neck, shoulders, and back. Expressive Writing: Take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and feelings. Writing can be a therapeutic way to process emotions and reduce stress.

It's important to prioritise self care. Self care is the base for our emotional wellbeing. Having a solid self care routine is non-negotiable as coaches. We need to understand that we can't serve from an empty cup. We got to be in the state of love, empathy, & relaxation in order to serve others. So ensuring we take care of our needs first is super important

If you feel overwhelmed during a coaching session, focus on your breath for a minute and breathe deeply, as to calm your nervous system and center yourself back. You can also take a walk to refresh your mind after an intense session, or meditate in between sessions.

I once had a client who got anxious at the very sound of her boss's footsteps. This anxiety meant that she was actually tapping into past memories in her brain... memories of past interactions. This also meant that: - She was listening TO her own past thoughts about her boss rather than being present for any current communication with him. - She was also listening FOR evidence that would validate her long-held perceptions about him. - She was really, then, listening WITH an ear attuned to everything that was wrong about him rather than allowing herself to zero in on any positive qualities he might have. She decided to take some deep breaths when hearing his foot stops and shift her brain into a more calm and accepting space. It worked!

Notice.... Take a few seconds to try & zone out: notice something else around you:the warmth of your breath, the quality of the light, something you can focus your vision on, the feeling of the material of your clothes or the chair you're on... This helps reset & also calms the nervous system and gets you out of fight or flight -which you're heading into if you're waiting to jump in or getting silently frustrated! When you come back to the conversation, try & use a lens of curiosity:what is the key message they're trying to convey?What have they said or done that's caused you to react negatively & how can you learn from it?What's your body language saying? Curiosity is a beautiful placeholder when empathy doesn't feel genuine in the moment.

There are two things that could have happened if I have find that I lose patience while active listening. 1 - it is because I have gone into my own thoughts and programs. When this happens I remind myself to let go of the noise and to get really curious about the other person. 2 - The person talking has gotten stuck in their own narrative. They are no longer really sharing but sharing from ego. When this happens then I would say - ‘what I hear you are saying is… what are you going to do about it.’ By asking someone to think of actions it gets them out of the narrative they are stuck in and helps to unstick them.

Ask a question to the person talking. This will automatically demonstrate you are listening and make you more engaged in the conversation. Also, distraction often comes when you are multitasking and constantly looking at other devices. Make sure you are present and not checking your email/ phone messages.

The biggest challenge during potentially difficult interactions is sustaining a trusting relationship. In order to build or sustain trust I suggest to my clients to be transparent! Be honest. Let the person you are listening to know that you are struggling to stay focused on what they are saying. Yes, it might mean interjecting.. but it also injects a level of honesty and realism that will both reassure the speaker and help you to let go of what you are pre-occupied with. Because lets be honest, if you are struggling to be patient, the speaker will pick that up immediately! Better to own up to your challenge and work it through together.

Be intentional about listening to the client even before the session starts. Make a decision to listen during the time you are engaged with your client. Turn you devices on Focus mode to disallow any distractions from notifications. Captivate the thought that is distracting you from the session. Acknowledge you got distracted. Then decide that you will focus on the client. If the client is rambling, maybe, just maybe, depending on the context, interrupt the client to ask how all of that so far is related to the session outcome. I occasionally use this.