How do you rate your active listening skills?

1 Benefits of active listening

Active listening can help you build rapport, trust, and understanding with others, as well as improve your own learning and comprehension. By actively listening, you can show respect, empathy, and support to the speaker, and avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, and errors. Active listening can also enhance your creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, as you can explore different perspectives, ideas, and solutions.

2 Barriers to active listening

However, active listening is not always easy or natural. There are many barriers that can prevent you from listening effectively, such as noise, distractions, biases, emotions, assumptions, or habits. For example, you might be tempted to check your phone, interrupt the speaker, finish their sentences, or jump to conclusions. These behaviors can signal that you are not interested, respectful, or open-minded, and can damage the communication process.

3 Techniques of active listening

To improve your active listening skills and overcome barriers, you can employ some simple yet effective techniques. Paraphrasing involves repeating or rephrasing what the speaker said in your own words to check your understanding and demonstrate listening. Summarizing gives a brief overview of the main points or themes of the speaker's message to verify comprehension. Asking questions with open-ended, clarifying, or probing inquiries can draw out more information, details, or examples from the speaker. Reflecting mirrors or acknowledges the speaker's emotions or tone to show empathy and validation. Nonverbal cues such as eye contact, nodding, smiling, and other gestures or expressions display interest, attention, and encouragement.

4 Assessing your active listening skills

To rate your active listening skills, you can use a self-assessment tool, such as a questionnaire, a checklist, or a scale, that measures your frequency or level of using the above techniques, as well as your awareness of the barriers and benefits of active listening. You can also ask for feedback from others, such as your colleagues, friends, or family, who can share their perceptions and experiences of your listening behavior and attitude.

5 Improving your active listening skills

Based on your assessment and feedback, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses as an active listener, and set specific and realistic goals for improvement. For instance, you might want to frequently practice paraphrasing, avoid interrupting the speaker, or reduce distractions. To achieve these objectives, you can utilize a variety of strategies such as practicing in various contexts with different people and topics, reflecting on your performance after each practice session, seeking more information on active listening from various sources, and asking for constructive feedback from others. Active listening is an advantageous skill that can improve your interpersonal communication and relationships. By learning about the advantages, the impediments, and the techniques of active listening, as well as assessing and enhancing your own skills, you can become a more proficient and engaging listener.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?