Active Listening in Companies

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Active listening It is a structured form of Listening which involves hearing the speakers words, understanding the message and its importance to the speaker, and communicating that understanding to the speaker Communication and active listening go hand in hand - One does not work without the other. Active listening is; 1. giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. How Can We Listen Actively? Carl Rogers gave five rules for active listening: 1. Listen for message content. 2. Listen for feelings. 3. Respond to feelings. 4. Note all cues. 5. Paraphrase and restate. The good news is that listening is a skill that can be learned.[535] The first step is to decide that we want to listen. Casting aside distractions, such as by reducing background or internal noise, is critical. The receiver takes in the sender’s message silently, without speaking. Second, throughout the conversation, show the speaker that you’re listening. You can do this nonverbally by nodding your head and keeping your attention focused on the speaker. You can also do it verbally, by saying things like, “Yes,” “That’s interesting,” or other such verbal cues. As you’re listening, pay attention to the sender’s body language for additional cues about how they’re feeling. Interestingly, silence has a role in active listening. During active listening, we are trying to understand what has been said, and in silence we can consider the implications. We can’t consider information and object to it at the same time. That’s where the power of silence comes into play. Finally, if anything is not clear to you, ask questions. Confirm that you’ve heard the message accurately, by repeating back a crucial piece like, “Great, I’ll see you at 2:00 p.m. in
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