Active Listening; mindfully hearing and attempting to understand the meaning of words spoken by another. An invaluable business skill that should be honed by everyone.
In their Harvard Business Review article “Leadership Is a Conversation,” Groysberg and Slind state: Leaders who take organizational conversation seriously know when to stop talking and start listening. Few behaviors enhance conversational intimacy as much as attending to what people say. True attentiveness signals respect for people of all ranks and roles, a sense of curiosity, and even a degree of humility.
This means that we’re not only focusing, but showing verbal and non-verbal signs that we’re engaged. Smiles, eye contact, attentive posture and mirroring, are all ways to express that you’re in-it to win-it, with the speaker.
As studies point out, that we spend 70 to 80 percent of our waking hours in some form of communication, and of that time, 45 percent is spent listening. We all want to know, that in some capacity, what we’ve got to share is important and useful. Having the skill to deliver that to your peers and colleagues, to your potential clients, to that future employer- is an step in the best direction.