Being a good listener is one of the most important communication skills you can develop. Here are 10 easy tips, which if practiced regularly, will make you a better communicator.
Be Free!
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Listening seems like a simple process and yet so many of us are more eager to talk than to listen. Someone once said we were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. What better gift could you give to your family, friends, peers and bosses than to listen to them so that they feel really heard? Here are some tips:
1. Stay present – Don’t let your mind wander. Many are composing a response before the speaker has Read More...
We’ve all heard it before, “Seek first to understand, then be understood”. A powerful lesson from Stephen Covey in “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” that holds true. I recently got reminded of this idea on a river.
My wife Peggy and I were in Wisconsin for a family vacation recently and decided to go on a 3 hour canoe trip with her sister and brother-in-law. Each couple had a small, rickety, rented canoe and hopped into our canoes. The weather was perfect and we were having a great time.
About an hour into our trip Peggy asked a simple request, “Can you tell me when you switch sides with your paddle?” Now, this IS a simple request. I was in the back of the canoe, and she couldn’t see me, Read More...
September is the month that kids are heading back to school. For those of us who are not in formal school, how do we insure that we are continually learning?
Henry Ford said, “Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” How can we do this?
I will share with you three ways we can be proactive about the learning process, even without being in formal classrooms or universities.
1. Read
Reading 5 minutes a day will do you a world of good. If you only read ten books in your field per year, in four years, you will have read more information than most graduate students have in your area. You’ll be a little master of Read More...
I believe that everyone reading this understands that no matter what business you are in- Real Estate, Financial Services, Teaching, Auto Sales, or any other profession, we are all in the PEOPLE BUSINESS. It’s been said that fully 85% of your success in life is directly related to your ability to effectively work with people. So I wanted to pass on a little tip that will make all your dealings with clients or co-workers much more effective.
It is laid out extremely well in Dale Carnegie’s all time best selling book How to Read More...
How would your world change if you truly focused on listening instead of talking?
As a professional speaker and trainer, I was curious what would happen as I went through vocal chord surgery and was unable to speak AT ALL for one week or converse normally for a month. Yes, I realize the irony in MY not being able to speak, but the truth is-I loved it because there were so many great things to learn! Here are four of those lessons that are worthy to pass on to you!
1. 93% of Communication is Non-Verbal
Yes, Leah, we know this…you all taught us that at the Memory Read More...
We are starting a new tradition on the Freedom Personal Development Blog -Top 10 Tips Tuesdays! Every Tuesday we will give you the Top 10 Tips to become more effective in a particular area of your personal or professional life.
Today the tips have to do with effective communication. More specifically, how to become a better listener.
Why should I improve my listening skills?
It’s a great question. For the simple reason that a person’s listening skills are a central component to most of the activities people care about. Your ability to understand what others are trying to tell you, to grasp details about projects, to learn Read More...
Download the Effective Listening Exercise mp3
(1. Right click the link 2. Choose “Save Target As”)
Be interested rather than Interesting
Have you ever met a person who is an amazing storyteller? They told great jokes, they had traveled everywhere and it seemed as though they virtually knew something about everything? But, you couldn’t get a word in edgewise! Or worse, as soon as you shared a story, they had a similar story that was better than yours? The old one-upper. That person Read More...
Why should I improve my listening skills?
It’s a great question. For the simple reason that a person’s listening skills are a central component to most of the activities people care about. Your ability to understand what others are trying to tell you, to grasp details about projects, to learn information about a customer’s needs, or to understand what is going on in your family’s life all depend on your ability to effectively listen.
While most people possess the ability to hear, many have never taken the time to consciously develop the ability to listen.
Here are four golden nuggets to help you improve your listening skills:
1. Slow Read More...
Schmooze. Sounds nasty, right? In fact is the grease that lubricates your interaction with people – both in business and social settings. Skilled schmoozers are loved and respected by everyone. They make other people feel important and smart. When people like you and trust you, it is much easier to ask them to do business with you.
What is schmooze? Schmoozing is about NOT getting right down to business. It’s about hanging out with people for a little bit and getting to know them. Remember Dale Carnegie’s famous dictum, “Everyone favorite topic of conversation is themselves.” That is the schmoozer’s motto.
The key to successful schmooze is to ask questions. When you ask, Read More...
Being a good listener is one of the most important communication skills you can develop. Here are 10 easy tips, which if practiced regularly, will make you a better communicator.
