What is "active listening"?
It is a crucial element of dialogue between an employee and their manager. Without active listening, communication between people would consist only of two separate monologues in which both parties say what they want without really listening to the other person.
Actively listening to someone means devoting full attention to the other person, thinking about what they say, reacting to it, and retaining the information thus gathered for the future. Active listening on the part of a manager is especially important when giving feedback to employees and holding meetings or assessment reviews with them.
How to listen actively?
As the Center for Creative Leadership states, in order to perform active listening successfully, you need to focus on the following points:
- Show you are listening. During the conversation, maintain eye contact, pay full attention to the other person, nod your head and do not interrupt them.
- Repeat what was said. At certain points you should summarise in your own words what the other person has said, thus ensuring you have understood correctly what they meant.
- Do not judge what you hear. We all tend immediately to assess and judge whatever the other person says. In order for the given person actually to open up to you, try not to judge and do not offer any instant solutions; instead, focus on understanding their perspective.
- Share something yourself. If the other person shares with you their feelings or their viewpoint on some issue, earn their trust by sharing with them some of your feelings too.
- Think about what was said. At the end, you must genuinely and honestly think about what was said and use the information acquired in your decision making in the future.
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