Types of Listening Skills With Examples

Types of Listening Skills With ExamplesTypes of Listening Skills With ExamplesAre you a good listener? This is a highly valuedsoft skillsought by all employers. After all, people with this ability are more likely to understand tasks and projects, build strong relationships with co-workers, and also be able to solve problems and resolve conflicts. Employers will look for you to demonstrate listening skills during job interviews. Discover why good listening skills are vital in the workplace. Plus, see how to build this skill - along with bad habits to avoid. The Listening Process Listening within the work context is the process by which you gain an understanding of the needs, demands, and preferences of your stakeholders through direct interaction. A stakeholder could be anyone from your boss, a client, customer, co-worker, subordinate, upper management, board member, interviewer, or job candidate. There are two components toactively listenwith successin the workplace attention an d reflection. Attentive listeninginvolves holding eye contact, nodding, having good posture, and mirroring the speakers body language to show genuine interest in what they are saying. In plus-rechnen to these nonverbal cues, you must also allow the speaker to finish their thought in its entirety.Reflectionis the repeating andparaphrasing of what the speaker has said to show that you truly understand what they are telling you. What Makes a Good Listener Good listeners always strive to fully understand what others want to communicate, particularly when the statement lacks clarity. Listening demands the attempt to decode and interpret verbal messages andnonverbal cues(e.g., the tone of voice, facial expressions, physical posture). Great listeners also show their curiosity and ask a lot of questions. Do this, and you will make a great impression. Through their body language and other cues, effective listeners subtly communicate to the speaker that they are listening. Additionally, t hey encourage and welcome the thoughts, opinions, and feelings of others. One way to demonstrate your listening skills is to allow the interviewer to complete each question and statement before responding. Do not interrupt and be sure that your responses genuinely answer the question. Remember that it is perfectly fine to take a few moments to frame the right response. Doing so shows that you have fully absorbed the speakers words and are considerate enough to formulate the best answer. What Makes a Bad Listener Interrupting the other party indicates that your listening skills are underdeveloped. Likewise, responding in a way that fails to answer the question will reflect poorly on your listening skills, especially in a job interview. Talking too much is also problematic, as proper conversations should be well balanced, with parties getting equal time to speak. Monopolizing a conversation prevents you from listening and the other party from fully expressing what they want to say . In the end, this will lead to you making a poor impression. Looking distracted is also a quality of a poor listener. That could involve anything from avoiding eye contact to checking your phone or watch while someone else is talking. Examples of Effective Listening A job candidate shares her understanding of an unclear question during an interview and asks if she has it right.An interviewer notices that a candidate doesnt look her in the eye when asserting a key strength.A customer service worker repeats a patrons problem or complaint back to her to reassure her that she has been heard.A counselor nods and says,I hear you, to encourage a client to continue to talk about their traumatic experience.A meeting facilitator encourages a reticent group member to share her views about a proposal. An interviewer asks a follow-up question to gain further clarification on the ways in which a candidate has applied a critical skill in a past job.A manager summarizes what her team has said during a staff meeting and asks them if she has heard things correctly.At the end of a wertzuwachs review, an employee restates the specific areas in which his supervisor asks he improve.At a client meeting, a salesperson asks an open-ended question like, What can I do to serve you better? and encourages his counterpart to express any concerns fully. A nurse informs a patient that she is aware of how scared they are about their upcoming surgery and says she is there for her.An employee pays careful attention to a speaker at a training session and asks clarifying questions on the information they are receiving. More Valuable Workplace Skills Having strong listening skills is essential at every organizational level and will improve ones chances of future promotions. However, there may be some soft and hard skills that are of more value than others, depending on the career field. To determine whichlists of skillsyou should highlight in your resume and interview, have a look atemplo yment skills listed by job.