Page 30 - Effective communication Skills by Dale King

some interesting and others, not so much. Being interested makes you want to

learn more.

This happens with conversations as well. When you are actually interested in
the conversation, asking questions, and listening for their answers get easier.

4. When curious, we want to learn.

When you are ready to learn, you put yourself in a place to engage in
conversation for the purpose of learning, not just feeling like you have to get
through it.

With these four things; questions, listening, interest, and a desire to learn, you
can create a conversation and get all of the benefits from it.

Active Listening

Listening is one of the most important things you can do. How well you are

able to listen can impact your life in many areas. Since we listen so much,
you would think that we are amazing at it. Actually, most people aren’t, and
research suggests that most people only remember around 25 to 50 percent of
everything that we hear. This means that when you have a conversation with
your significant other for about ten minutes, they are paying attention less
than half of what is being said.

If you flip this around, it also means that when you are being given

directions, you don’t hear the full message. You hope that the most important
parts are held within that 25-50 percent, but what happens if they weren’t?

Clearly, listening is something that everybody needs to improve. When you
become a better listener, you will also see improvement in your productivity,
your influence, and negotiation. What’s more, you will be able to avoid
conflict and other misunderstandings.

The only way to improve your listening abilities is to practice active

listening. This means that you are making a conscious effort to hear the
words that are being said as well as the complete message that they are
communicating. To do this, you have to carefully pay attention to the
speaker.

You can’t become distracted by whatever else may be happening around you,
or by thinking about what you are going to say next. You also got to make