Mindful Listening

Summarize or paraphrase key points to show understanding and strengthen the connection with the speaker.

Utilize affirmative body language—position toward the speaker, nod, and vocalize agreement.

Hopefully you can see that the issue was simply that they were unprepared.

listeners do not receive the same level of praise, attention, instruction, or credibility as speakers. They should!

Don’t be the “well, actually” person.

While we all recognize the importance of structuring our thoughts and ideas when it comes to speaking (or writing, teaching, etc.), we can forget that there is just as much intentionality required on the other side of things—the listening.

the truth is that knowing how to listen well holds far more benefits than knowing how to express yourself.

Listening is just as important as speaking

we can forget that there is just as much intentionality required on the other side of things—the listening.

Yet when it comes to communicating, we all seem to assume that this most essential skill will more or less come naturally without any planning or preparation.