Listen Up! Real Listening and How To Practice It

By Robert Bacal, M.A.

Most of us think we’re really good at listening (and conveying to the other person that we are listening), but we tend to over-estimate our skills in communication. In this article we’ll look at how to go about improving your listening skills and we’ll include some aspects of attention focusing, and some practice exercises where you can work on improving your listening on your own.

Improving Your Listening Skills

No matter what your profession or relationship status, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to improve your listening skills. People who listen effectively are perceived as more helpful, more “in tune” and tend to exert more influence over others than those that are less effective listeners. Paradoxically, good listeners are listened to more than poor listeners. In this article, we are going to briefly discuss effective listening, and suggest an exercise you can use in the privacy of your own home to help you enhance your listening skills. Not only can you apply them at work, but in any relationship