Active listening: definition and practical use

Active listening: definition

Active listening is a communication skill which consists of carefully processing the message sent by our interlocutor through their words, their gazes, their gestures, their silences... In active listening, one listens (excuse the redundancy) both verbal language of the interlocutor, such as non-verbal language: the gestures, the glances, the posture of the back, neck or hands, the silences, the pauses between sentences…

To practice so-called active listening It has a lot to do with empathy, you know what we're referring to: that ability to feel as your own the problems, opinions, or subjective feelings that are woven into conversation, almost always implicitly and through non-verbal language.

Active listening is an innate ability to empathetic and sensitive human beings, This is something that at first sight seems complicated if we move in a complicated and competitive professional environment. The good news is that We can all learn to be active listeners. What's more, every day more companies are looking for leaders and managers with a great capacity for active listening, acting accordingly, and thus, improve that Internal communication so necessary for business success.

Active listening: benefits in the business sphere

As you can imagine, practising active listening is very important in both personal and family life. But if we focus on the professional and business sphere, we will see that practising active listening It is extremely profitable for our organisation. Two reasons:

1. For a manager to practise active listening with employees reinforces the feeling of commitment and loyalty of these towards the company. Thus, an employee who feels heard will hardly think of leaving their job in search of other opportunities or will voluntarily lower their professional performance, etc.
2. Active listening positively influences the working climate, at that positive environment that all professionals need in order to to be more profitable and productive.

How can we improve our active listening skills?

As we were saying earlier, we can all learn to improve our ability to listen actively, although, of course, more empathetic people will find it easier to adopt the habit. Some basic tips:

• In active listening Personal predisposition is key. So, before starting a conversation, “remember” that your role is to truly listen to your interlocutor without judging, prejudging, or letting your imagination wander to other topics or problems.
• As we pointed out in the definition of active listening, Empathy is fundamental On this subject. Trying to “feel” the same emotions that your interlocutor is trying to convey, their fears, their criticisms or their observations is fundamental in this communicative process.
• In active listening the non-verbal language The body language of your interlocutor is very important, but so is yours. Pay attention to your posture, the direction of your gaze, the gestures of agreement or disagreement we all make almost involuntarily, etc.

Did you find our article “Active Listening, Definition and Uses” interesting? Share your opinion!