Listening is receiving and understanding the message addressed to you. It is a very important skill for every communication to be effective. It helps to reduce any amount of frustration for the speaker and also plays a very major role mostly in the working environment since it enables the workers to interact more freely by ensuring that the messages are being linked totally and correctly.
Who is a good leader?
Whenever a person pays attention to you, you feel good and respected. Seeing, smelling, talking, hearing, walking and writing they all have one thing in common which is, they are all physical abilities while listening is a special skill. Those who have this skill they have an added advantage over those who do not have of understanding what another person is saying when they allow one individual to pass his or her idea across the board and in return they are able to make a lot of sense out of it.
How to be a successful leader?
To be successful in leadership, you ought to possess good listening skills because it builds a connection between you and your listener. People are not born as good listeners, but it is a skill that grows with time if at all, an individual is interested in having it. In most cases, top employers usually provide listening skills for their employees.It is good to know that as a leader, even if an employee or anybody else who is your junior in your area of leadership addresses you,you should always pay attention to what they are saying because this gives them confidence always to approach you when your area of concern is in trouble or when then need help.
Listening also creates a good working environment among the workers since it averts miscommunication by making the message more clearly understood. In addition, as a leader, you are able to tell your listeners how you wants the work to be done by each and every one the mplus you can share our ideas with them more comfortably. Merely, by this simple listening skills, you end up becoming a very successful leader.
Focus on communication skills
Leaders should learn to always focus on what they are saying since effective communication is less about talking and more about listening. This active listening should be embraced in every communication most especially by those in authority since it also gives them good speaking skills.In most cases, when you are paying attention to someone, you actively form in your mind what exactly you are going to respond to them without hurting them. Moreover, when you learn to pay attention, as time passes by, you will be surprised to find yourself becoming an eloquent speaker as well. This fact is seen in our leaders. For instance, if a president is always paying attention to his citizens he usually has an easy time ruling over his country.
Increase interaction with your followers
Good interaction between him and the citizens, he always knows the cry of his people and therefore, he is able to fulfill their request with immediate effects. This makes the citizens proud of their leader, and in return, they become more willing to listen to what is required of the as a citizen such as reducing racism and tribalism, not engaging in crime and lastly paying their income tax in time. This is what makes a successful nation.The contrary is also true when a nation is ruled by an arrogant leader who is unwilling to listen to his legal resident in most cases it is likely to fail during his governance.
Active listening
Listening skills are also very important to scholars because they are able to grasp what they are taught by their instructors. It goes hand in hand with their performance. Those student who listen more attentively when they are being taught, are usually good performers when it comes to doing their examination. Later after their graduation, this scholar’s end up to be good entrepreneurs and good leaders as well. In addition to this, when you are in the business environment, active listening enable you to build a good relationship with your partners and co-workers. Communication becomes increasingly effective, departments are able to share ideas, all works despite being in different ranks, they are able to respect each other, and lastly the employee is able to clarify issues among themselves more successfully.
Some strategies for active listening skills
· You should learn to focus your total attention to the person speaking to you. This is by facing them and maintaining good eye contact with them.When you are speaking to an individual person or a group of people and realize that they are maintaining perfect eye contact with you, you feel secure because you are assured that they are definitely paying attention to you.
· As a listener, you should always make sure that you are at the same level with the speaker. For instance, if the speaker is sitting you should sit, but if at all he or she is standing you should stand as well.
· Another thing listeners should note is that you should never interrupt the speaker if at all you must ask a question as they speak, make sure that you only ask good questions to them. Be very careful when you are asking to avoid accusing or blaming them but just ask open-ended questions only. You also ought to keep yourself away from judging what the other person is saying to you and try as much as possible not to assume that you already know what they are telling you.
· Sometimes it is good to repeat back to the other person what they are telling you but in your own word so that they can see you understand what they are saying.
· Last,of all, put yourself in their shoes by accepting their feelings and ideas and by this simple strategy you become a good listener
In conclusion; note that it’s very important for every individual to embrace listening skills in their communication so at enhancing effective interaction.