The Art of Listening

 

    Recently I started listening to Lewis Howes' podcast.  In the episode I listened to, Lewis is interviewing Transformation Coach Chris Lee, who goes over how powerful listening can be.

  

    Many of us often communicate via text or private messaging through social media applications.  As useful as this can be, text based communication does not always convey what one wishes to say to another.  It is more preferable to use verbal communication or communicate face to face, even if it is via phone or video chat.  You can't really listen to text.  Sure it is a form of communication, but at the end of the day, words are simply words.  But once you put a voice behind those words, it adds to the quality of communication.  

    There are 10 tools when it comes to listening:

1. Be open
2. Create a space to listen
3. Have the person you're listening to feel important 
4. Listen to their words
5. Connect to their emotions
6. Know what questions to ask
7. Repeat back what you heard
8. Honor the request made of you
9. Identify the kind of person you're talking to
10. Listen to yourself

    Listening is without a doubt a key factor when it comes to communication, especially if it is with somebody you have either a close bond with or if its in a more formal environment, such as with  supervisor or boss at work.  As Chris Lee put it at the beginning of the podcast, "Listening is the key to successful relationships."