
You can read a page or even a chapter of a book and not remember anything you read if you were thinking about other things. However, if you are healthy and people frequently tell you they talked to you about something that you do not remember, you might want to try attentive listening. Of course, there are medical conditions that affect your memory. Not remembering a conversation is a good indication that you were not paying enough attention. So, it is important to take cues from others if you want to build the best communication with them possible. People pay attention to more than just your words when they develop feelings about your ability to understand them. An essential part of communicating with others is the way you make them feel, not just the words you say. There is something you are doing to make these people feel like you are not listening. i Other People Tell You, You Do Not ListenĬhances are if people in your life are continually telling you, you don’t listen, you need to work on it. It is one of the worst things you can do if you want to show people you care about them, and it is a clear sign you need to work on your listening skills. Interrupting shows the other person you do not care as much about what they have to say as you care about yourself. If you interrupt people before they finish their thought, you are not a great listener. There are so many demands that it is not easy to find the time to put other things away and spend one on one time with people, but if you are distracted by other things, you are not able to entirely focus on what someone is telling you. With cell phones, TV, and personal desires to get in the way, it is difficult to give someone your complete attention. Nothing is more frustrating when you are trying to say something important than someone paying attention to other things. It is what the other person deserves and what you expect when you are speaking to someone. You Engage In Other Activities While ListeningĪttentive listening requires your undivided attention. If you regularly catch yourself wanting to interrupt or interject your thoughts, you probably need to practice active listening. It is impossible to fully pay attention to someone when you are thinking about other things or what you want to say. If you are thinking about your feelings when someone is speaking to you, you are not listening to them. As People Are Speaking, You Are Thinking About Your Feelings If you are not thinking of the place they are coming from, you are probably not receiving the correct messages. When you listen to someone, you need to consider their point of view. You Do Not Think About the Other Person’s Situation So, if this is something you do frequently, practicing attentive listening will help you build healthier relationships. If you cut someone off in the middle of their thought, you are causing them extreme frustration. You have to allow someone to finish their thought because only a mind reader knows how someone else is going to finish their sentences. If you interrupt people in the middle of their sentences, there is no way you are actively listening to them. You Interrupt Others While They Are Speaking Sadly, most people do not even realize how bad they are at this essential component of effective communication.


Generally, people are not great at it unless they genuinely care about another person’s feelings, or they have spent years perfecting their attentive listening skills. They think they hear others, but instead, they are distracted. Many people are unaware of how bad they are at listening.
LISTENING DEFINITION HOW TO
How to Know If You Are Lacking Attentive Listening Skills

You have to pay attention to their body language, focus entirely on them, and then consider their position and how they developed their point of view. This type of communication requires you to understand the other party.

What Are Attentive Listening SkillsĪttentive listening, also known as active listening, involves a lot more than just hearing what someone says.
LISTENING DEFINITION PROFESSIONAL
Developing attentive listening skills will help you build better relationships and avoid a lot of frustration in your personal and professional life. Or, perhaps you are not the best at listening to others yourself. They may have cut you off while you were talking, or when they respond to you, they express their feelings instead of acknowledging yours. You have probably engaged in conversation with someone and noticed that they were not paying attention to your thoughts. Instead, while listening to another talk, they are themselves thinking of what they want to say next because they lack attentive listening skills. However, many people do not know how to listen to others. Listening is an integral part of communication.
