One of the main reasons communication between people breaks down is that listening (like reading, thinking clearly and focusing) is a skill which we rarely consider to be something requiring study and practice.
Active listening is a technique for developing our ability to listen by putting ourselves in to other person’s shoes. This means trying to understand the speaker’s own understanding of an experience without the listener’s own interpretive structures intruding on his or her understanding of the other person.
Here are our favorite articles/videos on this topic:
- The power of listening by William Ury, TEDx [15 min video]. William explains how listening is the essential, and often overlooked, half of communication. He then moves on to persuade the audience into joining a “listening revolution”, an acting of listening a bit more to be able to transform any relationship.
- Active Listening: The Master Key to Effective Communication by Farnam Street [11 min read]. Listening is difficult because it involves suppressing your ego long enough to consider what is being said before you respond. Active Listening is a technique to develop the way we listen, and this article delves into how it can help us overcome cognitive biases and improve communication drastically.
- Improve Your Active Listening Skills With These 13 Strategies, Forbes [8 min read]. 10 members of the Forbes Coaches Council share their top strategies to practice active listening.
