WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING GOOD LISTENING SKILLS?
• Listening skills help you show that you are hearing and understanding another person and interested in what he/she has to say. Developing strong listening skills is good for relationships because: • Making an effort to understand what someone is thinking and feeling creates good feelings in that person and makes you feel good about yourself. • Listening carefully and checking for understanding enhances communication and results in fewer misunderstandings. • In an emotional situation, using good listening skills has a calming effect and helps deescalate anger. WHAT ARE THE KEY LISTENING SKILLS? • Open-ended questions • Summary statements • Neutral questions and phrases • Reflective statements Listening skill 1: Asking open-ended questions: What they are: They begin with “What,” “Why,” “How do,” or “Tell me.” These questions cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. Their purpose is to encourage the other person to open up ad elaborate on a topic What they do: • They get the othe
