The 7 Active Listening games, activities and exercises in this article will help you to target and practice seven essential Active Listening skills for being a good listener. They’re not simply warm-up activities! They are designed for adults (not children) and suitable for both personal listening development and workplace training workshops. Step-by-step instructions are provided.

Are you longing for more meaningful and satisfying conversations? Trying to truly connect with your clients and their needs? Desiring to foster greater rapport and trust with others? Wanting to avoid another costly misunderstanding? If any of these interpersonal challenges resonate with you then make it your ongoing objective to listen with empathy. In this article I describe the vital role of empathy in connecting with people in our personal and business lives. Then I offer ways to develop it.

Are bad listening habits unknowingly destroying your conversations? In this article I shine the spotlight on six habits that I frequently observe in myself and others. And I offer ‘listening fixes’ for each, fixes that have dramatically improved my own discussions.

We need to listen with both our ears and our eyes. Over 65% of the information in our discussions is conveyed using non-verbal cues. [1] But what are these cues and how trustworthy are they?  In this article we explore how to utilise these non-verbal cues to uncover the total meaning of a speaker’s message and to avoid misunderstandings. This is Step 2 of the Active Listening Process.

Imagine that you’re a healthcare worker in a patient handover meeting. The handover is going smoothly with the other worker sharing the important information you need. But in passing they make a comment that catches your attention. Do you let it go? Or do you probe further? Opportunities to glean more information occur all the time. In this article we look at Step 3 of the Active Listening Process - using targeted follow-up questions to draw out more information.

I’m astounded by how a few basic Active Listening techniques can make all the difference in daily life. 10 years ago poor communication relentlessly hindered me. Now I enjoy greater effectiveness in my work and deeper connections in my professional and personal relationships. The purpose of this GLS blog to help others experience this same transformation. Here’s the backstory of how this blog on good listening skills came about. It all began in prison...

Work and social discussions needn't be frustrating time wasters. Active Listening is the number one skill for transforming them into productive dialogues. In this 'Active Listening How To' article I strip the process right back to its fundamentals in five easy, immediately usable steps with examples - what it is and how we can use it in all our conversations to listen better.

Ever been here? The discussion has been going for a while. Suddenly, silence snaps you back into the room. They’re awaiting your response… We all have. Our brains are wired this way and a certain amount of wandering is important for a healthy brain. [1] But when listening for crucial information, we need to know how to focus. Here are 9 strategies for helping improve your focus.

Good listening relies on attitude. Proven listening techniques are essential to effective listening. But our listening attitude is the difference between those techniques bringing forth meaningful, honest, profitable conversations or hollow and insincere ones, which others can sense a mile away. Genuinely seeking to understand the speaker needs to be our top motivation.

Emotions are integral to conversations. A speaker conveys vital information through their feelings and attitudes as well as their spoken words. And while listening, those ideas trigger emotions inside us, either supporting or opposing what we’re hearing. Emotional intelligence is knowing how to leverage these emotions in a manner that enhances our understanding of the speaker’s message. This is something that we can all develop.