Although listening would be considered a soft skill, it is actually one of the hardest skills on which to focus. Humans have a tendency to hear more than they listen. Try to set your natural instincts aside and instead concentrate on the other person’s message and meaning. This requires listening without deciding or judging; the evaluation, and the decisions, and the reaction can come later. Sometimes, simply hearing what the individual is venting about may not only enable you to find a solution, it might actually be the solution.
• Do you listen for signals that your help is needed?
• Do you listen actively when someone is talking with you?
• Do you paraphrase or use some other method to clarify
what is being said in a discussion?
• Are you able to discern the emotions behind your
employees’ words?