Deep active listening
Social Skills · Intermediate
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Develop the ability to listen with total presence and no agenda.
Micro-habits to get started
Small actions of a few minutes to start this habit:
Put your phone away
In your next face-to-face conversation, put your phone away out of sight.
A phone on the table, even unused, lowers the perceived quality of the conversation.
1 minRepeat it in your own words
At the end of what someone tells you, briefly paraphrase it to confirm you understood.
Start with: 'If I understood right, what you're saying is...'
2 minA specific follow-up question
After listening to something, ask a question based on a concrete detail the other person mentioned.
Don't ask in general terms: connect with something specific they said.
1 min