Whether you’re seeking a new job, striving to earn a promotion or working to improve in your current role, improving your active listening skills will help you to succeed.

Read more: Reflective Listening: Steps, Tips, Benefits and Examples Why is active listening important in the workplace? Instead of thinking about and mentally rehearsing what you might say when the speaker is done, an active listener carefully considers the speaker’s words and commits the information to memory. This not only supports your ability to focus, but also ensures that the speaker can see you are focused and engaged. Unlike passive listening, which is the act of hearing a speaker without retaining their message, this highly valued, interpersonal communication skill ensures you’re able to engage and later recall specific details without needing the information repeated.Īctive listeners use verbal and non-verbal techniques to demonstrate that their attention is on the speaker. What are active listening skills?Īctive listening skills are the ability to focus completely on a speaker, understand their message, comprehend the information and respond thoughtfully. Developing this soft skill will help you build and maintain relationships, solve problems, improve processes and retain information, like instructions, procedures and expectations. One of the most critical skills involved in effective communication is active listening. Having the ability to clearly communicate instructions, ideas and concepts will help you to be successful in any career. Communication skills are beneficial in and out of the workplace.

Example of active listening