Developing Good Listening Skills

A recent article noted some interesting attention span statistics, including some good tips on how to improve attentiveness and foster good listening skills.  A great thing to emphasize at our multicultural summer camp!

Some interesting points:

• The average attention span in 2012: 8 seconds
• The average attention span in 2000: 12 seconds
• The average attention span of a goldfish: 9 seconds
• As we navigate a world of technology seemingly competing for our attention, it’s easy to get increasingly distracted and more difficult to do the one thing that may be key to our personal and business success: pay attention.

Really listening to someone, making eye contact and hearing them, makes them feel appreciated, and creates a positive feeling for them about you.

People who are good listeners are more liked, rated as more attractive and garner more trust than those who are less proficient at listening

Good listeners are high academic achievers, have better socio-emotional development and are even more likely to get promoted at work.

Some other tips from the article on how to become someone who pays attention:

Observe

Mirroring the way a person is standing and holding himself or herself is a powerful way to build trust and understanding.

Eye contact

Maintaining eye contact conveys emotion, builds connections and indicates interest. The key is to maintain an appropriate amount of eye contact—50 percent of the time when speaking and 70 percent of the time while listening.

Listen

It means quieting your mind and genuinely listening to what the person is telling you. When your mind wanders, people notice, and it takes away from the authenticity of the conversation.

Empathize

People who have a high EQ—emotional intelligence—are capable of making better decisions because they can see a situation from someone else’s perspective.

Overall, the key to paying attention is being authentic.