The Art of Listening starts with you knowing your ability to listen. The art of listening does not start with the way the speaker speaks but how you respond to what he/she is saying. As a listener, you have to learn to put yourself in the shoes of the other person. You have to really understand what they are trying to say through using their language. In other words, before you can start to listen effectively, you need to understand the other party.

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This is the key to good listening. Although there are techniques that help in improving this skill, there is no universal tool for it. You have to use your creativity to figure out ways of being an attentive listener and still be able to know what is being said. Here are some ways on how you can improve your good listening skills:

Paying attention to what another person is saying. One of the most difficult things to do when it comes to listening is to pay attention to what someone is saying. It is not enough that you are listening to them but you have to ensure that you are paying attention to what they are talking about. If you have good communication skills but you are unable to speak English well, you can learn to speak the language fluently by taking lessons on how to listen and understand the other person better.

Making eye contact. Although good listeners are not the only ones who can make good eye contact, having great eye contact is crucial in getting what someone is trying to say. It does not matter what the speaker is saying, the basic idea here is to show that you are attentive to what the other person is trying to say. Of course, listening to what someone is saying is also important, but making eye contact with the speaker shows that you are interested in what they are saying too.

Following the conversation pattern. This is not a hard skill to master especially if you know the conversational structure of the person you are talking to. There are times when you will need to understand what another person is saying and you might have to adjust your own conversation pattern to accommodate the other party. However, if you want to be a good listener, you should already be able to adapt any conversation pattern the person is using. So make sure you practice this skill and be ready to adapt to whatever style of conversation the person is using.

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Being able to identify the needs of the other person. It takes practice but if you are able to identify the needs of the other person, you will be able to better communicate with them. For instance, if you are talking to someone who is trying to inform you about a situation, your first impulse may be to ask questions. However, you should be careful not to be too aggressive. The reason for this is that the person you are talking to may not really need an ear exam but you might just end up hurting their feelings by asking questions that are too personal or too direct.