Do you ever feel that people just don’t listen to what you have to say? It may not be them that is the issue, it could be your communication style!

Effective communication begins with one important skill: active listening. Listening can be a difficult skill to master as there are many habits that prevent us from effectively listening and communicating with others.

Most of us are passive listeners, which means that we give most speakers the same level of attention as we would music played on a radio. With music, we become more attentive when we hear a particular song and we disengage when we are no longer entertained; the rest of the music becomes background noise.

Similar to our listening skills, we often only pay attention when we hear something of interest - a falsehood, new information, or a need for clarification/rebuttal. We also pick up cues that a conversation will soon end.

Outside of these parameters, dialogue can easily become background noise. This is when we shift from active listening to passive engagement where a speaker does not receive our full attention. The detriment is that we will never fully understand what is being communicated, the feeling behind it, or the speaker’s thought process.

Communication and all of its benefits are lost when we become passive listeners.

With concentrated effort, this highly coveted skill can be easily achieved and implemented for successful results. Once we learn how to identify bad communication habits, listen more effectively, and learn how to navigate more directly toward a conclusion, we will be able to master the art of effective communication.