Being able to listen is one of the most beneficial things you can do to help others. Many of us have things on our mind and need to talk, but that’s only going to happen if we’ve found someone with good listening skills and who knows how to do it well.
That’s why Samaritans run an annual awareness campaign called Talk to Us every July. It’s just one of the ways they raise awareness that they are here for anyone who needs someone to listen.
This blog is inspired by Talk to Us. As well as sharing details about how you can support the campaign, we’ll look at how to be a good listener and offer some tips to improve your listening skills.
How listening helps in the workplace
Poor communication is one of the reasons why misunderstandings develop, why people leave roles and can lead to marginalisation and feelings of exclusion – which is why being a good listener is such an important communication skill. Being a good listener helps to build relationships within the workplace and makes collaborating with others more effective. Actively listening helps to encourage others to express themselves whilst also building trust.
How to be a better listener
Are you a good listener? We all like to think we are – but it’s easy to be distracted, especially in the workplace. Often, we aren’t really listening, and can interrupt or come back with an opinion before the person we are listening to has even finished. Listening without bias is also a skill that’s harder than we think.
Here are 7 ways to improve your listening skills:
- Pay attention: To what the speaker is saying, this indicates that you are interested in what they have to say. You can do this through eliminating distractions and sitting facing the person speaking.
- Make the speaker feel comfortable: This helps them to express themselves more easily whilst also building trust by showing you want to hear them. You can do this by using positive body language, having an open posture, and by maintaining eye contact.
- Try not to argue or disagree: Respect others’ views and perspectives. If you need to, ask questions to clarify and understand what is being said. This also shows engagement in what they are saying.
- Listen without interrupting: This is very important because it can seem that you are rushing them or disagreeing with what they are saying. It can also make the other person feel frustrated.
- Repeat back what you hear: Not only does this show you are listening, it also helps confirm what’s being said and gives the person talking the opportunity to clarify if you’ve missed their point.
- Offer feedback: If you feel this is necessary, do this once they have finished speaking, this shows that you have listened to them whilst also highlighting to the speaker that their feelings are valid.
Offer a follow up conversation: This shows that you are interested, and the conversation made an impression on you. You don’t need to remember the entire previous conversation, often the gesture alone can be a great support.
Listening and mental health at work
One of the most significant impacts of good listening skills is being able to support colleagues with mental health issues. In the current climate of higher living costs and not forgetting the recent pandemic, people have a lot going on in their lives with the potential to cause stress. At times like this, being a friendly listener – with empathy but without judgement – can be a huge support.
However, as much as people may want or need to talk, not everyone finds it easy to open up. In fact, research by mental health charity MIND found that 30% of employees don’t feel they could talk openly with their line manager if feeling stressed.
To help address this, we wrote an earlier blog which we feel it’s worth including here. Mental health in the workplace – how to get the conversation started was written to encourage more openness and conversations around mental health.
In conclusion
Listening isn’t just a skill for the workplace, it’s an important life skill which can benefit not only colleagues but all relationships. Samaritans are here to listen to anyone who’s struggling to cope, at any time of the day or night. We can all take inspiration from their work by being better listeners ourselves.
How to support the Talk to Us campaign
Ways to get in touch and help: https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/talk-us/
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
