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News Feb. 3, 2022

How can you become a better listener?

It is important for leaders to be good listeners; employers who fail to listen and thoughtfully respond to their employees’ concerns will see greater turnover, according to Harvard Business Review.

A participant in any conversation has two goals—to understand what the other person is communicating and to convey interest, engagement and caring to the other person.

Professional Roofing’s February Focus column includes tips from Harvard Business Review to help you be a better listener:

  • Repeat a person’s last few words back to them, which can provide a needed pause for you to gather your thoughts.
  • Don’t rephrase what a person is saying unless you truly don’t understand. Rephrasing can increase emotional friction.
  • Offer nonverbal listening cues, such as nodding and eye contact.
  • Pay attention to the speaker’s nonverbal cues, such as tone, facial expression and body language, which often can reveal more about a person’s state of mind.
  • Ask questions to clarify your understanding and minimize distractions.
  • Pause before you respond. If you know a topic might be upsetting, calm yourself as much as possible before responding.

View the full February Focus column.

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