Does this sound familiar?

You are having a conversation with someone (co-worker, spouse, boss) and they are telling you a story. You are listening, but they talk so slowly you are tempted to reach down their throat and pull out the conclusion so you can stop the pain.

Or

You are listening to someone give their opinion and you are tempted (or perhaps can't help yourself) to jump in and give your view or your example or your story.

Or

As you listen to someone during an argument you are really formulating your response.

Well, clearly these are not signs of a good listener and yet we've been guilty of at least one of these scenarios.

Talk Less Listen More offers some great tips for actively listening. When asked how you can tell if the person you are talking to is really listening, you might offer:

Eye contact
Body language
Nodding

Those are great but Listen More offers even more tips and suggestions. Think you are a pretty good listener? Take their quiz to see just how well you really listen.

I try hard to be a good listener, but if someone is boring or talks slow, I struggle. However, one sign that someone is a good listener is this: if they are telling a story and then get off on a tangent and struggle to remember what point they wanted to make - a good listener will be able to remind them of where they were in the story before they went off on a tangent.

Good listening not only begets great information it also help in developing relationship. Being a good listener shows you care and respect the person you are talking with.

Deborah Chaddock Brown
Writer