The Lion King | 45
Career
The 10 principles of
effective listening
1. Stop Talking
“If we were supposed to talk more than
we listen, we would have two tongues
and one ear.” - Mark Twain.
Don’t talk, listen. When somebody else
is talking listen to what they are saying,
do not interrupt, talk over them or finish
their sentences for them. Stop, just lis-
ten. When the other person has finished
talking you may need to clarify to en-
sure you have received their message
accurately.
2. Prepare Yourself to Listen
Relax. Focus on the speaker. Put other
things out of mind. The human mind
is easily distracted by other thoughts –
what’s for lunch, what time do I need
to leave to catch my train, is it going
to rain – try to put other thoughts out of
mind and concentrate on the messag-
es that are being communicated.
3. Put the Speaker at Ease
Help the speaker to feel free to speak.
Remember their needs and concerns.
Nod or use other gestures or words to
encourage them to continue. Maintain
eye contact but don’t stare – show
you are listening and understanding
what is being said.
4. Remove Distractions
Focus on what is being said:
don’t doodle, shuffle papers,
look out the window, pick your
fingernails or similar actions.
Avoid unnecessary inter-
ruptions. These behaviours
disrupt the listening process
and send messages to the
speaker that you are bored
or distracted.
5. Empathise
Try to understand the
other person’s point
of view. Look at
issues from their
perspective. Let go
of preconceived
ideas. By having
an open mind we
can more fully
empathize with
the speaker. If
the speak-
er says
some-
thing that you disagree with then wait
and construct an argument to counter
what is said but keep an open mind to
the views and opinions of others.
6. Be Patient
A pause, even a long pause, does not
necessarily mean that the speaker has
finished. Be patient and let the speaker
continue in their own time, sometimes it
takes time to formulate what to say and
how to say it. Never interrupt or finish a
sentence for someone.
7. Avoid Personal Prejudice
Try to be impartial. Don’t become
irritated and don’t let the person’s
habits or mannerisms distract you from
what they are really saying. Everybody
has a different way of speaking - some
people are for example more nervous
or shy than others, some have region-
al accents or make excessive arm
movements, some people like to pace
whilst talking - others like to sit still. Focus
on what is being said and try
to ignore styles of
delivery.
8. Listen to the Tone
Volume and tone both add to what
someone is saying. A good speaker
will use both volume and tone to their
advantage to keep an audience atten-
tive; everybody will use pitch, tone and
volume of voice in certain situations
– let these help you to understand the
emphasis of what is being said.
9. Listen for Ideas – Not Just
Words
You need to get the whole picture, not
just isolated bits and pieces. Maybe
one of the most difficult aspects of
listening is the ability to link together
pieces of information to reveal the ide-
as of others. With proper concentration,
letting go of distractions and focus, this
becomes easier.
10. Wait and Watch for
Non-Verbal Communica-
tion
Gestures, facial expressions, and
eye-movements can all be im-
portant. We don’t just listen
with our ears but also with
our eyes – watch and
pick up the additional
information being
transmitted via
non-verbal com-
munication.
