How To Be An Active Listener This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

1. Make Eye Contact This shows the speaker that you are paying attention to them and are focused on what they are saying.

2. Relax Paying attention does not mean being stiff, or uncomfortable. Act normal while also being attentive. Try to mentally block out distractions and show the speaker you are present and hearing what they say. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

3. Don’t Judge Let the speaker do just that, speak. As a listener, it is your job to let the speaker say what they may without jumping to conclusions, or adding in your opinion. Interrupting to add in your own thoughts can throw off the speaker and even upset them to the point of not waning to continue the conversation. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

4. Ask questions Asking questions can be a good way to show you are paying attention. It gives you a chance to ask for more information or have a point clarified. To do this however, you should wait until the speaker pauses so that you are not interrupting what they are saying. Try not to get off topic with questions that do not have to do directly with he conversation. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

5.Give Feedback Whether it is verbal or not, feedback is a great way to show a speaker that you are tuned in. A nod, “hmm”, or “uh huh” can go a long way to show you are paying attention. Another helpful tip is to restate a specific directive or feeling back to the speaker, or even paraphrase what they have said to show you follow their train of thought. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

6. Nonverbal Cues Making comments is not the only way to give feedback; a lot of information is shared without saying a word. Body language can relay a message sometimes more clearly than words themselves. You can detect if a person is bored, irritated, or enthusiastic by paying attention to the slope of their shoulders, expression around their eyes, and set of their mouth. It wont matter what is being said if your body and facial expressions are telling the speaker that you don’t want to be there, or have no interest in what they are saying. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

7. Summarize Show the speaker that you took in what they were saying by summarizing the conversation and hitting key points they expressed. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

8. Take Notes In some situations, you may want to take notes so that you can clarify points, or revisit specific parts of the conversation. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

9. Create a Mental image As the speaker is talking, try to take in what they say and create an image in your head to help fully grasp what the concept is. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

10. Keep An Open Mind Overall, remember that the person speaking has his or her own opinions and views that may not be the same as yours. Keep an open mind to all different types of ideas, topics, and viewpoints! This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC