Have you ever noticed that LISTEN and SILENT are spelled using the same letters?
The terms are interrelated. To Listen properly means you need to be Silent in the first place. Hearing is a listening ability while listening is a skill.
The well-known yet barely valued benefits of this skill are effective communication, better understanding, clearer goals, effective workflow, etc.
The ability to listen carefully and analyze the other person’s perspective cuts the unnecessary slack.
This is not all, there are many other benefits that follow. Let’s take a look.
#1 Helps You Become a Good Healer
In a time when relationships are fickle, lucky is the one who has a“3am friend” or a “go to person”. People who can be trusted while sharing anxieties and insecurities are the best. Everyone goes through phases where all that we desire is someone who can listen. And, only a good listener can be a good healer.
People feel valued around good listeners. Everyone wants someone. The art of listening to people builds trust and strengthens bonds.
#2 Important for Personal Development
SCANS identifies listening skills as one of the five competencies and three foundation skills important for workforce development.
Notice this flow diagram:
Good Listener—–>Good Observer——>Enhanced Skills—–>Better Mind-set
What are your takeaways from the above equation?
Lets’ decode it now!
When one is silent and composed, he listens better. Effective listening is followed by keen observations which facilitate an enhanced skill-set. Enhanced skills spare room for more ideas, giving the bird’s view of a situation. This results in a better mindset which is one of the important aspects of the personal development.
#3 Makes it Easy to Learn a New Language
In case it sounds super easy to acquire this skill, consider the situation of learning a new language.
While taking an exam of the new language, listening is one of the important exams to crack. Many consider it the most difficult part.
Writing and reading can make one well versed with grammar, but we need good listening and speaking skills for conversations. To have a healthy and engaging conversation, you must not only be grammatically correct, but fluent with words too.
Listening also allows to hold the accent of a language.
#4 A Big Factor For Career Enhancement
Effective communication skills are an important part of work. Good listening and speaking abilities help cut through an interview too.
Think of it in this way:
What qualities do people look for in a candidate while hiring?
The person should be efficient, skilled, determined, and must take minimum time to understand the requirement to deliver an output. For this, the interviewee must be vigilant and should possess good listening skills.
This also streamlines the workflow and makes it easy for the employees to collaborate on projects.
Who wins the best employee award? You know now.
#5 Good Listener Makes a Good Speaker
Have you ever attended/watched speeches of impactful people? If not, you must.
Observing the interactive and engaging speech styles of these people can help you acquire those qualities and use those skills in front of your listeners. Gauge how they modulate their voice and tone to make a point. How their intonation and pitch change. This takeaway will shoo away the anxiety of delivering speeches, presentations, or taking up interviews or asking for a hike.
When you will be able to hold the attention of your audience, half the job is already done.
Make listening a habit, it takes you forward.
Yes, your words might make a difference to someone’s life. But, if you will listen to them at the first place, it will have a better impact. Also, it will improve your relationships and help you socialize.
Sometimes take a back seat; don’t try to solve but listen.
