BOOST PRODUCTIVITY WITH ACTIVE LISTENING
3 Tips for Enhanced Understanding
To effectively absorb information from other people, you must do more than just hear them. You must be fully present in the conversation, ask questions, and listen to the other person. Don’t just respond, but actually understand the message they’re trying to convey. This is called active listening, and it increases your comprehension of whatever you’re listening to, whether that’s a video, podcast, or person in front of you. This increased understanding, in turn, creates higher productivity levels, influence, persuasion, and negotiation.
video or in-person conversation), put your phone away, and ignore any noises or side conversations. You may have to actively strain to do these things at first, but keeping your focus engaged will become easier over time. TIP NO. 2: ASK QUESTIONS As you’re listening to someone else speaking, push yourself to think of an open-ended question that will prompt the other person to elaborate and go into more detail or that you can research yourself later (if it’s a podcast or video). Doing this forces your brain to synthesize what you’ve heard to generate a question, resulting in more information about the subject. TIP NO. 3: REFLECT ON WHAT WAS SAID After someone else has spoken, take a moment to paraphrase what they said. For in-person conversations, say this paraphrased version back to them to ensure you’ve accurately understood their message. For videos or podcasts, take a moment to pause the content and say the paraphrased version back to yourself or write it down.
So, how do you improve your listening skills? Is it even possible?
Absolutely! But it does take a bit of work. Luckily, getting started is easy, and you can try out these three active listening tips in the next conversation you have, podcast you listen to, or video you watch. TIP NO. 1: PAY ATTENTION You must direct all your attention to them to actively listen to someone or something. Keep your eyes on them directly (if it is a EVERYTHING- SEASONED DINNER ROLLS
BALLOT CORNUCOPIA CRANBERRY DISTRICTS
MAIZE PILGRIM POLITICS RAKING
SHOPPING STUFFING THANKSGIVING VETERAN
Inspired by RealSimple.com
INGREDIENTS • Cooking spray
• 1 tbsp honey • 2 tbsp everything bagel seasoning
• 20 frozen dinner rolls • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
DIRECTIONS 1. Coat a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and arrange frozen rolls in the pan to thaw according to package instructions. 2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Then, melt butter and honey together in the microwave or on the stove. Once the rolls thaw, brush butter mixture over the rolls and sprinkle seasoning on top. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until golden, and serve these tasty rolls straight out of the oven!
WWW.BRAUNSLAW.COM | 3
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator