This document discusses the importance of active listening skills. It defines active listening as consciously hearing both the verbal and nonverbal messages from the speaker to understand the total message. Key aspects of active listening include monitoring body language for congruence, asking clarifying questions without assumptions, and periodically summarizing to confirm understanding. The document provides tips for active listening such as giving full attention, showing engagement, avoiding distractions, keeping an open mind, and not interrupting. It emphasizes that truly listening to understand other perspectives can help gain knowledge and consider different viewpoints.

1. LISTENING
ACTIVELY???
• Would you consider yourself to be a good listener? How would
your potential customers, business associates, friends, and family
members rate your listening ability? Their feedback just might
surprise you, because most people believe they're much better
listeners than they truly are.

2. AN ACTIVE LISTENER
• Active listening is making a conscious
effort to hear your customer's words as well
as to try and understand the total message
being sent, both verbally and nonverbally.
This action and skill requires you to listen
not only with your ears, but also with your
eyes. It's important to monitor your
customer's body language gestures and look
for congruency between his or her words,
posture, movement, and tone of voice.

3. WHAT MAKES AN ACTIVE LISTENER

4. EXPECTATION V. REALITY

5. UNDERSTANDING THEM
• The best salespeople have the tendency to listen similar to a detective and ask great
questions to grasp an understanding and promote conversation. They don't make
assumptions. They seek to summarize and seek clarity. An occasional question or
comment to recap what has been said communicates that you understand the
message. Until this is done, your customer will resist your input

6. W
AYS TO IMPROVE
• Face your speaker with complete and undivided attention
• Show attentiveness through body language and posture.
• Turn off phone and minimize distractions
• Keep and open mind and never jump to conclusions too early.
• Never interrupt and always ask questions when you have them.

7. PERSONAL INSIGHTS
• The best way for us to use this ability to our advantage is through truly listening and
understanding what others have to say and express. We as humans are always open
to gaining more knowledge, yet we get into arguments about to most picky topics that
we might not know the most about. As people we are entitled our opinions obviously,
but it does not hurt to listen to another persons viewpoints as they might open your
own views in a manner in which you had not thought about before.

8. SOURCES
• https://www.iidmglobal.com/expert_talk/expert-talk-categories/business-
basics/client_communication
• https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/coaching-others-use-active-
listening-skills/