Skills of good listening

Good listening is one of the most important skills for a good caller to Allah because he spends most of his time in audio communications with the people, however good listening builds confidence and intimacy, and reinforces understanding with others.

In order to make your listening good, you have to follow the following steps:

First, do not talk, and keep silent because you cannot speak and listen at the same time.

Second, make the speaker feel comfortable and make him feel free to say whatever he wants.

Third, listen carefully to understand not to object, and let your goal be "To learn something of what you are listening to."

Fourth, focus your attention on all the speaker is saying while sitting uprightly, look at the speaker, think about what he is saying, and put yourself in his shoes to understand his point of view.

Fifth, pay attention to the gestures and expressions of the speaker, be keen to understand the message of the speaker and his main ideas, and try to figure out what he is trying to say indirectly.

Sixth, do not interrupt the speaker, give him adequate time to finish his talk, and beware not make a sudden movement or any behavior that causes interruption.

Seventh, sum up the message he is trying to deliver through writing down the main ideas and important points, and write down your notes on the margins.

Eighth, remove anything that distracts you or makes you inattentive, ignore the surrounding noise, and overcome anything that may drive away your attention whether because of the situation itself or the speaker.

Ninth, hold yourself upon hearing irritating words and expressions and remember that angry man often does not comprehend the proper meanings of words.

Tenth, do not argue, do not make the other in defense, and remember that attracting hearts is much bigger than gaining situations.

Eleventh, in case of not understanding some words or phrases, ask the speaker to clarify his points.

Twelfth, do not busy yourself in responding to the speaker during his speech and start your talk after he finishes.

Thirteenth, learn not to judge the people through actions before good understanding, and beware to take a certain attitude toward the speaker before he finishes.

Fourteenth, be humble when assessing your views and give a chance to others to speak to benefit from them perhaps you are mistaken.

Fifteenth, sum up your speech, repeat some phrases, or ask some questions to assert that you are following-up, and encourage the speaker to continue.