Becoming a stronger active listener with your workforce is essential for business success. The rise of remote and hybrid work makes this skill more important than ever.
Your ability to read, interpret, and respond to verbal and nonverbal cues supports employee engagement, job satisfaction, and performance. These skills also increase employee productivity and attraction and retention rates.
As a result, you should take steps to develop your active listening skills. These suggestions can help.
Choose among these tactics to become a stronger active listener with your workforce.
Minimize Distractions
Reduce noise, interruptions, and other external distractions as much as possible. Also, put aside anything you may have been thinking about so you can focus on what your employee has to say.
Maintain Appropriate Body Language
Make appropriate eye contact and keep an open posture during the conversation. Also, nod your head to show you are actively listening.
Focus on Nonverbal Cues
Pay attention to the explicit and implicit information you receive. The employee’s tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language indicate the motivation and emotions behind the words expressed.
Repeat What You Heard
Show you are listening by sharing the last few words you heard. This action helps keep you focused during the conversation. It also lets you pause to collect your thoughts before replying.
Ask Follow-Up Questions
Gather more information by asking for more details about the topic. Asking additional questions ensures you have the complete picture and understand the message.
Wait for Your Turn to Respond
Focus on what your employee is saying before you respond. Ensure you have sufficient information and understand the situation before you reply.
Monitor Your Emotions
If you feel your emotions rising, slow the pace of the conversation. Also, focus on measured breathing to calm your reaction.
Avoid saying something that might cause your employee to disengage, you to tune them out, or an argument to begin. Instead, ask to pause the conversation so you have time to think about the topic. Then, set a time to calmly pick up where you left off.
Do You Need to Add to Your Accounting and Finance Team?
Minimizing distractions, maintaining open body language, and focusing on nonverbal cues help you become a stronger active listener. Repeating what you heard, asking follow-up questions, and waiting to respond help you pay attention to the message and appropriately answer.
If you want help with finding qualified accounting and finance employees, turn to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Get in touch today.
