The article “The Big 6: An Active Listening Skill Set” from the Center for Creative Leadership discusses the following the six essential skills for active listening.

1. Paying attention. A primary goal of active
   listening is to set a comfortable tone and allow time and opportunity
   for the other person to think and speak. Pay attention to your frame of
   mind, your body language and the other person. Be present, focused on
   the moment and operate from a place of respect.
2. Holding judgment. Active listening requires an
   open mind. As a listener and a leader, you need to be open to new
   ideas, new perspectives and new possibilities. Even when good listeners
   have strong views, they suspend judgment, hold their criticism and
   avoid arguing or selling their point right away. Tell yourself,
   “I’m here to understand how the other person sees the world. It
   is not time to judge or give my view.”
3. Reflecting. Learn to mirror the other
   person’s information and emotions by paraphrasing key points. You
   don’t need to agree or disagree. Reflecting is a way to indicate
   that you heard and understand. Don’t assume that you understand
   correctly or that the other person knows you’ve heard him.
4. Clarifying. Use questions to double-check on any issue that is ambiguous or unclear. Open-ended, clarifying and probing
   questions are important tools. Open-ended questions draw people out and
   encourage them to expand their ideas (i.e., “What are your thoughts on
   …” or “What led you to draw this conclusion?”).

   Clarifying questions ensure understanding and clear up confusion. Any who, what, where, when, how or why
   question can be a clarifying question, but those are not the only
   possibilities. You might say, “I must have missed something. Could you
   repeat that?” or “I am not sure that I got what you were saying. Can
   you explain it again another way?”

   By asking probing questions, you invite reflection and a thoughtful
   response instead of telling others what to do. You might ask, for
   example, “More specifically, what are some of the things you’ve
   tried?” or “What is it in your own leadership style that might be
   contributing to the trouble with the team?”

5. Summarizing. Restating key themes as the
   conversation proceeds confirms and solidifies your grasp of the other
   person’s point of view. It also helps both parties to be clear on
   mutual responsibilities and follow-up. Briefly summarize what you have
   understood as you listened (i.e., “It sounds as if your main concern is
   …” or “These seem to be the key points you have
   expressed…”). You could also ask the other person to summarize.
6. Sharing. Active listening is first about
   understanding the other person, then about being understood. As you
   gain a clearer understanding of the other person’s perspective,
   you can then introduce your ideas, feelings and suggestions and address
   any concerns. You might talk about a similar experience you had or
   share an idea that was triggered by a comment made previously in the
   conversation.

active listening, leadership

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