Becoming a Better Listener
Jonathan Osler San Francisco is an experienced nonprofit leader with a successful record of managing teams and projects in the social impact space. He led and guided the development of organizational strategies and practices. Projects under his leadership have significantly impacted the social sphere with measurable results. Osler has been involved in various international initiatives on climate change, urbanization, and sustainable development. He is also an experienced panelist on multiple subjects related to strengthening governance and combating corruption for a better world.
Jonathan addresses the issue of becoming a better listener and how to establish meaningful connections with people.
He works to benefit a better world; his goal is to make a difference and have an impact. He is engaged in political activism. He aims to become more involved in activism and contribute his skills as a professional activist to the social sphere.
Ways Of Becoming A Better Listener
1. Be more attentive to others:
Educated and aware individuals, who can listen attentively, and take in their circumstances and perspectives, often become experts on other people’s lives. They can interpret situations better than the average person.
2. Improve your listening skills by learning from those around you:
To become a better listener, you have to listen and learn from the people around you to become a better one yourself. The more conversational people you are around, the better chance you will improve your listening skills.
3. Separate yourself from your way of thinking:
To become better listeners, we need to separate ourselves from our way of thinking and be able to listen to others with an open mind.
4. Be interested in what other people have to say:
Being a good listener means being genuinely interested in what others have to say, even if you don’t necessarily agree. Be genuinely interested in what others have to say, and let them know you are.
5. Be willing to differ from others:
To effectively listen to other people’s ideas and points of view, you need to be ready to differ from them. You can’t assume your way of thinking is the only way of thinking. To become a better listener, try your best not to find yourself too attached too quickly or that you have to agree with someone else’s point of view.
6. Validate other’s perceptions:
To become a better listener, you need to validate others’ perceptions and acknowledge their ways of being in the world.
7. Be more involved in the topics you listen to:
Don’t just be a passive listener, but be more complicated and invested in what you listen to. When you are engaged in the conversation, it will be much easier to listen attentively.
8. Avoid distractions:
Becoming a better listener requires focus, which can be challenging if distracted. Be more aware of what you are listening to when you are around other people, and be careful of being distracted by things like your cell phone or text messaging.
9. Respect others boundaries:
Please respect people’s boundaries and try not to infringe on them when talking to you. Don’t try to impose your own opinions or ways of thinking on someone else when they are talking to you.
10. Don’t interrupt:
When you listen to someone, let them finish what they are saying. It is always polite to let the other person speak. Don’t interrupt them or try to say anything while they are talking.
11. Don’t make comments when people are talking:
Please do not put your input into the conversation until after the speaking person has finished and you have thought about what they have said.
Jonathan Osler San Francisco believes that to become better listeners, we need to do more than sit quietly and avoid interrupting. It is essential to engage in the conversation that is going on around you. Be involved with the other people in your life and make an effort to learn about their lives and their perspectives. That way, you will have a better chance of understanding them, becoming interested in what they say, and empathizing with them. If you can do those things while they are talking, then you will become a better listener.