Good facilitators are good listeners. Cultivating your capacity to listen actively will serve you well at work, and in every other aspect of your life.TIP: Here’s are 9 ways to enhance your listening skills when facilitating:
- Listen like you mean it – show genuine interest and curiosity.
- Suspend your assumptions, listening to understand what is really being spoken.
- Listen with all your senses – eyes, body language, tone of voice.
- Listen for what is not being said as well as the words being spoken.
- Move towards the speaker to be more closely connected.
- Scan the whole room to sense how others are reacting and responding to what is being said.
- Write it down, and check out what you’ve written to ensure the speaker does feel heard.
- As culturally appropriate, use eye contact to acknowledge people, and to encourage quiet folks to take part.
- Assist those with differing ability to articulate; paraphrase what you believe they are trying to say.
Call to Action: The ability to listen actively is 1 of 10 best facilitator practices. Enhance your facilitation skills today. Bring this course in-house to your team or organization: The Confident Facilitator, Masterful Facilitation Institute.
