We were given two ears but only one mouth.This is because God knew that listening was twice as hard as talking. Good listeners listen with their faces

The first skill that you can practice to be a good listener is to act like a good listener. Our faces contain most of the receptive equipment in our bodies, so it is only natural that we should tilt our faces towards the channel of information, much like a satellite dish.

A second skill is to use the other bodily receptors besides your ears. You can be a better listener when you look at the other person. By looking at the speaker, your eyes will also complete the eye contact that speakers are trying to make. Your eyes help complete the communication circuit that must be established between speaker and listener.

When you have established eye and face contact with your speaker, you must then react to the speaker by sending out non-verbal signals. Your face must move and give the range of emotions that indicate whether you are following what the speaker has to say. By moving your face to the information, you can better concentrate on what the person is saying. Your face must become an active and contoured catcher of information.

A good listener will stop talking and use receptive language instead. Use the I see . . . un hunh . . . oh really words and phrases that follow and encourage your speaker’s train of thought. It is a true listening skill to use your mouth as a moving receptor of information rather than a broadcaster.

A final skill is to move your mind to concentrate on what the speaker is saying. You cannot fully hear their point of view or process information when you argue mentally or judge what they are saying before they have completed. An open mind is a mind that is receiving and listening to information.

“Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly” – Plutarch