Here's how you can enhance communication with your team by improving your active listening skills.

Enhancing communication within our team begins with improving our active listening skills. By honing our ability to truly listen and understand the perspectives of others, we create an environment where everyone feels valued and heard. This means being fully present in conversations, asking clarifying questions, and demonstrating empathy towards our colleagues' experiences and viewpoints. By actively listening, we not only gain deeper insights into the needs and concerns of our team members but also build stronger relationships based on mutual respect and trust. As leaders, investing in our active listening skills not only enhances our ability to communicate effectively but also empowers our team to share ideas.

One of the simplest yet hardest to practice skill is to "stop thinking of answers" while listening. In my view, robotic statements like " interesting" "I see" do not help. People will know that you are just pretending. Some of the things you should do when listening to your team is 1. Ask questions for clarifications. 2. Appreciate what they are saying. 3. Most importantly say "thank you". Dont over complicate it.

First work on your "presence" by fully engaging in conversations without distractions. Also and briefly, keep eye contact, nod, and use verbal affirmations like "I see" or "Tell me more" to show attentiveness. Reflect about what you've heard by paraphrasing, which helps clarify understanding and demonstrates that you're actively processing their input. Ask open-ended questions to encourage deeper discussion and ensure that you fully comprehend their perspectives. Practice empathy by acknowledging their feelings and viewpoints, fostering a more open and trusting communication environment. Doing this all you not only validate your team’s contributions but also build stronger, more collaborative relationships :-)

Improve Your Active Listening Skills To enhance communication with your team, focus on active listening. Give your undivided attention, maintain eye contact, and avoid distractions. Paraphrase and summarize what others say to ensure understanding. Ask open-ended questions to encourage sharing and clarify expectations. Use nonverbal cues like nodding and making eye contact to show engagement. By doing so, you'll build trust, resolve conflicts, and foster a collaborative environment.

Active listening is basically to be fully present and mindful of all the person says even when he/ she pauses or sighs .., try to understand why he/ she stopped or why he/ she smiled or even breathing heavily… by that you really will engage with he/ she as a human being

🤦🏻 NO ES LO QUE DICES... SINO COMO LO DICES. Tu lenguaje corporal importa mas que lo que expresas con palabras. Por ello, es importante observar conjuntos de signos congruentes entre sí y descartar posibles causas externas. El lenguaje es engañoso. Una persona puede decir una cosa y pensar algo completamente distinto, o engañar conscientemente a su interlocutor con mentiras. Sin embargo, engañar a alguien con el lenguaje corporal es considerablemente más difícil, ya que una gran parte sucede de forma inconsciente. En muchas personas, los gestos, la expresión facial y también la postura general revelan de forma clara lo que están sintiendo. El lenguaje corporal tiene una 🙋🏻♀️ VENTAJA EN LA COMUNICACIÓN 🙅🏼♂️

Pay attention to both verbal and nonverbal cues, including gestures, facial expressions, and posture. This helps you understand the speaker's emotions and intentions accurately.

Not only do you need to be aware of your own body language, it's important to pay attention to the other person's body language. Subtle shifts and facial expressions can be cues to ask more questions and listen deeply to what the person has to say. People will withhold their thoughts if they don't think it's safe to share.

A confident body language communicates a lot about the speaker. Respect,attentive,confidence,eye contact,posture, gestures etc. Not maintaining an eye contact, Crossing arms,distractions across the room,checking your phone or watch, movement etc can give signal of disinterest. Affirmations such as saying "yes",conveying empathy,acknowlegement,not interupting etc are positive notes

Your body language is crucial when demonstrating your level of engagement during a conversation. Being conscious of this significantly enhances the quality of your interactions with your team members. Non-verbal cues are powerful tools in communication, capable of conveying empathy, understanding, and genuine interest without interrupting the flow of conversation. Mastering these aspects of body language will foster a more supportive and collaborative environment within your team.

💭 EL ARTE DE HACER PREGUNTAS. Uno de mis temas clave como Coach y Mentor de vida. Desarrollar la habilidad de crear conversaciones e historias a travez de las preguntas "te llevara a nuevos escenarios o nuevas realidades". La escucha activa forma parte de las habilidades blandas tan valoradas por ejecutivos y empresas hoy en dia. "Escuchar lo es todo"; pero saber preguntar es vital. Pues nos ofrece información, nos permite interpretarla y tomar decisiones en torno a ello. Por esta razón, evolucionar en mi manera de preguntar es una habilidad por atender. Si quieres ser persuasivo para ganar negocios, cerrar grandes acuerdos, triunfar en tus entrevistas y en tu vida personal; es importante aprender: ❓ COMO HACER PREGUNTAS 🤔

Questions are the best tool to make one Think and the quality of questions will show whether the person was listening or just hearing. So when I ask questions to clear my doubts or get more information or to help the other person think, it leads to meaningful discussion.

You significantly enhance the effectiveness of becoming an active listener by asking follow-up questions. This powerful technique fosters a connection with the speaker, clarifies meaning, and deepens understanding. Using active listening to communicate shows your team members that what they say is important and that you want to understand their message fully. It helps you to understand the speaker’s message accurately and fosters a stronger connection and meaningful interactions with team members.

Appropriate approach to understand is by asking questions. Clarify a query by raising a doubt. Open ended questions can also communicate that you are actively listening. Always encourage the speaker with your active questions ,seeking clarity, alternatives so that there is a close loop to the situation.

Asking questions is a fundamental aspect of effective listening because the nature of your question demonstrates how well you have listened thus far. And, it's not any old question. Many will espouse the importance of open questions but closed have their place too. Think of questioning as a funnel. At the top of the funnel, you're gathering data so you'll be asking more open questions. Then, you may pick up on what someone has said and ask a probing question, which takes you further down the funnel. As you near the bottom of the funnel, closed questions such as "Is there anything else?" is a great closed question to ask. The example used in your prompt "When you say 'delayed,' do you mean by a day or a week?" is not a good one.

Offer constructive feedback that reinforces positive communication behaviors and addresses areas for improvement. This promotes continuous growth and strengthens team dynamics.

😣 LAS EMOCIONES Y QUE HAY DETRAS DE ELLAS. Las emociones son respuestas automáticas de nuestro cuerpo que nos permiten relacionarnos con las distintas situaciones que vivimos en el día a día. Son indicadores que nos dan información sobre cómo nos encontramos, qué nos gusta o qué sucede a nuestro alrededor. Esta información nos permite movernos y actuar en consecuencia. Así que aunque a veces sean molestas, tienen una función adaptativa y nos movilizan a la acción. No hay emociones buenas o malas, si no que todas son funcionales y nos dan una información. Al validar sentimientos identificados, generamos confianza y demostramos un interes autentico. Fortleciendo el: ✅ ENGAGEMENT y la AUTENTICIDAD.

Acknowledging emotions expressed by team members is integral to effective listening. For instance, if someone appears frustrated, you can respond with empathy, saying, "It seems like this task has been quite demanding for you." This validation fosters trust and demonstrates appreciation for both their contributions and emotional state, thereby nurturing a supportive work environment.

Emotional support comes from validating the speakers conversation. Ascertaining like asking qts, "it must have been tough, how did you manage ?" or "This must be proud moment for you" or "This is an challenging thing , how did you overcome it ? " This reflects you were listening not only to what he was speaking but also imagining the situation.

When you listen with your eyes as well as your ears, you're more likely to pick up on emotions. The trick is not to make assumptions about or label the emotions you're perceiving, but to enquire into them. Again, the example you have used about assuming that someone's frustration = challenging is potentially dangerous, and may undo the good you're trying to do. If someone 'seems frustrated' ask them what their frustration is about. Labelling through the lens of our own perception is rarely accurate.

I worked with an Executive earlier in my career who was one of the best paraphrasers I ever observed. His most impressive trait was, once the person he was speaking with was finished making a point or sharing something with him, he would say "What I think I heard you say was..." and paraphrase the issue. He would always begin with a feeling and then move on to facts and then affirm the feeling. For example, "What I think I heard you say was that you are frustrated by the fact that you are having a hard time getting the information you are looking for and its making your task a lot harder. I can completely understand that frustration. What do you think we should do about it?". I saw him diffuse some pretty tense issues with that skill.

Paraphrase is consolidation of the communication to emphasis what has been understood is correct & the way ahead. This ensures you have heard it correctly,accurate & all points are covered. This also ensures no doubts exist, complete engagement from listener & coexisting on the same platform from both listener & speaker

➲ PARAFRASEAR. Muy utilizada en procesos de Negociación y Ventas. La paráfrasis, conocida coloquialmente como parafraseo, es una técnica que implica expresar con palabras más simples y propias las ideas extraídas de un texto o un dialogo realizado. Parafrasear nos ayuda a que la información sea fácil de entender, ya que se presenta de una forma distinta. Esta técnica muy utilizada hoy en dia; ayuda a evitar malentendidos, atender o clarificar en conversaciones o dialogos. Demuestra que participas y estas activo en la conversación. También da la oportunidad de corregir; cualquier interpretación errónea en el momento. A través de la práctica de parafrasear, se mejora el 🟢 PENSAMIENTO CREATIVO

I believe we need to be really cautious with this. I've had people paraphrase my clearly thought-through words (I'm an introvert with a classic think-say-think communication process) and fundamentally change the meaning in their paraphrased version to suit their ends. This damages their credibility in my eyes, so use with caution.

Practice Patience: Sometimes, people need time to articulate their thoughts. Be patient and give them the time they need to express themselves fully. AND Follow Up: After the conversation, follow up on key points. This shows that you value their input and are committed to addressing their concerns or ideas.

A fantastic model to use is Centre for Creative Leadership's SBI model... S - Situation - Describe what was happening at the time, where and when B - Behaviour - Describe the behaviour you observed without judgement of the person's intentions I - Impact - State the impact their behaviour had This is a great model for both positive and developmental feedback, as well as clarifying what you've heard from someone and how it's changed your perspective. The model should be used as a conversation starter to discover what needs to happen next.

Feedback is important but it should be two-way and ongoing. Create an active dialogue that builds trust and focuses heavily on active listening. Ask for feedback as well as offering it. By doing so, you level the playing field and make feedback just a standard part of engagement. Be sure to provide positive feedback when appropriate.

MAKE TIME FOR THIS! It's so easy to drift off into the land of "I'm too busy", but you can't. You'll learn and gain far more from listening to others than through any other communication skill or by not doing it at all. Put time aside every day to listen to what's happening around you and get comfortable with silence to give people the time and space to say what they need to say. And remember, it's not about listening to reply, it's about listening to understand. Only when you understand can you form the right reply.

Estabelecer um objetivo claro de promover uma comunicação eficaz é fundamental, pois isso direciona os esforços para alcançar resultados tangíveis. Utilizar os recursos disponíveis, como treinamentos ou ferramentas de comunicação, pode proporcionar suporte adicional nesse processo. Além disso, reconhecer e valorizar a expertise de cada membro da equipe contribui para uma dinâmica mais colaborativa e produtiva. Ao cultivar um ambiente que valoriza a opinião de todos, cria-se um espaço onde todos se sentem ouvidos e respeitados, resultando em uma comunicação mais eficiente e em uma equipe mais coesa.

This is all basic, common sense information, but somehow we lose sight of the basic day-to-day tools. Communication is so crucial in every aspect of a company, yet the lack of it being shared or understood is constant. I have started turning my phone upside down, turning off the ringer on the desk phone, locking my computer screen and focusing on having an intentional conversation with someone so that I do not miss critical information or come across as not caring. Removing those distractions have been super impactful in having any sort of conversation - whether they are related to operations, HR or an upcoming meeting, I'm able to be all in. Start with the basics!

Allow the speaker to finish their thoughts without interruption. People sometimes need time to articulate their ideas, so be patient and embrace pauses in the conversation. This approach makes the speaker feel more comfortable and less rushed, demonstrating that you value their input and provide them the space to express themselves fully.

If you have trouble paying attention to the person who is speaking with you, consider taking notes as they speak. Write down key phrases or points they make. This simple act can help you filter out other distractions, and focus on what is being said.