151 Quick Ideas to Improve Your People Skills

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Practice Good Listening

The Japanese have a simple but insightful proverb that’s worth posting somewhere near your desk. It goes like this: “Those who talk, sow; those who listen, reap.”

The most important element of good listening is simple: You have to want to understand the other person’s point of view. Listening is not about agreeing, or defending. It’s not about how often you nod your head in the conversation, how many times you recap what the person said, or how many affirmations you give to the other person. Those are techniques to help you become a better listener, but they are not listening in themselves.

Assignment

Look for at least three opportunities daily to listen to someone else, to understand what she thinks, fears, desires, ...