How to Improve Listening Skills

Look at the speaker's eye (or face).
Inquire about things that are not clear to you.
Summarize by paraphrasing in your own words.
Take notes (if you have to) but make sure don't miss the conversation.
Encourage the speaker to say more and explain more.
Neutralize yourself. Don't agree or disagree. Just listen, period.

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Ask politely the speaker to repeat himself/herself.
Ask relevant questions and know how to ask the proper questions.

Being a good listener fosters better relations and allows you to connect and interact to people more easily.
Be fully aware and completely present.
Be in the moment all the time throughout the conversation.
Be open to new ideas.
Be patient. Hardwork has great rewards.
Be physically and mentally prepared to listen.
Be sensitive to Body Language and Emotions.

Clarify.
Clear your mind of anything not related to the subject or topic. Forget your worries at home...

Do not fake listening. Do not pretend to be hearing even if the topic is boring.
Do not think of rebuttals.
Don't argue with the ideas expressed by the speaker. Just accept it.
Don't be eager or too excited to express yourself or react. Let what you heard sink in to your mind at a deeper level.
Don't criticize.
Don't interrupt the person you are talking to. Let him finish and express himself.
Don't judge the person or the ideas expressed.
Don't mentally and physically turn off even if topic gets uninteresting.
Dont wander. Dont take a mental vacation somewhere or elsewhere.

Feedback.
Focus all your energy and attention to what the speaker is saying.

Get fascinated. Even if the subject is boring, there is always something new and beneficial that you can pick up.
Go out and talk or listen to native english speakers.

Humans can listen 4 times faster than speaking, so concentrate and don't think of something else.
Humans can speak on average 150 words per minute and can listen to 600 words per minute. So, concentrate, focus, control yourself and fight over distractions.


If you miss any word or words spoken, don't be afraid to ask for further clarifications and explanations.
Ignore distractions, avoid selective listening.

Know that by listening carefully, you are also building a good interpersonal relationship.

Learn how the native speakers (American, Canadian, Australian or other English-speaking groups) pronounce English words.
Learn reductions, shortcuts and word linking within a sentence or sentences.
Let the person finish talking, pause a bit to absorb the message, then start talking.
Listen to audio books, files, CDs, etc. and repeat listening until understood.
Listen to easy to understand and interesting music.
Look at the speakers' facial expression.

Make eye to eye contact.
Maintain Good Posture.

Pause 3 to 5 seconds before talking.
Practice listening at your level. Start with easy to listen and enjoyable materials and then medium then hard as you progress.
Practice listening by hearing dictations and writing down what you just heard.
Practice listening. Practice makes perfect, so practice, practice, practice.
Prepare and anticipate the words you are going to hear.

Remember that active listening boosts the speakers' self esteem as well as your own self esteem.
Repetition is your friend.
Respect the speaker. Respect the speaker's opinion, ideas, perspective and point of view.

Say encouraging things like Really?, OK, Ahh, Mmm, Right, etc.
Set a goal in your overall listening skill learning objective. Aim to listen 100% of all the words said.
Show genuine interest.
Show that you care what the person discussed to you by asking questions and making sure you understood his or her point and the message that he/she is trying to get across.
Sit in front.
Study the intonation, emphasis, accent, flow and rhythm of words that are stressed and unstressed.
Study the speaking patterns of native English speakers.

Turn on Active Listening. It is in the power of the mind.

Watch interesting and entertaining English movies and films with subtitles (captions).
Watch your favorite English TV shows and turn on the close captioning/subtitles.
When you have a meeting, class or conference, study about the topic in advance.
Work on a vocabulary system to improve your word database.

Your job is to listen and pay attention. That's it.

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Further help can be obtained by learning from videos in websites on the internet.
Search: How to improve listening skills or How to be a good listener.

This blog post is intended to help other people how to improve their listening skills and how to become a good listener.
Any advice, suggestions and comments are most welcome. Thank you in advance.