The Skill of Active Listening

Are you a good listener?
You may think you’re a good listener-maybe someone even told you were a good listener. Or maybe not. As a leader, this is a very important question. So much of your ability to solve the problems your team is bringing to you depends upon your ability to understand them. And in order to help your team feel heard and listened to when their pitching possible solutions depends on being a good listener.
No matter what you answered to the opening question, there’s good news for all. Listening well is a skill-the skill of active listening. And while that skill is crucial for communication, collaboration, and problem-solving, it’s also learnable.
In this episode, we will explore the skill of active listening and how it can benefit both leaders and their teams. To do that, we will delve into the four specific skills involved in active listening using an acronym first developed by communication expert Julian Treasure: RASA-Receive, Appreciate, Summarize, and Ask
0:00 Introduction
2:25 Receive
3:32 Appreciate
4:40 Summarize
6:03 Ask
8:22 Conclusion
Practicing and improving these four skills will improve your active listening. But more importantly, it will improve listening and communication on the whole team. Leaders set the example for their team members to follow. And as team members emulate the example and improve their own skills, that fosters an environment of trust and respect during discussions. And a team demonstrating trust and respect is a team that helps everyone do their best work ever.
//DO YOUR BEST WORK EVER
If you liked this video and you want to help your team do their best work ever, check out the free resources we've compiled at davidburkus.com/resources
//ABOUT DAVID
One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.
He is the best-selling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.
A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.
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//MUSIC
"Appreciate That" by David Cutter www.davidcuttermusic.com

[@gregmacgillivray3441]

RASA rocks!
Three more ideas:
1. In my own mind I LISTEN LIKE I'M WATCHING TV!
2. I put my finger over my lips as I listen to remind myself to listen.
3. After I think someone has finished talking, I take a deep breath and count yo three.

[@DavidBurkus]

Thanks so much Greg!

[@alexandercuellar2268]

I'm guilty in this area and I'm open for improvement.

[@DavidBurkus]

I think a lot of us are. But being aware is the first step. RASA is the second.