English Communication Skill: Best Listening- Body Language and Power of Notetaking

At least fifty percent of a person’s impression is from your body language.

1. Take an alert body position in any meeting

Enhance your conversation by doing these body positions

• Uncross your arms and legs.
• Sit straight in the chair.
• Face the speaker full on.
• Lean forward.
• Make as much eye contact as you can.

Getting drowsy? Don’t give in–sit up straighter, stand up, get a drink  of water.  Get the blood flowing.  Don’t think you can effectively combat drowsiness without changing your physical position.

2. Write it down

Taking notes is a great listening aid.  Even if never refer to your notes again, writing the most important points boosts the entire listening process.  Besides, absorbing an entire conversation through listening only is almost impossible.

Negotiating? Taking notes is important throughout every step of the negotiating process.  Review your notes right away to be sure that you wrote down everything you may want to remember,  If you can’t read your notes, then redo the notes right away.

For negotiating or any business meeting or important meeting of any kind, consider providing a status report to the other side. That’s an excellent way to assure that you listened well. Writing down what you think you heard and verifying the material with the other side is a positive experience.

That memo acts in another way. if your counterpart believes you recorded the conversation incorrectly, then he or she can provide the conflicting information.  Immediately thank the other person and also point out that you wrote the memo to be sure you listened well and interpreted the discussion accurately.

Here is a tip –if the other person says you got it all wrong and misunderstood him or her, do consider this. You may  have listened carefully, because it is just as likely that the other person is correcting a sloppy communication to you.  People often change or refine their position when they see it in writing.  Do let that modification happen gracefully.

When the other person provides a new version of the negotiations or the communication in any meeting, simply change your notes.   Remember, you write it out to get it right.

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.