Mentoring Future Leaders

Mentoring Future Leaders
Guidelines for Active Listening
1. Give the speaker your undivided time and attention.
2. Listen with sensitivity and without interrupting the speaker.
3. Listen with an open mind and suspend judgement.
4. Listen to the meaning – what is possibly being felt but is not openly
being expressed. This entails listening with our senses:
• Our ears to hear the words spoken, the rate of speech, the
tone of voice, the volume, the pitch;
• Our eyes to note the speaker’s body-language, the
gestures, facial expressions, posture, movements;
• Our minds to reflect on the meaning and to decide how to
respond;
• Our hearts – that show how we might feel if we were in the
speaker’s shoes.
5. Resist the temptation to break the speaker’s silences, which allows the
speaker time to collect their thoughts.
6. Ask questions to facilitate the flow of communication.
7. Remember what the speaker has said (the better you listen – the better
you hear – the more you remember – the better you understand).
8. Remain cool, calm and collected, even though you may not feel like it.
9. Respond appropriately.
Application:
1. Which of the guidelines do you find the most challenging? Why?
How can you master them?
2. Make a list of things that can interfere with the listening process.
© Learning Link International
April 2005
Module 4 - Mentoring Skills Page ! 1