Becoming a Better Listener Will Make You a Better Speaker.

All speaking, whether it is to one person or a hundred, is public speaking. Every video-meeting is an opportunity to practice public speaking skills. However, screen-fatigue can cause participants to zone out, resulting in weak or off-message responses from the speaker. The trick is to engage your active listening skills. 

Here are my top 4 tips:

• Take notes. This will force you to pay attention, and help you focus your responses.
• Summarize. Confirming that what you heard was what the person said, will strengthen your comments.
• Let others finish. The time delay can be awkward but listen carefully to ensure the speaker has completed their thought. Jumping in too soon can lead to an incorrect statement.
• Participate verbally & non-verbally. Your remarks will be more effective if you participate. Show you are listening by keeping “eye contact” with the speaker. Leaning in and nodding (in moderation) will also help keep you engaged, thereby, improve your remarks. 

A good listener becomes a strong speaker with a clearer, more compelling message—start practicing today.